Citizen Engineer: A Handbook for Socially Responsible Engineering

“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

“Just as the atomic bomb brought us the citizen scientist, the computer has brought us the citizen engineer. This book is for engineers who take their societal responsibilities seriously, combining the idealism of dreamers with the pragmatism of builders.”

–Danny Hillis, cofounder, Thinking Machines, Inc., and Applied Minds, Inc.

“In good economic times and bad, the forces driving companies to go green are getting stronger. Innovation will be the key to solving thorny environmental problems and creating lasting value for smart companies. Engineers are at the center of innovation. For businesses and the economy to experience the environmental and economic benefits of going green, we’ll need engineers who read, understand, and act on the ideas in this book.”

–Andrew Winston, author, Green to Gold

“The authors recognize the increasingly widespread impact of engineers on society in this new century and the resulting responsibilities that engineers now have. While engineering has long embraced safety in the designs of bridges and cars, not all of us consider the long-term environmental impact of our designs, or the importance of contributing to the knowledge base of engineering and honoring its intellectual property rights, as well as preserving the security and privacy of our fellow citizens who use our designs. I believe Citizen Engineer is a book that all of us teaching, studying, or practicing engineering should read, as well as those outside engineering who want to understand this force of change in the twenty-first century.”

–David Patterson, professor of computer science, University of California, Berkeley

“Douglas and Papadopoulos have created an essential road map for reengineering products, services, companies, and commerce in ways that are environmentally responsible, economically profitable, and just plain

elegant.”

–Joel Makower, executive editor, GreenBiz.com; author, Strategies for the Green Economy

“This book is the first to provide detailed guidance about eco-responsible product design and responsible use of intellectual property–two areas that are becoming vitally important to both the development of the engineer and the advancement of the engineering profession.”

–Dr. Bill Wulf, professor of engineering and applied science, University of Virginia; member, National Academy of Engineering

“With details and examples as well as principles, this book endows every engineer with a visceral connection to eco responsibility and to the new ways to create and use intellectual property.”

–Robert Sproull, fellow and director, Sun Labs

“Citizen Engineer explains a critical transition of the engineering profession from technical focus to include social responsibilities and business context. This shift has changed the very nature of engineering as it is practiced today and as it must be taught in engineering degree programs.”

–Professor Steven D. Eppinger, deputy dean, MIT Sloan School of Management 

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.

Related Article

Towards Socially Responsible Innovation: An Interview with the Authors of Citizen Engineer

Author's Site

Please visit the author's web site at citizenengineer.org.

Online Sample Chapter

Beyond the Black Cloud: Looking at Lifecycles as a Citizen Engineer

Sample Pages

Download the sample pages (includes Chapter 4 and Index)

Table of Contents

Preface xv

Part I: Advent of the Citizen Engineer 1

Responsibilities of the Citizen Engineer 7

Knowledge Base of the Citizen Engineer 8

Changes in the Nature of Engineering 13

Engineering on a Whole New Scale 13

Externally Driven Changes in Engineering 19

Perspectives on an Engineering Transformation 24

Part I Summary, and What’s Next 25

Part II: Environmental Responsibility 27

Chapter 3: Environmental Impact: The Big Picture 31

Eco-Responsible Engineering: An Enormous

Opportunity 32

Core Challenges of Eco-Engineering 34

Chapter 4: Beyond the Black Cloud: Looking at Lifecycles 37

The “Cradle to Cradle” Vision 40

A Basic Lifecycle Model 45

Additional Lifecycle Considerations 46

Embodied Energy and Embodied Carbon 52

Starting a Top-Level Assessment 56

Knowing the Law 62

Business Requirements and Opportunities 64

Areas of Greatest Impact 65

Quick Wins and Low-Hanging Fruit 66

Chapter 7: Energy and Emissions 69

Common Sources of Energy 70

Calculating Energy and Power 73

Energy Impacts: Finding the Cleanest Source of Power 75

Energy and GHG Emissions 76

Putting a Value on Carbon (Dioxide!) 80

Heat, Noise, Light, and Radio Emissions 81

Process-Related GHG Emissions 82

Energy Efficiency in Product Design 83

An Example: Energy Efficiency in Data Centers 86

Chapter 8: Chemicals, Materials, and Waste 93

Chemistry and the Law 93

Packaging and Documentation 96

Waste and Renewal 98

Chapter 9: Water and Other Natural Resources 105

Social Considerations 105

Business Considerations 106

Calculating the Water Footprint 106

Trading Virtual Water 107

Other Natural Resources 108

Chapter 10: An Example of Eco-Engineering: Interface, Inc. 111

An Aggressive Initiative with Very Specific Goals 111

Chapter 11 Eco-Engineering: The Grass Is Always Greener 117

Carbon Neutrality: Good Start but Not Enough 117

Greenwashing and Green Noise 120

Measuring and Sharing with OpenEco 123

Part II Summary, and What’s Next 125

Part III: Intellectual Responsibility 127

Chapter 12 Intellectual Property Law Fundamentals 131

IP 101: Core Concepts 131

Patents 134

Copyright 141

Trademarks 147

Trade Secrets 148

Nondisclosure Agreements 150

Employment Contracts and IP Ownership 151

Tip Sheet: Inbound and Outbound IP 157

How to Protect Your IP in Emerging Markets 159

Back to Patent Protection: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly 161

Chapter 13: Open Source Software: Licenses and Leverage 165

“Free” Software Licenses 166

Nonfree but Free-Sounding Software Licenses 169

A Closer Look at the GPL 169

Contributor Agreements 171

Software Indemnity 175

Maximizing the Cycle of Innovation 179

How We Got Here 181

Control over Interfaces 184

Innovation Commons 186

The Economics of Open Source 187

Beyond Software 189

Building an Open Source Community: Practical

Advice from a Pro 194

Digital Rights Management 199

Is “Open DRM” an Oxymoron? 201

Fair Use and Other Concepts for Reducing

Restrictions 202

Part III Summary, and What’s Next 204

Part IV: Bringing It to Life 205

Chapter 16: Education of the Citizen Engineer 207

Updating Engineering Curricula 208

Advice for Engineering Students 211

Advice for Engineering New Hires 212

Chapter 17: Citizen Engineers in Action 215

Appendix 219

Lifecycle Phase Checklists 219

Required Reading for Citizen Engineers 223