Dear College of Engineering Community:
Welcome to National Engineers Week, which was founded in 1951 by the National Society of Professional Engineers and runs through Saturday. EWeek bridges two very important celebrations. February is Black History Month, and next Tuesday begins Women’s History Month. Each carries special meaning here on campus. This academic year marks 60 years since the first Black students enrolled at Georgia Tech. And 70 years ago, in 1952, Tech welcomed its first two women students.
Today and every day, I reflect on the role engineers play in our world. We are called to a higher purpose: to improve society by solving complex problems previously thought impossible. While the technological advancements made by humankind are unquestionably remarkable, there is also no question that many of them were developed by teams not representative of the target users. Engineering and technology have not benefitted groups equally.
Engineers, like many others, are complicit in designing systems that have harmed communities – specifically, women, communities of color, persons with disabilities, and the poor. For example, women are not as safe in car crashes as compared to men because crash test dummies were modeled after men. Facial recognition software continues to incorrectly recognize darker-skinned individuals due to algorithms that include racial bias.
It is always important to acknowledge our history and deficiencies, even when they fall short of our standards. An accurate depiction of the past is critical if we hope to change the future. I’m proud of our many faculty members who are already conducting impactful research that addresses inequities, including work in climate change adaptation and mitigation, public transit, sickle cell disease, and much more.
One way to improve humanity is to always ensure diversity, equity, and inclusion are at the core of engineering. Research continually shows that diverse groups lead to increased innovation and collaboration. Teams of people with varying backgrounds and experiences create broader ideas, as they introduce new perspectives that lead to greater productivity and equitable solutions.
To ensure equity for all, a shift must occur within engineering education. Engineers are consistently taught to focus on traditional constraints such as safety, cost, size, and performance. This is no longer enough. We must be intentional in ensuring equity in our solutions to society’s problems. Adding this to the engineering equation requires us to modify the traditional understanding of our field, how it is taught, and the criticality of representation.
I’m not alone in this equity-centered thinking. Last year I joined my engineering dean colleagues from the Big 10+ (a list that includes MIT, Berkeley, Michigan, and Illinois) in submitting a letter to the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) recommending that they add DEI requirements for accreditation of engineering programs.
Integrating DEI into our existing curriculum will allow us to develop the “Whole Engineer,” supplying our graduates with far more than exceptional technical skills. We must also continue to strengthen their skillsets in communications, leadership, and business, while instilling them with an equity-centered focus as they enter the workforce. Our corporate partners are demanding this mindset of their engineers. It is our responsibility to prepare them, and I credit the members of our faculty who have already started focusing on equity-centered education.
True to Georgia Tech’s interdisciplinary nature, a greater understanding of DEI can only be honed through increased exposure to appropriate concepts in fields such as humanities, social sciences, and history. Simply put, we cannot ignore the context in which our solutions reside.
To improve the human condition, we must use every available tool. Now, more than ever, an engineer must do more. An engineer must be more.
To aid in that effort, and as we celebrate National Engineers Week, I am pleased to announce that the College will soon launch a nationwide search for our first associate dean position focused on DEI. We expect to fill this important role by the end of this summer.
I hope that you are having a great semester. Thank you for everything you do to support the College of Engineering, Georgia Tech, and one another.
Sincerely,
Raheem
_____________________________Raheem Beyah (he/him/his)Dean and Southern Company ChairCollege of EngineeringGeorgia Tech