Moral Imagination, Invention and Design

University Of Virginia Main Campus, Charlottesville VA

Investigators

Abstract

The goal of this proposal is to integrate ethical and social dimensions of engineering, science and technology into the core of engineering education and practice. To achieve these goals, this proposal will develop a permanent graduate option in Ethics, Policy and Systems Engineering at the University of Virginia (UVa). This option will include strong links to the Science and Technology Studies (STS) graduate program at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI). Graduate students in this option, in collaboration with faculty, will develop case studies for use in undergraduate engineering and STS classes. These cases will complement existing cases that focus on the role of moral imagination in the design of complex technological systems. All of these cases will be placed on the Web, and at least two will be put in experimental multimedia formats that will make it easier for instructors to utilize them nationwide. The project will also conduct an evaluation of the option and the cases that will serve as a model for evaluations of similar efforts. To create the case studies, students will conduct research that combines systems engineering, ethics and STS. This research will be done in greater depth than necessary for the case studies, resulting in scholarly monographs and graduate theses. At the end of the three-year funding period, the project team will publish a report describing the process of developing this option so that others can benefit from the lessons learned and the program can serve as proof-of-concept that ethics, STS and engineering education can be integrated at the graduate and undergraduate levels.