Author: Dylan Anthony Hazelwood

By Jenny Y.

At the beginning of the semester, I did not understand the concept of “Engineering of Social Change.” Considering the class is centered around donating $10,000 to a nonprofit organization, I also did not see the point of allocating class time for lectures on irrelevant issues. However, I was immediately proven wrong. Through Dr. Grimm and Dr. Littlefield’s lectures, I learned the importance of making the right choice. Although the $10,000 is the Neilom Foundation’s money, I began to think of it as my own money, and tried my best to relay my point of view of who the money should be given to. Within mechanical engineering, there are not a lot of courses that involve discussion. It is fascinating to hear my classmates tie in their technical knowledge into something more humanities based. It was definitely an unconventional experience, but I gained a lot of knowledge from my peers as well as the lecturers.

Often times, the importance of engineers in society is stressed. However, the unintended consequences of engineering products and services are not discussed. Something as simple as the invention of a car resulted in a plethora of unintended consequences such as greenhouse gases, oil spills, etc. These unintended consequences continue to persist throughout society today. Even small feats such as implementing a well in a developing country has unintended consequences. Ideally, these consequences should be mitigated, however, it is impossible to foresee every unintended consequence. Therefore, a successful engineer must thoroughly research the effect of their engineered products, and consider the possibility that engineering a product may not be the best solution.

Dr. Anand mentioned that the people who need this class the most do not register for it. Honestly, I did not expect to learn as much as I did. It is truly remarkable how much the engineering education at the University of Maryland focuses mainly on technical content. In actuality, I feel like I have learned more through this class than in all of my three years in the engineering program. In this class, I am taught to ask the “why” instead of just taking fact as fact. Something I found particular interesting was when the class talked about how we perform experiments already knowing the end result. On the contrary, a successful engineer questions every fact, and double checks the data to ensure the result is proven and can be replicated. While a small example, I believe this is how the innovation and ingenuity engineers strive for occur.

Overall, this class has been very enlightening. From discussing issues such as the Flint Michigan Crisis, and the impact of 3D Printing, it is evident that I have a responsibility as an engineer to not only uphold all of my responsibilities ethically, but also to strive and create social change.

By Cody W.

This class focuses a lot on “unintended consequences”, it’s a main theme that we’ve linked to almost every topic. But why do unintended consequences matter? After all, if they’re by definition unintended, then there shouldn’t really be anything we can do about them, so why would they be a point of focus. Actually, while we indeed by nature of unintended consequences we can’t really do anything about them until it is too late, it’s more about learning from previous experiences in order to make better decisions in the future or enacting the correct social change  that mitigates these consequences.

The more you help people, the more you learn about what people really need. It’s not as easy as handing a homeless person money on the street and moving on, that isn’t affecting social change. But to sit down and talk to that homeless person perhaps, ask them their name, offer to buy them a sandwich; that can potentially make a real impact. Now, on the other hand maybe money is actually what they needed that day, not a sandwich. But the idea is that you won’t ever know exactly how to enact the appropriate social change without engaging those who need help and asking them what it is they need, as well as of course using your own judgment to interpret those needs into effective ways of helping. Sometimes the most glorious or costly ways of helping a person aren’t what they really need, and maybe the really impactful things don’t cost anything at all.

Let’s look back at the example of the homeless person, in their world they probably get passed by plenty of people who won’t even look at them much less say anything to them or offer any sort of help. Now maybe you could hand them 100$ and that could make a big impact on their life. Or maybe that buys them enough food for a month and then their life is back to normal. But let’s assume instead that you sit down and talk to them, you find out that they are pursuing an IT certificate, you learn their name, and you offer them a few extra dollars you have in your wallet out of good faith. Then you see them later at the McDonalds, you realize they already have a meal so buying them a meal wouldn’t really do them any good, but instead you offer to sit with them and eat together. This may not be the financial aid they need to get back on their feet, but it could be the emotional compassion that they need to keep trying, the encouragement they need to apply for a job or finish their certificate. This example is one that I have actually encountered and these were all things I did. Sometimes I think about if I really help him by only giving him a few dollars in change every time I pass him and giving him a little conversation. But he seems very grateful in his responses, and it encourages me to continue to interact with people in need in a similar way. I like to think that at some point we would get on a level of interaction that he wouldn’t feel nervous to ask me for any sort of help that he may really need. In the end I live off of student loans, I’m effectively in debt so money isn’t really something I can readily offer him, but instead I’m giving what I can.

