Reflections

Reflection 1: Ethics in Engineering Research

(9/20/017)

The most important part in conducting research in my field is protecting people. As an engineer, I have an obligation to ensure that my designs ensure the safety, health, and well-being of not only the user(s), but everyone around them and the world in general. There are many factors to consider when designing a product that meets these criteria. The most obvious is preventing the product itself from physically hurting the user (i.e. no sharp points, hard, jerky motions, etc.). In this the engineer, also must consider the population (i.e. no ingestible parts when designing products geared towards toddlers). The engineer also must consider the possibility that those around the user might be harmed either accidentally (i.e. designing a car to automatically stop for pedestrians), or on purpose (i.e. designing a car to automatically stop for pedestrians). Also, the environment needs to be considered in designs. The engineer should work to ensure that the device or product minimizes humanity’s carbon footprint and waste output. However, sometimes broader environmental concerns must be balanced with human health (i.e. using laughing gas in minor surgeries to protect patients even though it is a harmful pollutant).

As a researcher, I will work with my colleagues to ensure that the product we are developing meets all the above criteria by utilizing extensive pre-market testing and analysis. I will also way possible pros and cons and work to think up ways to prevent my product from being used maliciously as well as disincentives hackers by compartmentalizing the information and making the hardware incapable of being able to do malicious things. Finally, I will continue to learn about engineering ethics and how to apply them.

Reflection 2: Implicit Bias

(10/04/2017)

I have heard and read a lot about bias, especially confirmation bias. It can be very hard to determine bias, especially your own (stating the obvious I know). I know that I have biases, and when I catch one I try to confront it. When I first got into the news (which I am now addicted to), I deliberately focused on both CNN and Fox News, to try and balance out any biases in these networks. While I certainly learned a lot, I do not think I could ever get an accurate picture of the world though these (or any) news network. It is simply not possible to determine what stories are most important literally the hour or day after it happens, but this is how all networks seem to work. People want up to date news and are willing to compromise a comprehensive and accurate picture of the world to get this. Thus, lacking the time to figure out what is important and what is not with facts, patterns, and data, media outlets rely on instinct, and these instincts stem from their ideologies, and so bias is inadvertently introduced into the media.

The media affect people (including myself) a lot, and it could lead us to make decisions that are not grounded in facts and data. I must be very careful to understand that what is on the news is not normal (if it was normal than it wouldn’t be on the news), and to not base my decisions off of gut instincts, because my gut instinct undoubted heavily biased by the news.

Reflection 3: Teamwork Challenges

(10/18/2017)

A lot of times I have trouble figuring out when I should speak up and when I should step back. I also have trouble interpreting what people mean sometimes. I have learned to check and double check with people before acting in the name of the group. Also, I have yet to learn when to be decisive and when to wait and gather more information. Furthermore, I have trouble getting used to new people sometimes, which may hinder a groups progress, at least at the beginning. I need to get my ideas out there at the critical beginning stages of a project. I can also get tunnel vision and not see beyond my plan, which may be bad for both team chemistry and the final product. I hope that as I grow I will learn how to mitigate these issues, and be a more effective team player.

Reflection 4: Creativity

(11/01/2017)

I like to walk around campus, sticking mostly to more natural areas, thinking. Mostly, I come up with stories in my head, but occasional I come up with ways to improve the world. It is very peaceful to walk around campus and I can eliminate the stress of college (there is way too much stress in college). Occasionally, I can come up with grand and crazy ideas that might just work, other times I have to settle for a brief distraction from college stressors. While, stress can be stimulus for creativity, too much of it hampers creativity, and it seems that the level of stress in college is too much to stimulate much creative thought.

I am alone on my walk and I am out in the fresh air, which I definitely think helps creativity at least initially. After an idea is formed, to move onto the next stage, one has to start sharing it and getting other people’s feedback (for some reason when I say ideas out loud, they do not sound as good as they sounded in my head). This being said I believe that being alone with ones thoughts is the stimulus for a lot of creative ideas and solutions, and that the more collaborative parts of the project are more geared to refinement and steady improvement.

Reflection 5: Service in GCSP

(11/15/2017)

Service keeps things real. It is what GCSP is all about. Without service a lot of these challenges and program areas boil down to sitting in office or a lab working exclusively with the people on your team. With service, we see and interact with the people we are helping or have helped and that interaction both shapes our plan for the project and continues to motivate us to make the world a better place. Without service, the people that benefit from our efforts to solve the worlds grand challenges become faceless masses, not people. And the point of solving these challenges is to help people not the masses.

The “more functional” aspects of the program all enable us to better serve people. When we work with a community, government, or non-governmental organization, these skills will allow us to better provide our service to the people who need it most. We will also have the confidence to address issues we have never seen before, and speak with authority. Also, these abilities all help us find more efficient and more effective ways to serve. All in all, service is what brings all the parts of GCSP together as well as the fragmented peoples of the world.