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Good Thought
April 2025

Civic Virtue among Engineers

Erhardt Graeff

Associate Professor of Social and Computer Science at Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering and a faculty associate at the Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics at Harvard University

In this essay, Erhardt Graeff, considers how to sustain hope and a desire to impact the common good among his engineering students. He begins, “My undergraduates at Olin College of Engineering want to make a positive impact. They see engineering as a career path to building a better world. Their initial theories of change are often naive. But I want them to hold onto the hope of positive impact through four years of equations, prototypes, and internships, and feel like they can live their values wherever their careers take them.” Read More.

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