The man in my story is named Byron, and as it started to get colder this fall I considered offering to buy him a jacket. I remember finding a 270$ jacket last year on sale for 50$, and it is a big jacket, like all you’d need for the winter. I thought that if I got him this jacket he’d be warm, he could sleep in it (I mean it was big enough to practically be a sleeping bag), and it would only be one thing that he’d have to carry around instead of several layers of sweatshirts. But as I thought more about it, I realized that maybe it would be too much for him, maybe he didn’t actually get that cold, or maybe it would’ve been too heavy for him to carry around in the summer months, or maybe people wouldn’t offer him the same amount of help if they saw him in such a nice jacket. Unfortunately I haven’t ran into him since I started thinking about this, but I think that the next time I run into him I’ll ask him if there is anything he needs besides money, and offer to help him in any way I could.

The point of this story that I’ve been rattling on about is that it was a small act of kindness, but it has broken my preconditioned notions of homeless people and people who ask for money, and I think that in a few small ways I contributed to making his life a little bit better. One thing I learned throughout this class is that you could spend 5,000$ to build a well for a village in Africa, but if that well breaks and they don’t know how to fix it then it was all for naught. So in many cases support is much more important than money. In some cases that support comes in the form of money, but for many people in need they aren’t looking for some sort of gift, but rather help. So to make real social change it is about being present in the aid you’re giving, help people to better their own situation. Don’t attempt to force your own opinions of what they need upon them, instead listen to them.

Ultimately, I’ve left this class with the opinion that if everyone adopts the same view of people in need that I have through my experiences in this class and will Byron, that we will create all the social change we need to make the world a better place. I don’t mean that I am perfect in any way or some sort of savior, but rather that if everyone does something, even very small acts of help, that they can amount to much larger social change than can large donations made by a wealthy person.

By Michael W.

Engineering for Social Change helped qualm the doubts that had developed about choosing mechanical engineering as my major. A large part of my college experience has been bouncing back and forth between completing engineering assignments and rushing around to plan and execute fundraising events for UMD’s chapter of Students Helping Honduras. Travelling to Honduras for a volunteer trip opened my eyes to a number of things about the basic necessities of life and the things that bring fulfillment. On one side was a dread to complete the next engineering assignment, and on the other side was a vigor and passion to take action towards helping the people of Honduras. On one side was bland engineering assignments, and on the other side was a meaningful cause that I enjoyed pursuing. Throughout my years being an undergraduate, it’s been hard to draw meaning from my engineering curriculum. In most of my classes, professors rarely talked about meaningful applications for the concepts we were learning. Whenever professors did talk about curriculum relating to our futures as engineers,
they talked about us learning the skills to succeed as employees for an engineering firm and make a lot of money. Growing up, I’ve always wanted to pursue something that would help others. Even when thinking about what engineers do in the U.S., my mind was always drawn to helping those at the bottom. I’ve always ask the question: Who needs help the most? When thinking about this, my mind goes back to those who struggle to gain the basic necessities of life such as: food, clean water, light, shelter, safety. Engineering for Social Change restored my hope in the idea of mechanical engineering lining up with the things I’m passionate about seeking to change in the world. The very first lecture by Dr. Robert Grimm was exciting and engaging, as it talked about the complexity involved in ‘doing good’. Further lectures provide useful information that generated a lot of thought and discussion in the classroom. The open discussion within the classroom was another aspect of the class that made it interesting, engaging, and unconventional. No other engineering class that I’ve been in has involved a round circle where students were free and encouraged to ask questions and give input in regards to the discussion. Being able to add to the discussion made it feel like I was learning a lot more and gaining more from the class. I additionally enjoyed the diversity of topics introduced in the class. One class that is an example of this is the “Flint Michigan Water Crisis” lecture given by Siddhartha Roy. His lecture revealed several issues with ethics that can come
about and potentially go unnoticed. The Flint, Michigan case demonstrates that alternate agendas can influence actions of individuals within organizations that potentially put other people’s health or wellbeing at risk. Mark Ruffalo’s water non profit partnering with the opportunistic sponge salesman who was spreading false information in an effort towards a business venture is an example showing that there takes a lot more to doing good than just having the intention to do good. Initially, Mark Ruffalo believed that what Scott Smith was doing was legitimate. In regards to the grant process, maybe for the future that a greater amount of time spent in open discussion about the grant decision could potentially shed more light on the varying factors of each option. I believe the the open discussion about the grant proposals was a powerful means of stimulating and generating new thought about each proposal that could potentially be expanded on with further days of reflection. Perhaps two days of discussion and a week in between could stimulate a deeper discussion of the details of each proposal. Overall, the class was one of my favorite classes at UMD. In may regards, the class was an incredible learning experience.

