It is time for a little R&R. I will be on vacation in Alaska for a few weeks. I have prepared a series of blogs on ethics that will post while I am out. As I continue to speak around the country, I see this subject as a void in the Engineer's knowledge took kit. Given the importance, I have decided to devote three blogs to this issue.

As I travel across the country, I am amazed at how little is known about the "Order of the Engineer" and its importance to the profession. In the early 1900s, after the collapse of the Quebec Bridge in Canada during construction that killed 75 workmen and yet another collapse before completion taking more lives, the public began to lose confidence in the engineering profession. The failures were the result of deadly mistakes in the calculations. Canadian engineers determined it was time to do something that would not only raise the image with the public, but would also serve as a daily reminder to engineers while they performed their work. Thus, the "Calling of the Engineer" was established. A steel ring with facets (legend has it the first rings were made from the steel of the collapsed bridge, although this has been disputed) is worn on the little finger of the working hand. The ring is placed on the finger during a solemn ceremony in which the engineer takes an oath of responsibility to the public. The ring signifies a public display of one's commitment to the profession by identifying that the wearer is an engineer. It also serves as reminder to the engineer of the responsibility to the public to protect the health, safety and welfare. Since that time, the Canadians have instituted the ring ceremony at their universities, incorporating the ceremony into their ethics training. Most Canadian engineers I meet are proudly wearing their faceted steel ring.

It was a couple of U.S. engineers working in Canada in the 1960s that recognized the value of such a ceremony in the United States. Finally, in the early 1970s, the "Order of the Engineer" was established. I went through the ceremony in 1978 when I was graduating from Purdue and have worn my ring proudly since that day. The rings in the U.S are smooth steel rings but are also worn on the little finger of the working hand. I raised my hand that day and repeated an oath that I was committed to protect the public health, safety and welfare. The oath repeats itself in my head daily. I thought all engineering students went through the ceremony. Sadly, I have discovered over the years that few schools actually include the ceremony in their programs. When I was president of ASCE, with the assistance of the executive director, I made the Order of the Engineer a key aspect of my talks on ethics. As president, I inducted over 1200 practicing engineers who now also proudly wear their rings. ASCE became a link so as to allow the local chapters to conduct the ceremony at its meetings. I became a member of the Board of Directors of the Order of the Engineer and still actively participate today.

If our universities instituted the ceremony as part of their senior graduation program--or during the last semester of the senior year--would we not raise awareness of the critical importance of ethics and the responsibility of the engineer to the public welfare? I think it would. We need to increase public awareness of the importance of engineering and also assure that engineers "think" before they complete their work. Relying on a computer program is not enough. It is time to "beef up" ethics awareness. It's time follow our northern neighbors and be proud to wear a symbol of our commitment to our profession and to the public.

May 24, 2007

I often recall part of the "Calling of the Engineer": "...The ring symbolizes the pride which engineers have in their profession, while simultaneously reminding them of their humility...".

From India, Mexico and Egypt, to Portugal, Italy, Peru and other countries: the ring *is* recognized!

Wear your ring proudly, engineers! I do.

Cathy Bazan-Arias, Ph.D., P.E.

May 21, 2007

I proudly wear my stainless steel ring wherever I go. Last week in Moscow an engineer from Canada spotted me and we started talking. It is definitely an important part of an engineers personality. The ceremony was written by Rudyard Kipling and makes you think and be proud of who you are.

Go for it USA.

Harold Danilkewich