What issues does cultural divisions/differences pose for the future of Engineering/Science as a profession?
compiled by Carlos Zapata - Associate Editor
As universal as math and engineering can be, most people are not, unless they have taken the time to become global-minded. In the past this did not seem to be an issue. Will it be an issue for the near future? To find out Several department heads on campus were asked the same question in the headline and asked to keep their responses to a paragraph. These are their thoughts:
Engineering/Science Profession in the US will be faced with enormous challenges in the next decade, one of which being the Global Market. These engineers will be entering a world that is no longer dominant by the US, on the contrary, we have to learn more and more from other nations since we will be competing at a global level on an equitable basis with other nations. This requires for us to educate the engineering students and expose them to an understanding and respect for these cultures. We have to revise our educational programs and curriculum to reflect these global changes. American Society of Mechanical Engineers, has already taken a lead among all professional societies to address this challenge. A recent publication by ASME entitled: "Globalization of Technology and Implications for Mechanical Engineers" address this issue and is a valuable document for all of us to read and to discuss it with our students. In addition to these global changes, in the US, we will see a significant increase in the number of those presently underrepresented groups (minorities - which I prefer to use under-represented) in the engineering workforce. Presently engineering is mainly dominated by white male, in the US. This is going to change drastically. The Engineering community will become less gender biased and lot more diverse than it is today. This means that it will become more open-minded and more "libera."
Mohammad Noori
Professor and Mechanical Engineering Department Head
For reasons that are largely irrelevant today, engineering has been traditionally a white, male profession. There are no reasons why this "tradition" should continue, and many good reasons for engineering to come to represent the diversity that exists in the world. All of us need to do more to help everyone understand what the engineering profession is, and to help them prepare (in high school and even earlier) to study it in college.
John A. Orr
Electrical Engineering Department Head
Cultural diversity presents both challenges and opportunities to all organizations and professions. The challenges are both real and imagined, ranging from difficulties in communicating through different languages to the way we think about and frame problems and solutions, to the cultural prejudices that exist (certain cultures are superior/inferior or the desire to see "our" culture benefit, as if we are in a zero sum game). These problems limit cooperation and diminish understanding. There are also opportunities, however, and these go to the heart of our present efforts toward teamwork in organizations. The major benefit of cultural diversity is the breadth of perspectives, and therefore insights, that are brought to bear on organizational problems and solutions. That can only make organizations stronger. Furthermore, organizations which commit to cultural diversity in practice, not merely words, go a long way to breaking down the understanding barriers that exist between cultures and thus contribute a social good to all of us.
Mac Banks
Harry G. Stoddard Professor and Management Department Head
The members of the science and engineering professions are still predominantly white and male. As we move into a global society with increasing cultural and sexual diversity, clearly the science and engineering professions must find ways to make those professions more attractive to groups now not adequately represented.
Thomas H Keil
Physics Department Head
I have not given this much thought but I do have a humble opinion as follows. Science and engineering do not recognize cultural divisions or issues, people do. Science, at least, is an attempt to understand nature and to explain it in terms of math chemistry and physics. As such IT does not make value judgments or concern itself with culture. The practice of science (and the training of scientists) is another matter and that is the topic I believe you are addressing. Animal behavior for example is considered innocent since animals do not recognize right from wrong (although they can be trained to know what their masters like (fetch the paper) and dislike (pee on the rug). Human behavior comes with the baggage of culture (i.e. is cannibalism right or wrong?). One hopes that the fields of science and engineering are open to all people and cultures, and that these fields can contribute to an improved quality of life for all people.
Ron Cheetham
Biology and Biotechnology - Department Head
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