Professional Engineering Societies Research Articles

Education—Key to Dealing with Social and Environmental Objectives

Education is viewed from the perspective of its role in providing understanding to guide action on complex water issues involving engineering and social and environmental considerations. A case study is presented on an effort by the Texas Society of Professional Engineers to promote education in water matters in public school curricula. Public school water education helps future generations better understand the complexity of water issues. The intent is that school children will carry the important message home to their parents. Regarding university programs, it is not suggested that engineers should become social and environmental specialists. No single specialist can handle all water issues. Instead, the issues should be presented in a broad manner so that the various ramifications are appreciated. Communication among the different groups must be fostered, and we must better appreciate the views of others.

MATHCOUNTS: The Ultimate in Problem Solving

Mathcounts is a mathematics competition for seventh and eighth graders sponsored in part by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, the CNA Insurance Compani es, the Nationa l Society of Professional Engineers, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the General Motors Foundation, and the Cray Research Foundation. It offers students an opportunity to expand the ir appreciation of mathematics and to improve their problemsolving abi lities.

U.S. science policy

AGU, as well as other societies, is becoming increasingly active in supporting the interests of its members with government decision makers, both by acting cooperatively with other societies and independently. Recently, the American Physical Society led an effort to draft a letter to the Presidential candidates on the importance of a U.S. science policy. AGU was asked to be one of the signatories of this letter. In accord with AGU policies for the adoption of Union wide positions the question was put to a Council vote. This full process took less than 2 weeks. The request was approved, and AGU will be one of the societies signing this letter. As of August 8, the following groups have endorsed this letter and will be cosignatories: the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology, the Optical Society of America, the American Association of Engineering Societies, the American Society of Civil Engineers, the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, the National Society of Professional Engineers, the American Society for Microbiology, the American Association of Physics Teachers, the American Vacuum Society, and the American Physical Society.

The role of the professional society in the career development of engineers

The role of the professional engineering society in the career development of the engineer as he/she progresses through various stages of growth is examined. Beginning with the definition of an engineer, professional development is categorized in a four-stage model that begins at the apprentice level and ultimately culminates in the sponsor or director level. Civilian engineer career development at the Aeronautical Systems Division at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base is discussed in terms of the four-stage model. Key factors in career progression are enumerated. The role and impact of the professional society on an engineer's development is examined. The activities of the Engineering Management Society of the IEEE at the local level are reviewed. The critical role of government/industry/academic management policy on participation of their engineers in professional-society activities is debated. >

Wanted: Eng. D. degrees: Four undergraduate years are not sufficient to produce a practicing engineer

The crisis in engineering education is evident. Four years of undergraduate studies are not sufficient to properly educate and produce a practicing engineer. Every report on engineering education, from the Mann report in 1918 to the NSPE (National Society of Professional Engineers) study in 1976, has recommended that certain subjects be added to the engineering curriculum without recommending that any be deleted. The Wickenden report of 1934 entitled “Investigation of Engineering Education, 1923–1929” recommended that more social science and humanities be added to the engineering curriculum. In 1955, the Grinter report recommended that more basic science be added to the curriculum. Recently, ABET (Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology) modified accreditation guidelines to ensure that more engineering design is included in the curriculum. In an article by Cranch and Nordby, industrial spokesmen are quoted as stressing the need to add more communication skills, both oral and written, and management skills to the engineering curriculum.

The Importance of Accreditation in Materials Education

The strength, vitality, and development of the materials professions are determined largely by the quality of education of their new members. While this truism applies to any profession, it is critically important that it be recognized in a rapidly changing and evolving area such as the materials field, which includes activities in materials engineering, ceramic engineering, polymer engineering, and metallurgical engineering. The recent development of tools and techniques that allow relating details of atomic and electronic structure to material properties, the discovery of new classes of materials, many of which are complex integrations of metals, ceramics, and/or polymers, along with the rich diversity of new processing methods that yields improved properties and new materials concepts, are examples that emphasize the dynamic and exciting nature of the field.The primary responsibility for monitoring, evaluating, and certifying the quality of engineering and engineering-related education in colleges and universities in the United States lies with ABET, the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology. (For a discussion of accreditation in chemistry, see “Chemistry Education Programs Relevant to Materials Science” by P. Lykos in this issue.) ABET, working with the engineering professional societies, develops accreditation policies and criteria and conducts a comprehensive program of evaluation of first professional engineering degree programs. Programs meeting the prescribed criteria are granted accredited status.

