Engineering Ethics Case Studies in Senior Unit Operations Laboratory

Placement of ethics in the Chemical Engineering curriculum has always been debated. In this project, the use of a real-world engineering ethics case study was integrated into the Senior Unit Operations Laboratory course over two separate class years (i.e. Year 1 and Year 2). The motivation behind this was twofold. First, the assignment provides the opportunity to develop a student’s oral communication skills. Although oral presentations were an existing component of the course, this assignment provided a separate and distinct venue for a student to use this skill. More specifically, students were required to use reason and analysis in presenting their final argument. Second, an ethics component in this course would help bridge the transition between college and the workplace. An ethical dilemma involving the choice between doing what is right and maintaining a positive bottom line is often seen in industry. Exposure to previous examples and the decision-making process involved would be beneficial for students. The case study used was generated by the Laboratory for Innovative Technology and Engineering Education (LITEE), and incorporates several ethical issues and moral challenges that emerge from the interplay of manufacturers, employers, and employees. Prior to presenting the assignment, a short lecture on ethical dilemmas was delivered by the instructor, thus creating a knowledge base for students. Subsequently, students were divided into four constituencies, and asked to review the relevant data from the LITEE website. Each group offered their positions through an oral presentation, and followed up with other questions after all groups have finished. The groups were assessed by attorneys from a local firm. The ultimate questions in this study are: 1) Do students find it important to study ethics in the context of an engineering program, and 2) Is senior laboratory the best course in the chemical engineering curriculum to insert an ethics project. Results obtained from surveys after Year 1 show that students agreed that it is important to study ethics, but senior lab is not the best venue. Students felt that the assignment was an additional load in a course that is already work intensive. Moreover, they felt that the assignment improved their presentation skills. When surveying after Year 2, students shared the same sentiments as those in Year 1, but stated that senior lab is the best venue. One explanation is that the attorneys selected to assess the presentations in Year 2 had an engineering background, while those in the first did not. Student feedback, which was independent of the survey, revealed that the comments provided by the attorneys were substantiative and supplemented the experience as a whole.