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TECHNICAL PAPER PRESENTATION COMPETITION TOPIC: "Sustainability and Civil Engineering"

LOCATION: Wiegand Amphitheater in Simperman Hall (location 10 on campus map)

The following can be used to stimulate, but should in no way limit, the discussion:
Canon 1 of the ASCE Code of Ethics states: "Engineers shall hold paramount the safety, health and welfare of the public and shall strive to comply with the principles of sustainable development in the performance of their professional duties." The code goes on in subparagraph f of Canon 1: "Engineers should be committed to improving the environment by adherence to the principles of sustainable development so as to enhance the quality of life of the general public." The Code of Ethics presents the following definition: "Sustainable Development is the challenge of meeting human needs for natural resources, industrial products, energy, food, transportation, shelter, and effective waste management while conserving and protecting environmental quality and the natural resource base essential for future development." There are other published definitions of terms related to sustainability, and authors should be clear as to what definition they are basing their discussion on. This definition and its inclusion in the ASCE Code of Ethics date from 1996.

Some questions or issues to consider are:

  1. Is the education you are being provided sufficient for you to work as a civil engineer - are you being taught the "principles of sustainable development" as part of your academic major? If not, is this ethical?
  2. What other skills, knowledge base, and/or appreciation for other disciplines does a civil engineer need to fully understand sustainability? Can you practice ethically without these skills?
  3. Under what circumstances, if any, is practice in violation of the principles of sustainable development ethical?
  4. When, if ever, is practice in accordance with the principles of sustainability unethical?
  5. Are the development projects, in the US and/or beyond our borders, being undertaken by US governmental agencies conducted in an ethical fashion given the principles of sustainability?
  6. Is the American life style ethical given the principles of sustainability? As a civil engineer should you strive to lead a more sustainable life style given the published code of conduct of your profession? At what point could the American life style become ethical and sustainable? Is this attainable?

RULES:

  1. Papers are not to exceed 2,000 words in length, must be written by only one person, and should not have appeared in any publications other than in school or ASCE Student Organization publications. Reference citations of the papers should conform to the official ASCE Authors' Guide to Journals and Practice Periodicals, which can be found on the ASCE Publications website http://www.pubs.asce.org/authors/index.html. A complete bibliography should also be included, if appropriate.
  2. Authors must be undergraduate students and both ASCE Student Organization members and ASCE national student members in good standing at the time of submission to be considered.
  3. One electronic copy of the paper should be submitted to Anders Larsson at a.edu with the subject heading "2009 Pacific Northwest Regional Conference Technical Paper". Electronic copies must be received by 11:59 pm on March 18, 2009.
  4. Each author will be expected to make a 5-minute* oral presentation on the paper. Up to five minutes of questioning by judges will be allotted following each presentation. (*Allowance of + or - 5 seconds without penalty.)
  5. The paper portion of the competition constitutes 50% of the final score, while the oral presentation accounts for the remaining 50% of the score. A detailed breakdown of the scoring procedure is outlined on the scoring summary sheet.

SELECTION:
Winners will be selected by a panel of at least three (3) judges to be identified by the host school. Prizes for winners are as follows:

  • First Prize: $100.00
  • Second Prize: $60.00
  • Third Prize: $40.00

Note: Submission for the ASCE Student Conference Paper Competition does not constitute an entry for the National Daniel W. Mead Student Contest. While the paper topic is the same - and the same paper may be submitted for both contests - they are two separate events and require two separate submissions. For a complete set of rules for the 2009 National Daniel W. Mead Student Contest, please visit http://www.asce.org/students.