By Haroula T.

“Ignorance is bliss” is a term commonly used in daily life to explain why people are apathetic to certain situations. The phrase comes to mind when thinking about what I have learned this semester in ENME467. As engineers, we spend most of our time learning about the importance of innovation and invention, but rarely do we learn about the repercussions, the unintended consequences, of these innovations and inventions. We are so focused on learning the numbers, the code, and the calculations that we tend to forget what is at the heart of these inventions, people. The reason that I originally chose engineering was so that I could work on making the world a better and safer place for all people, but in most of my classes the word people is rarely mentioned. I have now learned how imperative it is to bring engineering back to being a human-centered field that focuses on predicting and mitigating the unintended consequences of engineering at the source of the invention. Engineers can no longer (nor could they ever, really) afford to be ignorant to the unintended results of their feats, but rather need to learn how to be better equipped to handle them moving forward.

Throughout the semester, we had a variety of speakers from different fields come and talk to us about several topics. The talks that stood out to me the most were “Future of Engineering” by Professor Jungho Kim, and “Engineering and Culture” by Professor Michael Pecht. In Dr. Kim’s lecture, we discussed the rates of how the world is changing. I appreciated his lecture because he gave us a perspective on why we need to be looking for more sustainable, long-term solutions, a perspective not always mentioned in other traditional engineering courses. He also discussed the impact of emerging technologies on the global human. It was a bit frightening to talk about the idea that humans may invent themselves into irrelevance, but also an important idea that becomes more possible the quicker modern technologies are innovated. On a different note, Dr. Pecht discussed the importance of understanding cultural differences in the face of innovation. This was my favorite lecture, as I have a minor in international engineering and enjoy exploring these ideas. As engineers, it is easy to get fooled thinking that a product that does well in the United States will automatically do well in an unfamiliar cultural environment, but this is often not the case. Additionally, without understanding the differences between cultures, business negotiations may be confusing or unsuccessful a best. With the rate of global connectedness increasing, especially in the technology field, I truly believe that all engineering majors would benefit from having to take a class on global and cross-cultural communication.

Before ENME467, I also had little knowledge of nonprofits, philanthropy in engineering, and the process at which a grant is awarded. I now see the importance of the work that technical non-profits are doing for society and for the environment. It was interesting to be on the decision-side of a grant that has the power to help an organization make a difference. It was difficult to narrow down the organizations and make a decision, but in the end it was a unique experience that as students we had the opportunity to discuss our ideas, debate projects, and ultimately be the deciding factor in where $10,000 went.

Ignorance may be bliss, but with courses like ENME467, budding engineers now have the knowledge arming them to better avoid and mitigate the unintended consequences of engineering.

By Joy S.

Consequentialism within ethics is the idea of cause and responsibility of effect.  The doctrine of negative responsibility goes one further, and claims responsibility over inaction.  Bernard Williams, moral philosopher, postulated that everyone has the same amount of responsibility to indirect effects as direct effects. This is due to both purposeful action to cause harm, and inaction to prevent it.  The engineering for social change class has taught me this concept, where no other course has even bothered.  I used to live in a box where the causes and effects were confined within, when in reality, those consequences escaped and propagated into the world.  I might have had a notion that consequences were not so simple, but I definitely had never given it a second thought.  This is my fourth year of taking classes and I have yet to take a class quite like this.  The lectures were truly interesting and unique.  Most of them stood out significantly to me.  The class not only got me interested in unintended consequences, but waste in general.  It has gotten me to do extensive research specifically in water pollution, and other various types of pollutions.  The facts are not pleasant or pretty, but eye opening.  Some facts were down right depressing, but the class gave me motivation to tackle them. The class, and mantra of engineering for social change was something I could hold on to.

