Is that the future?…

1. Is that the future?… The BBC is reporting that National Taiwan University's Department of Animal Science and Technology has pulled off a fluorescent pig coup in breeding the green-to-the-core "transgenic" pigs using jellyfish DNA. The DNA was injected into about 260 embryos which were then implanted into eight sows. Four became pregnant, leading to the birth of three male piglets three months ago. …hopefully not at your table!

2. By the way… update as of Jan 2008 • The mother is a transgenic pig with some fluorescents part of her body, crossed with an ordinary male. • It stands as a big hope for humans, in the fields of transplants, or resistance to illnesses.

3. Engineers face to Ethics With the introduction of life sciences to the domains of engineering, more than ever, the engineer is faced to ethics and should be aware that his work is not neutral to society.

4. Why Ethics is important? How to situate ethics on engineering? To be « professional » you require… (WHAT) Technical Competencies Continuing Professional Development Validation (HOW) Non-technical competencies (Soft skills) (WHY) Ethics Service to Society Source: British Computer Society)

5. Everyone can make mistakes……from the beginning of engineering to today

6. What is the cost of mistakes on engineering today?

7. What is the cost of mistakes on engineering? • The Tacoma Narrows Bridge • http://www.math.harvard.edu/archive/21b_fall_03/tacoma/index.html • Challenger STS 51-L Accident • http://history.nasa.gov/sts51l.html Ford Pinto Fuel-Fed Fires On June 9, 1978, Ford Motor Company agreed to recall 1.5 million Ford Pinto and 30,000 Mercury Bobcat sedan and hatchback models for fuel tank design defects which made the vehicles susceptible to fire in the event of a moderate-speed rear end collision. The action was the result of investigations by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's Office of Defect Investigations (Case #C7-38), sparked by a petition from Center for Auto Safety, publicity generated by national publication expose of the hazard (Mother Jones News Magazine, "Pinto Madness" by Mark Dowie, Sept/Oct, 1977) and publicity over the largest punitive damages awarded by a California jury to a young man who had been severely injured in a Pinto fuel tank fire (Grimshaw v Ford).

8. What is the cost of mistakes on engineering? • 1. St. Francis Dam, 1928Self-taught engineer William Mulholland built this LA dam on a defective foundation and ignored the geology of the surrounding canyon. He also dismissed cracks that formed as soon as the reservoir behind it was filled. Five days later, it ruptured, killing 450 people and destroying entire towns (along with Mulholland’s career). • 2. Kansas City Hyatt walkways, 1981Walkways crisscrossing the hotel’s multistory atrium collapsed, domino-style, raining debris and hundreds of people onto the packed dance contest below. The cause: grossly negligent design and use of beams that could support only 30 percent of the load. • 3. Vasa, 1628Three hundred years before the Titanic, the Vasa was the biggest sailing vessel of its day. The overloaded ship ruled the seas for all of a mile before she took on water through her too-low gun ports and promptly capsized. • 4. Northeastern US power grid, 1965A single protective relay tripped in Ontario, overloading nearby circuits and causing a cascade of outages that left 30 million homes without power for up to 13 hours. A fragile, redundancy-free design ensured that it would happen eventually.

9. What is the cost of mistakes on engineering? • 5. McDonnell Douglas DC-10, 1970sNearly a thousand people around the world lost their lives while the kinks were being ironed out of this 290-ton competitor to Boeing’s 747. Blown-out cargo doors, shredded hydraulic lines, and engines dropped midflight were just a few of the behemoth’s early problems. • 6. Firestone 500 tires, 1970sThese steel-belted radials allowed water to seep under the tread, which caused the belting to rust and the tread to separate, typically at high speeds. Dozens of deaths later, Firestone blamed consumers, then recalled 10 million tires. • 7. Purity Distilling Company tank, 1919You gotta keep your molasses somewhere – how about a rickety tank 50 feet tall and 90 feet in diameter in the middle of Boston? The structure was painted brown to hide the leaks. Eventually it burst (possibly exploding from fermentation), sending waves of molasses up to 15 feet high into the city and killing 21. • 8. Skylab, 1973America’s first space station was hopelessly damaged at launch because designers failed to account for the aerodynamics of the meteoroid shield and solar panels. When crews weren’t busy making repairs, they complained of the extreme heat on board.

