Debate Will Teach Ethical Behavior as Students, Faculty and Staff Face Off on Federal Response to Gulf Oil Disaster

-- Debate Set for Tuesday, September 28, 5:30-7 p.m. on SMU's Campus--

DALLAS, Sept. 24 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- In the aftermath of the nation's worst environmental disaster, did the US do the right thing by halting all drilling in the Gulf of Mexico?

Students from the SMU Lyle School of Engineering will wrestle with this topic of national importance at the first ever Hart Center for Engineering Leadership public debate on September 28, 2010 on the SMU campus.

"This event both challenges and teaches young engineering students to take on difficult public and technical issues through the process of open, reasoned debate," says John Kiser, Associate Dean and Executive Director for the Hart Center for Engineering Leadership. "The Hart Center's debate series will utilize a town hall format to engage engineering students in the complexity of decision making in business and public policy."

SMU Director of Debate Ben Voth will moderate the debate, allowing audience members to make their own arguments regarding US offshore drilling policy.  SMU expects hundreds of students, faculty and staff to attend the event that will take place from 5:30 to 7 p.m. in the Hillcrest Foundation Amphitheatre at Caruth Hall, the Lyle School's new LEED Gold centerpiece that serves as the gateway to SMU's east quadrangle.  The debate will be the first major event in the outdoor auditorium.

"It is vitally important that engineering students view their profession in a broader societal context and thoughtfully consider the work that they will do and the impact it will have on other people, other economies and on our environment," Kiser added.  

The Hart Engineering Debate Series is a creative and unconventional tool that will teach an engineering student audience how to responsibly engage in public discussion around increasingly complex and technical issues. This first debate is taking place as the end of the offshore drilling moratorium approaches, and as engineers everywhere face the continuing challenge of identifying ways to protect the natural world while wisely using its resources to maintain and improve our quality of life.

"As the U.S. works toward reducing our reliance on foreign crude through more efficient practices and increased use of domestic and renewable energy sources, it seems likely that we will need to operate under much stricter environmental regulations," says Dean Geoffrey Orsak, who was recently tapped by Energy Secretary Paul Chu to serve on a national committee to study future transportation fuels and their impact on long term energy policy.

Students arguing for the affirmative and negative in the oil spill debate are Julie Pollard (mechanical engineering graduate student), Jason Stegall (mechanical engineering undergraduate), Albert Young (electrical engineering undergraduate)and Jordan Wondrack (public policy undergraduate).

Wondrack serves as the SMU debate team co-captain and says it is a privilege to discuss current events with peers and to hear differing perspectives.  "Audience debates are especially enjoyable because of both the interactive dialogue and the conversational pace." 

The Hart Center for Engineering Leadership, officially opening on October 13, 2010, was created to help engineering students think and act strategically about their professional development.  The Center was founded on the belief that leadership and professional development of students should be done by design and with purpose.  This new vision challenges students to proactively sharpen their leadership skills as they build their deep technical knowledge. Visit www.smu.edu/Lyle/Undergrad/CEL.aspx for more information.

SOURCE The Lyle School of Engineering at SMU