When it comes to engineering and design, no matter the end goal, be it a device or structure or sweeping plan of action, the idea that engineering is done for the betterment of humanity is a constant, whether it can be tangibly quantified or not.
As Sita Syal and Julia Kramer, assistant professors in mechanical engineering at the University of Michigan, recently wrote in their study, “Design and Justice: A Scoping Review in Engineering Design,” there is “a growing priority in the engineering design research community to incorporate justice into design and to do so meaningfully and intentionally.” This paper was recently published in ASME's Journal of Mechanical Design.
Both professors joined ASME TechCast to some insights into the interconnections between engineering and social justice, some of the lingering issues, and their hopes for the discourse moving forward.