The Obligation:

Kip A. Wedel

Description

In 2022 -- two years later than planned, thanks to a global pandemic -- the Order of the Engineer celebrated its 50th anniversary. This expanded edition of a history originally published in 2011 describes the Order's rise from a small group of ethically minded engineers in Cleveland, Ohio, to an organization with hundreds of thousands of members on its rolls.
Engineering is more than a number-crunching business. It is a matter of life and death. In 1907, when engineering errors led to a Canadian bridge collapse that killed seventy-five men, the profession's moral obligations were stark and obvious. Engineers increasingly realized that technical expertise was not enough, and in 1925, a group of Canadian engineers formally and publicly promised to uphold the highest ethical standards. To remind themselves of their pledge, they fashioned iron rings to be worn on the outer finger.
Unfortunately, for decades engineers in the United States had no similar institution. Then, on a summer day in 1970, 170 engineers, students, and teachers met on the campus of Cleveland State University for the first ceremony of what would become the Order of the Engineer. Today, the stainless steel rings worn by the Order's members are recognized throughout the world as the outward sign of an inward commitment to ethical engineering. This 50th Anniversary edition tells the story of the Order's origins and growth over half a century.
Kip A. Wedel teaches American history at Bethel College in
North Newton, Kansas.

Sujets

• Techniques
• Ingénieurie et sciences appliquées
• Ingénieurie et sciences appliquées
• Sciences appliquées
• Ingénierie
• Sciences appliquées
• Sciences appliquées
• Ingénierie
• Engineering
• Technology
• Tribology
• Sciences et techniques

Informations

• Publié par: AuthorHouse
• Date de parution: 01 mai 2023
• Nombre de lectures: 1
• EAN13: 9798823003834
• Langue: English

Extrait

The Obligation

A History of the Order of the Engineer, 50th Anniversary Edition




Kip A. Wedel







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© 2023 The Order of the Engineer, Inc. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse 05/01/2023

ISBN: 979-8-8230-0381-0 (sc)
ISBN: 979-8-8230-0382-7 (hc)
ISBN: 979-8-8230-0383-4 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2023905000




Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.
Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Photos by: BThomasHart Photography



Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.



Contents
Dedication
Preface
Introduction
Chapter 1: Origins
The Canadian Prologue
The Founding Of The Order Of The Engineer
Chapter 2: Growth
Governance
Growing Pains
Chapter 3: Revitalization
New Administration
A Stronger Organization
Publicity
Chapter 4: The OOE At 50
Refinement
Celebrating The 50th Anniversary
Reflections

Appendix A: The Obligation
Appendix B: Code Of Regulations
Appendix C: Links
Appendix D: Governors
Appendix E: Governors Emeritus
Appendix F: Officers
Appendix G: The Sons Of Martha
Appendix H: Obligation Certificates
Appendix I: Historical Documents
Appendix J: Photos From 50th Anniversary Event

About The Author



Dedication
This book is dedicated to all of the engineers who have taken and those who in the future will take the Obligation of The Order of the Engineer and applied it in their personal and professional lives.



