Becoming a Professional Engineer
We’ve discussed the importance of building codes and professional licensing in promoting the health, safety, and welfare of the public in previous blogs. But what does it take to become […]
Engineering education
Expecting the results to be different
We (erroneously) credit Albert Einstein with the definition of insanity as continuing to do the same thing while expecting the results to be different. But it’s such a common behavior […]
Writing short reports for clients
You’ve just completed the project, and now you need to sit down and write the report. Staring at the blank computer screen, you wonder why it’s so hard to write […]
Accessory dwelling units combat homelessness
Accessory dwelling units provide an independent living space outside the primary residence on a property. It might be a smaller house in your back yard that you rent to short- […]
Why do scientists keep changing their minds?
One reason vaccine holdouts give for not trusting authorities such as the Centers for Disease Control is that these scientists are constantly changing their minds. At first they recommended that […]
Objectivity in technical writing
Part of professional engineering practice is objective communication. In fact, it’s so important that the Engineers’ Code of Ethics calls it out specifically. How do we achieve objectivity in technical […]
The Responsible Minerals Initiative promotes ethical sourcing
For their senior design projects, engineering students at the University of St. Thomas analyze the ethical factors in accordance with the ABET criteria for student outcomes. These include “an ability to […]
Lies, damned lies and statistics
Statistics were part of our everyday lives long before anyone had heard of COVID-19. Pick up a newspaper any day of the week and see how many stories you find […]
Who is an author?
In technical writing the question of who is an author is more important than you might realize. Although the obvious answer is that it’s the person who wrote the report, […]
What is a pooled sample?
The engineers’ code of ethics requires us to “hold paramount the safety, health, and welfare of the public“. Here’s one way public health officials use statistics to do just that. […]