Engineering Innovations, Knowledge and Responsibility
{'Code': '08000000', 'Directorate': {'LongName': 'Direct For Biological Sciences'}, 'Division': {'LongName': 'Direct For Biological Sciences'}}
{'SignBlockName': 'Rachelle D. Hollander'}
Using interviews and participant-observation, this field-based research         project will examine the influences of technologies that change medical         knowledge on human relationships and on the emerging  moral                     responsibilities of bioengineers.  In consultation with an engineer, an         historian, and a scholar of law and science policy, the principal               investigator, who is a philosopher, will study contemporary                     developments and effects associated with three technologies: diagnostic         X-ray, ultrasound, and computer-aided simulation of orthopedic                  procedures.  The project will try to identify how changes occur in              moral standards for responsible work in bioengineering, in order to             expand the abilities of engineering students, engineers, and                    professional societies to identify and establish new and better                 standards.  The historian and the lawyer will prepare papers on the             development of professional standards for licensure and on aspects of           the law associated with these technologies.  In consultation with the           engineer, the principal investigator will prepare talks and articles on         responsibility in bioengineering design and the use of innovative               technologies.  She will also prepare case studies on the three                  technologies.  The cases will describe the evolution of the                     technologies and their influences on human relationships and                    bioengineering responsibilities.  In addition, she will discuss the             implications of the study for engineering education with relevant               engineering faculty at MIT and in the Harvard-MIT Division of Health            Sciences and Technology.  If appropriate, an additional paper on this           topic will be prepared.  The PI will also incorporate results from this         study in a book she is writing on biomedical technologies, knowledge            and responsibility.                                                                                                                                             This project will make a unique contribution to professional and                scholarly understanding of the moral implications of technologies that          change what we know.  It can also contribute to the development of new          approaches to teaching engineering ethics, and to better standards for          professional practice and for policies affecting that practice.  The            principal investigator is very well qualified to undertake the                  research; she has assembled a fine team with which to work.  The                research design is appropriate and feasible; it incorporates                    opportunities for discussion, review and adjustment as the project              progresses.  Costs are reasonable; results are likely to be widely              distributed and useful.  Support in the amount of $119,018 is                   recommended, with $70,000 to be awarded now and the remainder at later          date.
{'FirstName': 'Caroline', 'LastName': 'Whitbeck', 'EmailAddress': 'caroline.whitbeck@case.edu', 'StartDate': '09/01/1987', 'EndDate': None, 'RoleCode': 'Principal Investigator'}
{'Name': 'Massachusetts Institute of Technology', 'CityName': 'Cambridge', 'ZipCode': '021394301', 'PhoneNumber': '6172531000', 'StreetAddress': '77 MASSACHUSETTS AVE', 'CountryName': 'United States', 'StateName': 'Massachusetts', 'StateCode': 'MA'}
{'Code': '9145', 'Text': 'SPECIAL PROGRAMS-RESERVE'}
{'url': 'https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/download?DownloadFileName=1986&All=true', 'xml': '8619877.xml'}