The lecture that got me the most interested was Mark Freedman’s about energy from waste plants.  It was really the first lecture that got me feeling passionate and pressure about saving this kind of technology that took care of the unintended consequences of landfills, and provided a sustainable energy sources.  Landfills were meant to contain garbage and solid waste, but it also destroys the surrounding environment, and is a contributing source of other types of pollution.  When Mr. Freedman lectured about the benefits of its incredible energy output, and green, and relatively harmless waste products, I was really excited about the possibilities.  It was only until he informed the class that they were being shut down due to constituents not wanting an eyesore within their vicinity, I was livid.  Here, a viable and clean solution to an unintended consequence, being shut down for superfluous reasons.  The benefits very much outweigh the costs of dealing with the sight of an energy from waste plant.  If it means saving our environment in exchange for cosmetics, we should prioritize that any day.  This lecture specifically had me feeling the injustices that viable solutions to unintended consequences failed.  It made me even more determined that technological solutions should be prioritized.

Going through the process of contacting a Non-Profit and creating a real life project was really interesting.  Although it was frustrating at times with a time constraint, the challenge was enjoyable.  Our group had a lucky interaction with our first chosen non-profit, and quickly came up with a technological solution that we could call our own.  The process of coming up with new ideas was really fun, although when it came to budgeting, it became less enjoyable.  The engineer in me preferred to stay away from the business side, but it is a real aspect that engineers need to take into consideration when creating a project.  It was a hands on experience, which is kind of scarce to come by these days within the curriculum in higher education.  The engineering for social change had a lot of new components that I know I would not have received before the end of my college career.  For that, I am grateful to have been a part of something bigger than learning some derivations.

By Abhishek P.

Like many other engineering students, I had no expectations from this class. Honestly l just thought this is going to be one more engineering class where I’ll learn something to never use again in real life. As the semester progressed, I noticed a shift in my perspective regarding the application of the things i’ve learned in engineering school. All in a sudden this class opened vast possibilities where the trivial knowledge that I think I possessed is applicable to vast populations of this planet who lack basic necessities and struggle everyday for survival.

In 2017, you’d expect with the advancement of the technology, world’s problems such as electricity, food and water for everyone on the planet would be solved but it is not the case. As the divide between the rich and the poor in the society widens, all the advancements in technology has systematically favored the rich and powerful, which can be seen as unintended consequences of capitalism. Talking about what is wrong with the society is often easy as
compared to coming up with solutions. This is where Engineering for Social change really plays an important part. This class has taught me that it is possible for a motivated person to bridge this gap between poor and rich using the technology taken for granted in first world and cheap and easy application of that same technology in third world.

Apart from altering my perspective of the knowledge I possess, this class also helped me develop soft skills that’ll be necessary for a future engineer to bridge the above mentioned gap between the rich and poor. From nonprofit engagement to an engaged class room lectures, this class has went beyond my wildest expectations to help students to develop their skills to better communicate amongst their peers and outside world. Although this class was
not focused on soft skills development, just the fact that they designed the course in such a way that active social engagement from every student would be a requirement was the most appealing part of this course to me.

By Umar O.

My time in the Engineering for Social Change course this semester has been an exhilarating and exciting experience. Before this course I never considered engineering or my engineering degree for anything except getting a job and making money after graduation. This class has opened my eyes and my mind to the endless ways I can impact society and bring about positive change to make the world a better place. This course was a breath of fresh air from the usual college class with midterm, finals, and information that needs to be crammed rather than learned.