Failure Information: Dissemination Strategies

Much of the knowledge used to design and construct engineered facilities has been obtained through learning from failures. Past efforts by individuals and committees within the American Society of Civil Engineers and other organizations have contributed significantly to the dissemination of failure information. While these activities have been effective, the ASCE Technical Council on Forensic Engineering (TCFE) seeks to coordinate and expand failure information dissemination strategies. The principal product of this effort is establishment of the Journal of Performance of Constructed Facilities, published by the ASCE, and jointly sponsored by the National Society of Professional Engineers (NSPE/PEPP) and the Architecture and Engineering Performance Information Center (AEPIC). The type of failure information to be addressed covers a wide spectrum. Serviceability problems as well as catastrophic events will be included. Procedural problems leading to failure will be considered in addition to the technical c...

Spectral lines: One world

The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers is unique. All other electrical engineering professional societies are nationalistic. The only other organization that could lay claim to the internationalism of the IEEE was one of its predecessors, the Institute of Radio Engineers.

"A Century of Electricals"-A Poster Exhibit Celebrating the IEEE's Centennial

The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) is the largest professional engineering society in the world. With over 250,000 members, the IEEE represents the fields of electronics, computers, and electrical power engineering. Given its size and prominence, it is not surprising that the IEEE chose to celebrate its 100th anniversary in 1984 in a big way. To record its accomplishments for posterity, the institute sponsored two book-length histories-The Making of a Profession by A. Michal McMahon and Engineers & Electrons by John D. Ryder and Donald G. Fink. In addition, to make the history of electrical engineering better known to its members and to the general public, the institute had its Center for the History of Electrical Engineering prepare a poster exhibit. Titled A Century of Electricals, this exhibit is a mix of rich images, of lively text, and of provocative topics and thus is a fitting way for this major society to celebrate its centennial.

National Engineers' Week: Week of 22 February

National Engineers' Week takes place annually during the week of George Washington's birthday. Washington, best known as a soldier and stateman, was also a surveyor and road builder. The National Society of Professional Engineers began this tradition in 1950 with a two‐page article in The American Engineer. The society promoted Engineers Week on a national level beginning in 1951. February and March issues of The American Engineer in 1951 discussed the early celebrations of this week. The society's history (Robbins) also gives insights about the creation of this special week. Although the National Society of Professional Engineers initiated this week, other engineering organizations became involved later. At the present time, many organizations participate in the celebration. Each year, the National Society of Professional Engineers plans a particular theme for the week.

Professional Registration of Government Engineers

Government engineers often are not required to be registered in the state in which they practice, even though their counterparts in the private sector must be registered. Government engineers have a responsibility to safeguard the public health and safety, and must develop in the public a sense of confidence that the public trust is in good hands. One way to generate this confidence is by engineering registration. The American Society of Civil Engineers views professional registration as an appropriate requirement for engineers, including those in government. The National Society of Professional Engineers makes registration a requirement for the grade of member and full privileges in the society. Some Federal agencies require engineering registration for certain positions in their agencies. Engineers in government service should consider the value of engineering registration to themselves and to their agencies and take pride in their professions and in their own capabilities by becoming registered engineers. They should also take steps to encourage their agencies to give more attention to engineering registration, particularly as a qualification for certain positions and as a requirement for senior positions in the organization.

Reliability education: A historical perspective

The authors provides a historical overview of the development of reliability in the USA: where have we been? where are we today? and where are we heading? He presents the beginnings and the current status of: undergraduate and graduate courses being taught; graduate degree programs; short courses; institutes; training courses; symposia and their transactions; texts and other publications; newsletters; societies involved; videotapes; televised courses; and movies. It is stressed that textbooks of not too highly mathematical nature, emphasizing practical applications, are needed, as well as university courses in the product assurance technologies. Professional engineering societies should sponsor more sessions of papers; more courses in the product assurance technologies should be videotapes; and more such movies produced. More courses should be beamed live to local industry and government organizations. Summer institutes for college teachers sponsored by the National Science Foundation and other groups should be revived.

About this issue

THE PAPERS in this issue represent the first fruits of a multiyear effort by members of the Engineering Management Society (EMS) of the IEEE, led by Bill Dean, chairman of EMS, to provide the readers of this TRANSACTIONS with special issues on “hot topics” on the Management of Research, Development, Engineering, and Innovation. We have had a number of such special issues and special sections in the past 25 years on topics such as: Project Management, Operations Research in R, D&E Management, Personnel, Project Selection, Research-on-Research, the Innovation Process (the May, 1983, issue). Many of these special sections and issues resulted from a fortuitous grouping of papers around a particular topic, allowing some papers to “jump the queue” so that a coherent set could be presented at one time. This set comes from a unique effort, based on another major activity of the EMSthe annual Engineering Management Conferences (EMCY). Of the first five such conferences which EMS of the IEEE undertook on its own (similar conferences used to be sponsored by a combination of several professional engineering societies), four were based on invited and contributed papers across the whole range of R&D/Engineering Management topics. (Please excuse the inconsistency of terminology; usage varies widely in this developing field, from “Research-on-Research and R&D/Innovation,” to “R&D/Etogineering and Engineering Management” and we are continually wrestling with t h e structure and boundaries of the field.) TTie papers in this issue, however, were generated by the EMC held in June, 1982, which was designed around one specific topic in the overall field-the Evaluation of R&D/Innovation. It was, primarily, an invited paper conference, with almost all attendees presenting papers and/or discussing the papers presented. The eight papers in this issue represent the first batch of the more than 24 papers presented at the conference, which have completed the reviewing/revision cycle. While all papers focus on aspects of the monitoring! review/assessment/evaluation process for R&D/Engineering projects and programs, their methodology, areas of application, and specific approaches vary widely. Some deal with industrial or government projects and programs, and others are general enough to apply to either. The techniques range from highly mathematical and quantitative to those which employ qualitative and intuitive methods.

