The Genesis of the Debates

Real engineering problems are rarely black and white. This is particularly true when problems are placed on the canvas of societal, economical, ethical, environmental, and political considerations. There are, however, few (if any) places in the standard undergraduate curriculum to discuss and debate complex interconnected issues, exploring the pros and cons of various positions. With that in mind, in 1997, the Chemical and Biological Engineering Department at Northwestern University initiated a novel activity designed to achieve several differing goals. It is known as our annual "Chemical and Biological Engineering Debates."

The idea for the debate program grew out of the following issues connected with our undergraduate program:

• A need for significant discussion of chemical engineering issues in the context of societal, environmental, and political constraints.
• A desire for informal faculty/graduate student/undergraduate interactions.
• A need for intellectual discussion amoung students and faculty on issues outside of the classroom or curricular issues.
• A need to counter-balance the ever-increasing tendency for faculty and students to narrow their focus to issues of immediate professional and/or academic interests.

Another concern, perhaps less prominent at the time, was the desire to take some steps to focus attention on awareness of broad societal issues and on the importance of life-long learning among our students, as mandated in the then up coming ABET EC 2000 expectations.

Click here for J.M. Ottino & J.S. Dranoff "Chemical Engineering Debates," Chemical Engineering education 2000, 362 - 365.

11th Annual Chemical and Biological Engineering Debates
Monday, May 5, 2008

"Cognitive enhancers are becoming greater temptations for both students and professors in increasingly competitive academic environments. In order to ensure a level playing field, universities should not allow these drugs to be taken unless warranted by a medical condition."

10th Annual Chemical and Biological Engineering Debates
Monday, May 14, 2007

Topic:

"In order to safeguard against terrorism and general mischief, chemical plants must be properly secured. The best method for ensuring that effective safeguards are in place in America's chemical plants is for the Federal Government to defelop a national standard taht mandates inherently safer technology."