Materials Engineering with a Social Context: A course on Materials, Ethics, & Society
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Materials Engineering with a Social Context: A course on Materials, Ethics, & Society Katherine C. Chen Materials Engineering Department, California Polytechnic (Cal Poly) State University, San Luis Obispo, CA 93407, U.S.A. ABSTRACT A sophomore level Materials Engineering course entitled, “Materials, Ethics, & Society” at Cal Poly analyzes the interactions between technology and society, and emphasizes the communication of societal and ethical impacts of technology to diverse audiences. Students study materials in a historical context, not only to highlight specific materials science concepts, but also to explore societal-technology connections. Starting from the Stone Age, advances in civilizations have come about through discoveries and new uses of materials. World geography, history, and culture become intertwined with the casting of metals, alloy development, ceramics, and phase diagrams. Students highlight the social relevancy of materials throughout history, and seek parallel themes in today’s world. While learning about the development of the atomic bomb, students also examine the ethical dilemmas of the scientists and the current NSPE Code of Ethics for Engineers. In addition, the role of the engineering profession is examined with the NAE Engineering Grand Challenges and current news items. Students investigate how materials engineering can help society through examples of appropriate technology solutions, such as designing porosity in ceramics for water filters and food storage pots. Students develop their analytical and communication skills by discussing C.P. Snow’s “two cultures” and debating a rationale for scientific literacy. Students are also trained in informal science learning in preparation for NanoDays with young and diverse audiences. At the same time, they learn about nano-scale science and technology principles, and the associated societal and ethical implications. The course culminates with student-created videos for the general public that highlight a material or technology of importance to society and integrates the material science with ethical, environmental, and societal dimensions. INTRODUCTION A Materials Engineering (MATE) course at Cal Poly entitled, “Materials, Ethics, & Society,” has evolved from a Departmental Curriculum Reform NSF grant [1] to approach Materials Engineering in a broader context, as well as to incorporate ABET [2] outcomes. This particular course (MATE 232) is for Materials Engineering sophomore majors and follows the “Introduction to Materials Engineering” survey course that many other engineering majors take. The course is 4-units (i.e., 4 hours per week), runs for 10 weeks, and culminates in a team project to reflect the major learning objectives (Table I). The course has been taught for 3 years. The main textbook by R. Hummel [3] presents Materials Science and Engineering (MSE) in a historical context, and is used as vehicle to frame the importance of materials in society, as well
as to examine cultural and geographical influences on the way materials have b
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