ASCE has honored Alexander Wang, S.M.ASCE, with the 2024 Daniel W. Mead Prize for Students for the paper “Balancing Breakthrough & Ethics: Artificial Intelligence in Civil Engineering.”
The prize is awarded annually for the most well-written papers on professional ethics. This year’s paper topic was—
Per ASCE’s Code of Ethics, engineers govern their professional careers on the following fundamental principles:
• Create safe, resilient, and sustainable infrastructure.
• Treat all persons with respect, dignity, and fairness in a manner that fosters equitable participation without regard to personal identity.
• Consider the current and anticipated needs of society.
• Utilize their knowledge and skills to enhance the quality of life for humanity.
Civil engineers are responsible for planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructure while protecting and advancing the health, safety, and welfare of the public. Technology, particularly the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI), has the potential to change engineering in the future and design the built environment for generations. Ethical responsibilities of an engineer may or may not align with the use of AI on engineering projects.
The Daniel W. Mead Prize for Students is awarded to the author or authors of a paper on professional ethics. Each year the specific topic of the contest is selected by the ASCE Committee on Student Services.
