Wednesday, 30 November 2011

A call for engineering research to be driven by social need rather than military or market forces is the topic of a discussion at The University of Western Australia by visiting Professor Juan Lucena of the Colorado School of Mines in the US.

Dr Lucena is Associate Professor at the School's Liberal Arts and International Studies Division.  He will argue that there are few detailed and insightful studies of engineering, which is surprising given its significance for Western Australia's future.

He will discuss enlightened reform in engineering practice and education and argues there is a role for historians, anthropologists, literary critics, philosophers, educators, linguists and social scientists to have an input into engineering.

Projects in which he has been involved include integrating the social justice considerations of climate change into engineering; and enhancing engineering education through humanitarian ethics.

He is the author and co-author of two books: Defending the Nation:  US Policymaking to Create Scientists and Engineers from Sputnik to the War Against Terrorism; and Engineering and Sustainable Community Development.

WHAT: Lecture: "Engineering Studies: Brief Overview of its History, Present and Possibilities for the Future" by visiting Professor Juan Lucena

WHERE: First floor, Monadelphous Integrated Learning Centre (Mathematics and Statistics Building, near NW corner James Oval, Crawley Campus

WHEN: 12 noon Thursday 8 December

Read Dr Lucena's recent book chapter on which he will talk.

Media references

Rob Blandford (UWA Team Leader,   (+61 8)  6488 7886  /  (+61 4) 05 631 788
Faculty of Engineering Computing and Mathematics)
Michael Sinclair-Jones (UWA Public Affairs)  (+61 8)  6488 3229  /  (+61 4) 00 700 783

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