12/18/2009
A new book, Philosophy and Engineering: An Emerging Agenda, edited by David E. Goldberg and Ibo van de Poel (Springer), examines key ethical, conceptual, and philosophical issues related to the engineering profession and its relationship to society.
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A new book, Philosophy and Engineering: An Emerging Agenda, edited by David E. Goldberg and Ibo van de Poel (Springer), examines key ethical, conceptual, and philosophical issues related to the engineering profession and its relationship to society.
“At present the math and scientific rigor embedded in the engineering education culture since the cold war conflicts with the creativity and soft skills necessary to create the tech visionaries, leaders, and category creators needed to continue our country’s technological preeminence,” explained Goldberg, the Jerry S. Dobrovolny Distinguished Professor in the Department of Industrial and Enterprise Systems Engineering, and the co-director of the Illinois Foundry for Innovation in Engineering Education (iFoundry).
According to Goldberg, the book deals with such questions as: What is engineering? In what respect does engineering differ from science? What ethical problems does engineering raise? By what ethical principles are engineers guided? How do engineers themselves conceive of their profession? What do they see as the main philosophical challenges confronting them in the 21st century?
The authors respond to these and other questions from philosophical and engineering view points and so illustrate how together they can meet the challenges and realize the opportunities present in the necessary encounters between philosophy and engineering—encounters that are ever more important in an increasingly engineered world and its problematic futures.
“Educating the engineer of the future will require us to connect philosophy and engineering, by connecting math and science rigor to philosophical rigor,” Goldberg added. “At Illinois, iFoundry is transforming engineering education for the 21st century. iFoundry hopes to legitimize the rigorous teaching and scholarly study of ‘soft’ and ‘creative’ skills in ways that preserve and enhance Illinois Engineering's historical reputation for excellence and leadership.”
The book is a collection of the best papers presented at the first Workshop on Philosophy and Engineering (WPE-2007) held at TUDelft in 2007. The third event in this series, the Forum on Philosophy, Engineering & Technology (fPET-2010) will be held at the Colorado School of Mines in Golden, Colorado as an intensive one-day event, May 9-10, 2010. The call for papers is due December 28, 2009.
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Contact: David E. Goldberg, Department of Industrial and Enterprise Systems Engineering & iFoundry, 217/ 333-0897.
If you have any questions about the College of Engineering, or other story ideas, contact Rick Kubetz, Engineering Communications Office, 217/244-7716, writer/editor.