As an Electrical engineer, majority of the classes I take are calculation heavy with the exception of a few labs, so I appreciated the different approach used in this course. We had a different lecturer every week. These lecturers ranged from professors, to engineers, to anyone with some interesting insight to the work we would be doing in the class. They all presented about different topics and highlighted the significance and impact to the world. This way everyone could clearly see the impact we as engineers can have on society. One of my favorite lectures all semester was the “Engineering and Culture” lecture where Professor Michael Pecht highlighted how engineering and culture differ in various parts of the world. This was my first experience learning from someone who was so well travelled and had experience working with people in different countries all over the world. This inspired me and got me interested in ways I can use my engineering degree to become a global engineer and follow the same path.

The overarching theme of this course for the semester was “Waste”. We were divided into seven groups and asked to tackle specific aspects of waste like food waste, electric waste, water pollution, and a few others. Each group had to research and find a local nonprofit organization and figure out a way to help them impact more people with their work by granting them a donation from the Neilom Foundation. This was an amazing experience for me because the closest I have ever worked with a nonprofit is by donating money. This time I got hands on experience in the planning and structure of the organization. My team and I helped come up with a plan to increase their impact and we made it to the final round of the selection process before finally losing the classroom vote.

In conclusion, I believe the experience I have gained from this course will help me in all my endeavors as an engineer. It has also showed me various ways I can apply my engineering degree to have a positive impact on society.  This course was formerly only available to Mechanical engineers but recently became open to anyone will to take it. As an Electrical engineer, I am glad this happened, and I firmly believe every engineer should have an opportunity to take a course like this.

By Justin M.

This semester has challenged me in many ways, but I am glad I signed up to take this class as it reminded me of how engineering is a human endeavor, and not just a technical field, substantially filled with solving complex math problems and making machines do specific tasks.  Most people I know always see engineers as people who are good at making machines and

Before I took this class, I viewed engineers as people who who make our society function; they’re the ones who make tomorrow exciting, and at the same time make tomorrow happen.  I liked how engineers can change how we live our lives.  I always knew that a lot of the world’s problems environmental problems, which of course effect other problems such as social, economic, and so on, were caused by humans but this class increased my awareness as to how much it is related to engineers and what we do; this knowledge will cause me to think more about the work I am involved with in the future.

Having the opportunity to listen to my professors talk about problems that have relevance in their life, and how it can affect mine has influenced me to conduct my own research, and learn more about each problem.  Some lecturers presented information that I had never known of before, such as big data and how organizations and governments can use that data to control populations.  This information is very useful and amazing to think about, especially in the large scope of how far our civilization has come, and in which direction it could be heading in the future.

Our group project was a great way for me to learn how non-profits find funding, manage a budget, solve problems, and help communities.  I did not know much about them before taking this class, or why anyone would want to work for one exactly; having the experiences to think about problems both regionally and globally, and why they exist will definitely help me be a better engineer as I will now have a better mindset of where these problems came from, and why they have not been corrected.

All these different moments throughout the class, from lecturers informing us about their fields and the problems associated with them, to the actual problems we encountered with our non-profit organizations, has benefited me such that I am more aware of the problems and situations people are put into with regards to engineering and the ethical practices associated with our planet.  As I see other engineers in careers and working for large and small companies, I think about how they function and operate.  I think that having classes where engineers are able to talk about the problems they see and what they want to do to fix them is of great value, and this class provided this opportunity to me.

By Sarah K.

When I first heard about ENME467: Engineering for a Social Change I didn’t know what to expect.  What does an engineering course based on social change entail?  Will this really help develop the technical skills necessary to become a profession engineer, as most technical electives are designed to do?  This course did all this and more!  Not only did it make me a more conscientious engineer, but it also showed me what I could change about my day to day life.

Engineering for a Social Change really opened my eyes to careless habits I had developed.  Our topic for this semester focused on waste.  Waste includes anything from discarded electronics to food loss and even plastic waste.  As an individual, I was shocked at how much trash I would throw out on a weekly basis.  After listening to Mark Freedman’s lecture on “Waste to Energy” I decided to try and keep all of the trash I make in a week to see my contribution to the landfill problem.  I didn’t even last four days before I had to throw the accumulating garbage out.  That was simply eye opening, and without this class I probably would’ve never realized my contribution to the problem.  We all think that we are the exception.  I’ve personally thought things along the lines of I don’t waste food, I always clear my plate! when in reality, I don’t always finish what I eat and I do throw away leftovers.  This class made me realize that even when you think that you aren’t contributing to the problem, you probably are.  And the first step to solving the problem is to acknowledge your part in the issue.  As engineers, we are tasked with solving the problems of tomorrow.  How can we do that if we ignore our own contribution to current issues?