Preface
After completing my term as Chair of the Board of Governors of the Order of the Engineer, Mel Anderson, the incoming chair of the Board, asked if I would undertake the task of making sure that the History of the Order of the Engineer was published. He was aware that during my term I had suggested that a graduate student in history be located by the History Committee, chaired by Susanne Leckband, for the purpose of writing the history of the Order. None had been located so when the incoming Chair asked that I undertake to move the project forward I willingly accepted.
The first task was to prepare a project definition and the Committee, consisting of Susanne Leckband, Don Rathbone, Paul Hale and Derald Morgan, set about defining the requirements and scope of the history project. Members of the board were asked to look in their universities for an able graduate student in History that would undertake the project. About the time the project scope was completed Don Rathbone located a person in the History Department at Kansas State University who was completing his PhD and was well recommended by his professors.
This History Instructor looked at the project scope and the budget and agreed to undertake the task. His name is Kip A. Wedel, the author of the first and now the second editions of this history book. He has been a great asset to the projects, and it is the opinion of the committee that he was an outstanding choice. I have worked closely with Kip Wedel throughout the project.
Many people have contributed to the success of the effort. First Susanne Leckband who gathered the first ideas through her conversations with early board members, then Paula Ostaff who never failed to find a document somewhere in a file, Richard Seely who provided a file of historical items and notes, Dan Rathbone who found an author, Paul Hale who always offered good suggestions, Bill Rauch whose recollections during the time of transition were invaluable, Monte Phillips whose review of the material was most helpful and last but not least Joanne Hundt Administrative Coordinator who at the request of Dean Ghorashi went through files and found materials at Fenn College of Engineering Cleveland State University that covered the founding era from 1970 and 1971 as well as a listing of all inductees at CSU from the beginning and numerous Ceremony Programs. Kip Wedel has documented the names of the other contributors who took time to visit with him by phone and share with him their recollections.
Then it became time to celebrate the 50 th anniversary of The Order of the Engineer and Roch Larochelle as the Chair asked the History Committee to consider the updating of the History. As the Chair I agreed to undertake this task and the Committee agreed to ask Kip Wedel if he would undertake this task. He agreed to it, and we set our goal to have an updated History at the conclusion of the celebration in Cleveland. Covid Pandemic delayed the project, but everyone was positive about the project and stayed the course. The History has been updated and enhanced with information about the 50 th celebration included. Thanks to all who assisted with the project and the successful completion of the 50 th activities that are chronicled in this book.
The Order of the Engineer Obligation is a reminder of our Calling and our pact with our Profession as Engineers. As this history was being written Kip Wedel on his own came to know, through his reading and interviews, of an individual who is known in his time to have kept his obligation to the profession, his name is Roger Boisjoly. Kip Wedel attempted to interview Roger Boisjoly to get some perspective to his writing of the history of the Order of the Engineer and the true meaning of the Obligation. Unfortunately, Mr. Boisjoly was in his final stage of life and was suffering from incurable cancer. While the book was under preparation Mr. Boisjoly died. It is appropriate to tell his story here as a guidepost for all engineers who take the Obligation and adhere to its premise.
Roger Boisjoly, the engineer who warned of a possible O-ring failur e that could lead to the destruction of the space shuttle Challenger , died on January 6 in Utah, according to the New York Times .
Nearly a decade after the disaster, Boisjoly shared his story with NSPE. Below is the complete article from the August 1995 issue of Engineering Times .
PE Perseveres, 10 Years After Challenger Explosion
By Molly Galvin
Associate Editor
As filmgoers pack Apollo 13 and marvel at the story about a disaster that almost was, Roger Boisjoly tells the story of the disaster that NASA failed to avoid. For 10 years, the professional engineer has been living with the aftermath of the Challenger space shuttle explosion and the events that ended his aerospace career. He has managed not only to find the lessons in that loss but also to carve new opportunities from it.
As a lead engineer for Morton Thiokol, a NASA contractor that helped develop the Challenger’s solid rocket booster, Boisjoly in effect predicted the disaster before it occurred. He correctly noted that the critical O-ring seals in the booster could fail in the low temperatures expected on Challenger’s launch day. But company management repeatedly ignored Boisjoly’s and other engineers’ warnings.
His story of managers putting profit over safety and, ultimately, human life, is as chilling today as it was 10 years ago. The day before the launch, a teleconference was held with NASA officials and Morton Thiokol management. After NASA officials expressed disappointment with Thiokol engineers’ recommendation to cancel the launch, the company’s senior managers overruled that decision. “Take off your engineer’s hat and put on your manager’s hat,” a Thiokol senior manager told the vice president of engineering.
The next day, the world watched the disastrous consequences. “I had made up my mind not to watch the launch,” says Boisjoly, but ended up watching at a colleague’s urging. At first, it looked like the launch might make it. “I whispered to him that we had just dodged a bullet,” he says. “Sixty seconds into the flight [my colleague] whispered back that he had completed a prayer of thanks. Thirteen seconds later, we all saw the horror of destruction as the vehicle exploded.”
Boisjoly’s life would never be the same. A few days later, he was assigned to a failure investigation team with several other engineers. “What I saw there made me sick all over again, because NASA was definitely engaged in a massive cover-up attempt.” Officials were trying to hide the fact that the 31-degree F temperature at launch had any effect on the explosion, he says. And he learned some other disturbing news. “ NASA’s initial quick [statement] that [the astronauts] died instantly was simply not true,” Boisjoly says. “The astronauts...were alive when they hit the water in excess of 200 miles an hour.”
For Boisjoly, the nightmare only grew worse as a presidential commission investigated the circumstances surrounding the explosion. “I submitted quite a few documents that clearly showed this was a preventable event. It was a disaster waiting to happen, caused by people who simply wouldn’t listen.” The investigation went from strictly an examination of technical aspects to a grilling of managerial decisions. “[Thiokol managers] were extremely angry when I turned in my documentation and that anger increased as I continued to testify,” says Boisjoly. During testimony at a committee hearing, he pub