Responsibility Of Engineers

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31754, 10 August 1968, Page 20

Responsibility Of Engineers

Hardly any aspect of engineering was not directed in some way to the public welfare or individual convenience, said the Christchurch City Engineer (Mr P. G. Scoular). Engineers’ work sometimes had evil by-products because of a failure to “follow through.” The commonest results, he said, were pollution of air, water, earth, sound and aesthetics.

Giving his presidential address at the annual meeting of the Students Engineering Society at Ham, Mr Scoular suggested that the engineer had a unique responsibility to analyse and interpret the wants, needs and capacities of people in terms of the present state of his science and art.

Tn the United States, probably because of the much larger number of engineers in industry, there was a wide difference in professional attitudes and in social consciousness between engineers in industry and those in public works.

Such a gap, did not exist in New Zealand although sometimes he wondered if there was not some sort of gap between those in universities and those outside. Mr Scoular said engineers required a basic education and an understanding of economics, of management processes, and of some social sciences. It was also important that they be able to communicate with their colleagues, employers and the public.

“There can be no doubt that our education is deficient in these things. It seems unlikely, however, that the deficiency can be made good during our formal education.” Perhaps the present degree should be more properly called a bachelor of engineering science. “Because of this change I

believe that graduates are today, from the, employers’ point of view, of less immediate value. They do however, again from the employers’ point of view, have the distinct advantage that they are of a known value.” He advised students not to say as one final-year student said to him a year or two ago: “I have spent four years and a lot of money getting a degree and I am going to cash in on it next year.” “Life is not so short and if a job is worth while, the money is not everything,” said Mr Scoular. Templin Scroll Mr I. F. Boag was awarded the Templin Scroll for his paper on “natural gas treatment processes,” and Mr N. R. Wilkinson for his paper on the “H.O.S.S. two-stroke engine” received the Templin Prize.

Making the presentation. Professor R. J. Rastrick, professor of mechanical engineering at the university, said that the five papers presented were all of a uniformly high standard. A common fault in all was inadequate introduction to the subject, and certain deficiencies in the termination of the papers.