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Moral Exemplars

This section gives detailed stories of scientists and engineers in difficult circumstances who have demonstrated wisdom that enabled them to fulfill their responsibilities as scientists and engineers. Their actions provide guidance for others who want to do the right thing in circumstances that are similarly difficult. Many of our stories of moral leadership are illustrated with graphics.

Roger Boisjoly on the Challenger Disaster: Roger Boisjoly discusses in seven sections his attempts to avert the launch of the Space Shuttle Challenger. Boisjoly has spent his entire career making well-informed decisions based on his understanding of and belief in a professional engineer's rights and responsibilities. For his honesty and integrity leading up to and directly following the shuttle disaster, he was awarded the Prize for Scientific Freedom and Responsibility by the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Includes a Quicktime Movie of the disaster and other supporting materials.
Inez Austin: Protecting the Public Safety at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation: This site presents the case of whistleblower Inez Austin as an example of someone who, even in the face of overwhelming adversity, followed her ethical convictions and refused to sanction a procedure she believed to be unsafe. The information in this site is drawn from extensive personal communications with Inez Austin.
Fred Cuny's Innovations to Lessen the Suffering of Refugees: Fred Cuny was a disaster relief specialist who used his training in engineering to do humanitarian work. He worked in countries such as Biafra, Guatemala, Ethiopia, Iraq, Somalia, and Bosnia. In March 1995, he disappeared in Chechnya and was never found. The story of his work is told in 8 sections and includes supplementary materials and pictures.
Rachel Carson's Campaign to Control the Use of Pesticides: During the seventeen years she worked in the US Fish and Wildlife Service, Rachel Carson learned about the problems of pesticides. Undaunted by the chemical companies' hostility and by the public's high enthusiasm for pesticides, she wrote a book called Silent Spring, which caused a major shift in public consciousness about the environment. Told in 7 sections and includes supplementary materials and pictures.
William LeMessurier and The Fifty-Nine-Story Crisis: A Lesson in Professional Behavior: William LeMessurier served as design and construction consultant on the innovative Citicorp headquarters tower, which was completed in 1977 in New York. The next year, after a college student studying the tower design had called him to point out a possible deficiency, LeMessurier discovered that the building was indeed structurally deficient. LeMessurier faced a complex and difficult problem of professional responsibility in which he had to alert a broad group of people to the structural deficiency and enlist their cooperation in repairing the deficiency before a hurricane brought the building down.

Roger Boisjoly-The Challenger Disaster
Roger Boisjoly discusses in seven sections his attempts to avert the launch of the Space Shuttle Challenger. Boisjoly has spent his entire career making well-informed decisions based on his understanding of and belief in a professional engineer's rights and responsibilities. For his honesty and integrity leading up to and directly following the shuttle disaster, he was awarded the Prize for Scientific Freedom and Responsibility by the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Includes a Quicktime Movie of the disaster and other supporting materials.
Fred Cuny (1944-1995) -Disaster Relief Innovator
A biographical article about the life and work of Fred Cuny, a disaster relief specialist who used his training in engineering to do humanitarian work. Includes many pictures from a
William LeMessurier-The Fifty-Nine-Story Crisis: A Lesson in Professional Behavior
William LeMessurier, a structural engineer and construction consultant on the Citicorp headquarters tower discusses ethical dilemmas faced with structural deficiencies in the design of the Citicorp headquarters.
Rachel Carson-Silent Springs
The index of an essay discussing Silent Spring by Rachel Carson. During the seventeen years she worked in the US Fish and Wildlife Service, Rachel Carson learned about the problems of pesticides. Undaunted by the chemical companies' hostility and by the public's high enthusiasm for pesticides, she wrote a book called Silent Spring, which caused a major shift in public consciousness about the environment. Told in 7 sections and includes supplementary materials and pictures.
Inez Austin-Protecting the Public Safety at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation
The story of Inez Austin, an engineer and whistleblower at the Hanford nuclear site whose commitment to her professional responsibilities caused her to refuse to certify unsafe procedures and suffer extended retaliation as a result.