BE 485 Biosystems Design Techniques

"The National Institute for Engineering Ethics (NIEE) was founded in 1988 as part of the National Society of Professional Engineers (NSPE) in an effort to advance the understanding and practice of ethics within the engineering profession. NIEE became an independent organization in 1995. Over the years, NIEE has been a cooperative effort of various engineering organizations to foster education, training, and discourse in engineering ethics."

This article by Coy M Veach, "There's No Such Thing as Engineering Ethics" suggests that what is really meant by engineering ethics is the application of some set of ethical principles to the practice of engineering.  Whether you call this "engineering ethics, "a code of professional conduct" or think of it as the application of some set of ethical principles to the practice of engineering, making engineers aware of ethical considerations is important.

"Ethics are ethics. If we as engineers want to lead ethical lives, we must practice ethical behavior based on the Golden Rule or one of the similar guiding principles. However, because engineering is a complex profession that encompasses not only technical, business, and social aspects, we must also study and learn about how to apply these ethical principles to the practice of engineering. This study and exercise helps us develop our moral competence, especially when related to the practice of engineering, which can have such a great impact on the lives of others."

Veach, C. M. (2006). There’s No Such Thing as Engineering Ethics. Leadership & Management in Engineering, 6(3), 97–101. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)1532-6748(2006)6:3(97)

Over the decades, engineering societies have developed codes of ethics.  Some like the National Society of Professional Engineers (NSPE) are general code of engineering ethics while other societies such as the American Society of Civil Engineers(ASCE) have developed codes tailored to meet the needs of their members.

• The National Society of Profession Engineers (NSPE) Code of Ethics
• Biomedical Engineering Society (BES) Code of Ethics
• American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) Code of Ethics
• American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Code of Ethics
• IEEE Code of Ethics
• American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME)

Case studies are often used to illustrate the type of decisions practicing engineers may have to make.  There is no one single source for engineering ethics case studies. In addition to the resources listed below, individual engineering ethics case studies can be found by searching the Compendex database.