Citizen Engineer: A Handbook for Socially Responsible Engineering

by David Douglas, Greg Papadopoulos, John Boutelle

"Engineers create many of the inventions that shape our society, and as such they play a vital role in determining how we live. This new book does an outstanding job of filling in the knowledge and perspective that engineers must have to be good citizens in areas ranging from the environment, to intellectual property, to ensuring the health of the innovation ecosystem that has done so much for modern society. This is exactly the sort of book that engineers and those who work with them should read and discuss over pizza, coffee, or some other suitable, discussion-provoking consumable." --John L. Hennessy, president, Stanford University "Citizen Engineer is the bible for the new era of socially responsible engineering. It's an era where, as the authors show, engineers don't just need to know more, they need to be more. The work is an inspiration, an exhortation, and a practical how-to guide. All engineers concerned with the impact of their work--and that should be all engineers--must read this book." --Hal Abelson, professor of computer science and engineering, MIT "Code is law. Finally, a map to responsible law making. This accessible and brilliant book should be required of every citizen, and especially, the new citizen lawmakers we call engineers." --Lawrence Lessig, director, Safra Center for Ethics, Harvard University, and cofounder, Creative Commons Being an engineer today means being far more than an engineer. You need to consider not only the design requirements of your projects but the full impact of your work--from an ecological perspective, an intellectual property perspective, a business perspective, and a sociological perspective. And you must coordinate your efforts with many other engineers, sometimes hundreds of them. In short, we've entered an age that demands socially responsible engineering on a whole new scale: The era of the Citizen Engineer. This engaging and thought-provoking book, written by computer industry luminaries David Douglas and Greg Papadopoulos, focuses on two topics that are becoming vitally important in the day-to-day work of engineers: eco engineering and intellectual property (IP). Citizen Engineer also examines how and why the world of engineering has changed, and provides practical advice to help engineers of all types master the new era and start thinking like Citizen Engineers.

Genres: Engineering, Sustainability, Nonfiction

245 pages, Paperback

First published July 6, 2009

Reviews

[Trey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book, especially with its ecological focus. The cradle-to-cradle philosophy for engineering really stuck with me over the years.

Where it might be a bit thinner is looking at the socio-technical impacts. This might also be an element of failing to really foresee the impacts of AI systems on social outcomes.

[Angela Natividad · Rating 5 out of 5]

I feel invested with usefulness. There's a checklist at the end that helps you gauge the legal standing, business results and environmental impact of what you're creating, be it software or a physical product.

Recommended reading for anybody in the tech, innovation and comms industries (for this latter, the more you have to talk about with tech teams, the better for breaking down the wall between you).

[Larissa]

I tried to read this but there was so much technical advice I thought it would have more of an impact on me if I waited until a semester or two of engineering classes.

[Tim · Rating 5 out of 5]

As someone who engineers as a hobby, this book gave me some food for thought about what would be involved in turning one of my ideas into something profitable.