Ethics in Engineering: Stories About Epic Engineering Fails

On this four-week course, you’ll examine different historical case studies and understand how they led to classic engineering failures.

Though each case is unique and has a distinct context, they all share common themes; a backstory, a disastrous event, a post-event with ramifications, and outcomes.

For each case, you’ll watch and hear video lectures and explore foundational literature. You’ll also have the opportunity to discuss the case in detail and check your knowledge through quizzes and reflections on your understanding of the case. This format will help you develop a working knowledge of ethical foundations.

You’ll examine four case studies; the VW emissions scandal, the failure of the Denver airport baggage system, the fatal case of the Therac 25 radiation machine, and the software failure of the Ariane 5 rocket launch.

With each case, you’ll identify key aspects that led to the engineering failures and discuss the outcomes of the failures.

You’ll also explore the significance of each case and how they led to corrective actions.

The course will help you reflect on engineering as a design discipline and its impact on humans.

You’ll be guided by Dr David Chesney, an expert in both industry and academics with 20 years of experience at General Motors Corporation and 20 years working at the University of Michigan. Dr. Chesney’s background is in Mechanical Engineering, Biomedical Engineering, and Computer Science and he is the Toby Teorey Collegiate Lecturer in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at the University of Michigan College of Engineering.