The Engineering Ethics Half-Day Conference: The California Wildfires and the Ethical Role of the Engineer, held on Wednesday, January 14, brings together industry experts to examine the complex moral, legal, and professional responsibilities engineers face in today’s high-stakes environments.
After a welcome and ethics overview, participants will hear from Chad Weinstein on the moral courage needed to navigate organizational pressures and communicate risk, followed by Eric Nystedt’s insights on risk management, Kodi Verhalen’s case studies on legal and ethical issues surrounding California utility failures such as PG&E, and Kate Van Etta-Olson’s review of Minnesota’s Rules of Professional Conduct and recent enforcement actions.
Ethics for Engineers
Presented by: Chad Weinstein
This session highlights the ethical responsibilities of engineers, emphasizing the moral courage required to resist organizational pressure and the moral clarity needed to explain complex risk trade-offs to non-engineers. It also introduces practical techniques for recognizing and overcoming ethical blind spots in engineering practice.
Legal and Ethical Considerations: California Public Utility Case Studies
Presented by: Kodi Verhalen
The presentation will explore some of the legal and ethical issues that have been raised in cases of public utility infrastructure failures. The presentation will focus on cases brought against PG&E (gas and electric) in California.
Rules of Professional Conduct for MN Engineers
Presented by: Kate Van Etta-Olson, J.D.
I. Overview of the Rules of Professional Conduct (Minn. R. Ch. 1805)
II. Board’s Complaint and Enforcement Process
III. Ethical Violations in Recent Actions
Intersection of Insurance and Professional Ethics
Presented by: Eric Nysted
Eric will be presenting on the intersection of insurance and professional ethics in the design process, with emphasis on Health, Safety, and Welfare (HSW), contractual risk transfer, and errors and omissions (E&O).