Engineering for a Social Change has also taught me a lot about the discipline of engineering.  Engineering is more than just technical know-how.  It is the application of technical knowledge in order to solve today’s leading issues and make the world a better place.  Engineers can not only do this by using their technical skills, but by also applying their technical knowledge to philanthropic opportunities and to public policy.  Engineers should be involved with Engineers Without Borders, or Habitat for Humanity, or even by offering their skillsets to their community in whatever way they can.  As engineers, we have the ability to make such an impact on the world, but only by taking advantage those opportunities.  We can also make a difference by going into public policy.  Engineering and other STEM professionals are needed now more than ever in law.  With the rising threat of climate change, the introduction of autonomous vehicles, and the introduction of artificial intelligence, engineers are needed to make federal and state regulations.  So often in engineering courses we forget the impact that engineering has on society.  Having a class that emphasizes our impact really puts into perspective what engineering entails.

I would highly recommend this course for engineering majors, and even for it to be integrated into the Mechanical Engineering curriculum.  It was a great experience to have worked with a real nonprofit organization to come up with a solution they’re facing, and apply to the $10,000 Neilom Engineering for a Social Change Grant.  Overall, I think engineering students would benefit by studying social change and ethics.  ENME 467: Engineering for Social Change expanded not only my knowledge of the impact of engineering, but also showed me how to be a more careful and meticulous citizen.

By Mofoluso K.

This semester I learned that as a millennial life is sweet yet ominous. The age I live in is one of scientific and social breakthroughs, increased wealth across the world, and hyper communication. Yet, for as many positive developments that have arisen in the last 100 years there are as many negative developments that have formed. Global warming is reaching the point of no return and threatens many lifeforms around the world, world hunger is increasing despite adequate amounts of food, crime is rising in countries despite a rise in living standards, and the threat of war is still present across the globe. And these are just a few of the many problems we are faced with today.

As an engineer I am one of the driving forces behind the positive change caused by engineering. My problem-solving skills are at their highest level of demand ever and science is just beginning to step into many new and exciting fields where I can leave an impact. However, not much attention is called to the need for engineers to fix growing problems in the world today.

ENME 467, also known as “Engineering for Social Change”, is the course that ties in what it means to be an engineer into the need for engineers to help fix the growing problems of our world today. This course is symbolic of the stepping stone all engineers in today’s world need to base themselves on when solving problems. Specifically, this course walks you through the need for social change to be one of the highest priorities as an engineer and the need to revamp engineering practices to minimize the unintended negative effects that have arisen and may arise in the future.

The course accomplished its goals by having engaging lectures on a broad scope of topics, encouraging students to learn about and interact with non-profits, and then leading students to write a grant proposal for a specific project. The lectures in my opinion were the best part of the class because they allowed for open discourse which helped form and challenge my opinions. Every Friday I could expect to come to class ready to engage in a debate of some sort on a new topic with one of my classmates. The topics of the lectures ranged from personal security online to the Flint Michigan Water Crisis. Needless to say, the topics were varied. This variety helped to attack different problems and encourage unique discussions every week. I believe the lectures were the greatest part of the class. Another way this class strived for its goal was to have us interact with a non-profit of our choice and create a project with them. This helped us to learn about how non-profits operate and how we as students could have a social impact on our immediate environment. Lastly, the grant proposal paper gave us a taste of the effort that goes into effecting social change and the process that many people take to get to their goals. The grant proposal was also important because the class was given $10,000 to give to a non-profit of their choice for a specific project. The proposal helped to formalize the plan and direct the student’s efforts.

All in all, I believe this class encouraged me to want to engineer for social change and to also be mindful of how my actions and products will affect others. I would recommend this class to anyone!