Dr. Elaine E. Englehardt is part of a team of researchers who will work to support and strengthen the ethical identity of engineering students and future STEM professionals thanks to a new federal grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF).

The one-of-a-kind research will analyze the motives and barriers to ethical behavior in an academic setting, and the resulting ethical attitudes and actions exhibited by students. It also examines the extent to which these ethical attitudes continue once students enter the engineering workforce.

Dr. Englehardt will be working with faculty members from Florida Polytechnical University, the University of South Florida and Western Michigan University, with Florida Polytechnic taking the lead.

“As we try at Florida Poly to differentiate our product, and our product is the students, we want them to be the absolute best in terms of their technical training,” said Dr. Grisselle Centeno, principal investigator of the research. “However, it would all be worthless if they engage and practice in an unethical manner.”

The $600,000 grant will fund a four-year program focused on students throughout their mandatory internships at Florida Poly. About 60 engineering students will participate each year in multiple aspects of the research, including ethical trainings, case studies, surveys, and open discussions on different ethical scenarios.

“The data from these interactions will be used to measure the impact these factors have on the students’ ethical actions and reactions. The goal is to develop a methodology that institutions across the nation can adopt to promote the establishment of ethical competence as a core skill associated with the engineer identity,” said Dr. Englehardt.

“Engineering is not an easy career. There is a lot of pressure and that’s unfortunately when unethical behaviors may happen,” said Centeno, a professor in the Department of Data Science and Business Analytics at Florida Poly. “We want to train our students so they have the sensitivity to recognize what’s ethical and what’s non-ethical, and equip them to act ethically.”

The research is a collaborative effort between Florida Poly, as the lead institution, the University of South Florida (USF) and UVU. Other members of the research team are Dr. Kingsley Reeves and Dr. Michelle Hughes Miller, both from USF. Also collaborating is nationally recognized expert in engineering ethics Dr. Michael S. Pritchard from Western Michigan University.

Dr. Englehardt is the Distinguished Professor of Ethics and Professor of Philosophy at Utah Valley University.  Throughout her career at Utah Valley University she has developed and strengthened ethics courses and programs. This is her seventh national grant, with previous awards coming from National Endowment for the Humanities, and the Department of Education’s FIPSE program.

“The grant process this year was highly competitive with few awards granted.  We are fortunate to assemble this important team to help students better understand the importance of ethical choices.  Academic institutions must teach our students the critical importance of behaving ethically both inside the classroom and as practitioners,” Englehardt said.

“We want to make sure that the backbone of ethics is well instilled in the student’s development so that they can be successful and have an impact as engineers and STEM professionals,” explained Dr. Centeno.

For more information on Dr. Englehardt, check out her recent profile by The National Ethics Project.