Moral Courage

By: William D. Lawson, P.E., Ph.D., BC.GE., F.NSPE

Technical competence is necessary for engineering practice. This statement is not controversial, and competence is strongly recognized as a fundamental aspect of professional work. But what is not so widely appreciated is that competence is also, and perhaps equally, an ethical obligation of the professional engineer. In fact the second fundamental canon of the NSPE Code of Ethics for Engineers states “Engineers, in the fulfillment of their professional duties, shall perform services only in areas of their competence.” This presentation will discuss why and how competence goes beyond technical expertise, and will explore the ethics of professional competence through case study opinions of the NSPE Board of Ethical Review.

Speaker Bio:

William D. Lawson, P.E., Ph.D. is a licensed professional engineer with over 40 years’ experience in engineering practice, education and research. Now serving as Principal Engineer of Ground Truth Engineering and recently retired from the faculty of Texas Tech University, Dr. Lawson’s creative activities encompass engineering consulting, technical research on geotechnical applications in transportation, and interdisciplinary study of professionalism, ethics, and trust/ trustworthiness in professional-client relationships. His career has been characterized by excellence and innovation in teaching, award-winning scholarship and sponsored research, and professional service at the national, regional and local levels.