Creating a State Professional School of Civil Engineering

A definition for a college of engineering and a professional school of civil engineering with teaching clinic and collectanea is provided. The objectives of Florida legislation to create a state professional school for civil engineers are stated. The accord of such legislation with Professional School Criteria of the National Society of Professional Engineers, Florida Engineering Society, Labor Relations Board, and ASCE Education Policy and Goals is cited. The status of proposed legislation is reviewed. A copy of Florida Senate Bill 919? 1978 Legislature that would establish a school of Civil Engineering for the State of Florida is provided.

News

Information supermarket in Oslo. An information supermarket has been established in Oslo in the new building of the Norwegian Society of Professional Engineers (NIS).

Ethical trilemmas

The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers is one of the oldest and largest professional engineering societies. Like its sister engineering organizations, it is caught up in the swirling forces of modern times. The old values seem to be falling away one by one. The respect we once took as our automatic due for belonging to a profession no longer comes to us. A hundred pressures from a hundred sides pull our minds from the performance of our duties and convert our once challenging work to a tangle of anxieties.

Community noise ordinance drafting by a city ad‐hoc noise committee

Through motivation by a city councilman, Charles Petree, an ad‐hoc committee was formed to review existing city noise‐related codes. Representation included city council staff, the health, zoning, and police departments, an acoustical consultant, the industrial commission and building association, the society of professional engineers, the electric company, and a private citizen. This body met many times over one year to review codes and ordinances. Recommendations included consolidating all noise related codes and ordinances into one addendum to the City Code. Additions against squealing tires, limits on motorboat noise, and the replacement of octave‐band limits for manufacturing districts with Leq limits along common residential/institutional/commercial/manufacturing property lines were made. The police department concluded that the existing muffler ordinance requiring “a muffler in good working condition with baffle plates …” was satisfactory for enforcement. These recommendations—to be detailed in the presentation—are being submitted to the City Council for action. Airport noise, as it affects land use and zoning actions, will be treated during calender year 1980.

Parity for Minorities in Engineering: Myth or Reality

The need for greater minority participation in the engineering field was put before a large professional audience for perhaps the first time in July of 1972, by J. Stanford Smith, chairman of International Paper. In 1974, the National Academy of Engineering established the National Advisory Council on Minorities in Engineering (NACME). Shortly after that the Academy established the Committee on Minorities in Engineering (CME). Both organizations are part of a growing network of national, regional and local organizations organized to increase minority participation in engineering. The emphasis of much of the current program activity is at the precollege level because inadequate preparation in math and science have been cited as the basic reasons for poor retention rates of minority students entering engineering programs. Professional engineering societies are encouraged to actively support minority engineering concerns through their national offices, as well as encouraging active participation of their members in these kinds of activities.

Education: Engineering curricula: `Professional' vs. `two-track': In the debate over possible changes in engineering education, one of the key questions is what is meant by `professional school'

Engineers in industry have complained frequently about the kind of engineering education that takes place in colleges today. Engineers in academe are quick to defend their accomplishments and poke holes in the arguments of their detractors. Much of the current debate centers around two proposals. The National Society of Professional Engineers (NSPE) has issued a call for 'professional schools of engineering' that are 'independent' (see box on p. 54). The other is a change to a two-track system that offers a four-year bachelor's degree in general engineering or a five-year practice-oriented master's that might be the first professional degree.

Unionization of American Engineers

The unionization of the engineering profession continues to challenge the organizing abilities of American labor unions. Professional engineering societies remain opposed to engineering unions on the grounds that they are incompatible with a professional occupation. By understanding the career conflicts within the profession and the environment within which professionalism and unionism interact, a better understanding can be achieved concerning the professional dilemmas associated with engineering unions. History suggests that the engineer will eventually unionize. The form of organization which they will join and the speed with which this occurs is difficult to forecast. It depends, in part, on the economic climate for engineers, public attitudes toward unions, the evolutionary process of the profession, management strategy, the orientation of engineering societies, and the ability of unions to develop the methods, goals, and structure appropriate to the needs and problems of the engineer.