10. Corporate Ethics? • Le Temps • 06.01.2010 La chasse aux bonus un faux débat Klaus Schwab président fondateur et exécutif du Forum économique de Davos explique qu’au delà des abus c’est tout l’esprit entrepreneurial fondé sur la communauté qui est perverti par la course au profit Where is the social responsibility of the corporations? Are corporations creating and sharing value with and for the community?

11. What is your company really doing? Sometimes it’s hard to tell… • Is your company socially responsible? • What is the commitment with the community where you live of your company? • Is your company Creating Shared Value?

12. The response of engineers to the ethics question Engineers have a heavy load of responsibility due to the fact that technology (neutral “per se”) multiplies the effect of mistakes Engineers must drive to be highly competent technically Engineers can not leave isolated from the society where they leave not shield under a technical job to do not see the consequences of their acts Engineers must be socially involved and understand the results of their work or the potential usage of it To fully achieve professionalism, engineers must have an ethic code – common, coherent, complete, understandable by everyone The Swiss Answer: Le Serment d’Archimède. Optional choice at the time of graduation (open public event) at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne

13. Serment d'Archimède Je contribuerai, dans la mesure de mes moyens, à promouvoir des rapports équitables entre les hommes et à soutenir le développement des pays économiquement faibles. Je transmettrai, avec rigueur et honnêteté, à des interlocuteurs choisis avec discernement, toute information importante, si elle représente un acquis pour la société ou si sa rétention constitue un danger pour autrui. Dans ce dernier cas, je veillerai à ce que l'information débouche sur des dispositions concrètes. Je ne me laisserai pas dominer par la défense de mes intérêts ou ceux de ma profession. Je m'efforcerai, dans la mesure de mes moyens, d'amener mon entreprise à prendre en compte les préoccupations du présent Serment. Je pratiquerai ma profession en toute honnêteté intellectuelle, avec conscience et dignité. Je le promets solennellement, librement et sur mon honneur. * Selon la déclaration universelle de l'ONU (10 décembre 1948) Considérant la vie d'Archimède de Syracuse qui illustra dès l'Antiquité le potentiel ambivalent de la technique, Considérant la responsabilité croissante des ingénieurs et des scientifiques à l'égard des hommes et de la nature, Considérant l'importance des problèmes éthiques que soulèvent la technique et ses applications, Aujourd'hui, je prends les engagements suivants et m'efforcerai de tendre vers l'idéal qu'ils représentent : Je pratiquerai ma profession pour le bien des personnes, dans le respect des Droits de l' Homme* et de l'environnement. Je reconnaîtrai, m’étant informé au mieux, la responsabilité de mes actes et ne m'en déchargerai en aucun cas sur autrui. Je m'appliquerai à parfaire mes compétences professionnelles. Dans le choix et la réalisation de mes projets, je resterai attentif à leur contexte et à leurs conséquences, notamment des points de vue technique, économique, social, écologique… Je porterai une attention particulière aux projets pouvant avoir des fins militaires.

14. Swiss Ethics Prize at HEIG-VD • Cette année encore la HEIG-VD organise le • Prix Suisse de l’Ethique • Elle vise ainsi à récompenser un effort particulier mené en Suisse dans le domaine de l’éthique, du développement durable ou de la responsabilité sociale de l’entreprise. • Vous voulez être les premiers à connaître le nom des organisations lauréates ? • Vous voulez faire connaissance avec des entreprises et collectivités publiques suisses qui développent des projets originaux dans le domaine de l’éthique et du développement durable ? • Alors rendez-vous à toutes et à tous • Le jeudi 10 décembre à 19h30 • A la Grande Salle du Conservatoire de Lausanne • (Rue de la Grotte 2) • pour assister à la cérémonie de remise des trophées • Les lauréats se verront remettre leur récompense directement des mains du Président du Conseil d’Etat vaudois, Monsieur Pascal Broulis, également Président d’honneur du Jury.  • heig-vdHaute Ecole d'Ingénierie et de Gestion du Canton de VaudSchool of Business and Engineering Vaud • Route de Cheseaux 1CH - 1400 Yverdon-les-Bains