Learning From Failure

For my third Honors experience, Learning From Failure, I worked in a group to examine how engineering failures can drive lasting progress through a multidisciplinary study of the Liberty ship disasters of World War II. This experience focused on understanding why these mass-produced cargo ships suffered sudden brittle fractures and how those failures reshaped modern engineering, materials science, and safety standards.

Through a series of analytical assignments, we explored the Liberty ships from multiple perspectives. From a materials standpoint, we studied the ductile-to-brittle transition of steel, poor weldability, and structural design flaws. These include sharp cargo hatch corners that enabled cracks to initiate and rapidly propagate through welded hulls. We then analyzed the broader societal impacts of these failures, including the loss of human life, economic strain on wartime supply chains, environmental damage, and the intense risks faced by shipyard workers operating under urgent wartime pressures. Finally, we examined the aftermath of these disasters, tracing how they led to the development of fracture mechanics, improved welding standards, stricter safety regulations, and tougher, more reliable steels used today.

This experience reshaped my understanding of what it means to be a Global Citizen Scholar by highlighting how engineering decisions extend far beyond technical performance. It reinforced the responsibility engineers have to consider human safety, ethical design, and long-term societal consequences, especially when innovation is driven by urgency.

For our visual representation, we created an accessible YouTube video designed to communicate these lessons to a broad audience, including younger students. This required translating complex engineering concepts into clear, engaging explanations that the general public could understand.