MAE 4300 - Engineers and Society

Fall. 2 credits. Letter grades only.

Prerequisite or corequisite: M.E. Senior Design. Enrollment limited to: seniors in MAE. Petitions to enroll in this class without having met the prereqs are rarely allowed. Petitions must be made through the MAE departmental Petition link on the MAE website. The course instructor does not make decisions on enrollment for this class. Required for M.E. seniors.

J. Yeo.

This course aims to give students a broad grasp of the roles and responsibilities of engineers in contributing to societal well-being by integrating perspectives from sociocultural and humanistic studies with science and technology. The course will explore how the process of applying engineering principles can impact society, including environmental sustainability, diversity and equity, and ethics. Students will be familiarized with concepts related to engineering standards and regulations, sustainable development goals, sustainability reporting, community engagement, and the ethics and the governance of artificial intelligence. These concepts will then be used to explore the larger context of how social factors interact with engineering science and technology.

Outcome 1: Students will identify how engineering principles and practices are interwoven with societal impact.

Outcome 2: Students will identify ways to foster scientific innovation that enhance positive social outcomes.

Outcome 3: Students will demonstrate competency in the fundamentals of community-engaged engineering and ethical reasoning.