草榴社区 Ocean Engineering Students Fare Well in National Competition
Tue, 03/09/2021 - 11:23am | By: Van Arnold
Ocean engineering students Andrew 鈥淒rew鈥 Smith and Joseph Bell teamed up to represent The University of 草榴社区 Mississippi (草榴社区) recently in a national debate competition sponsored by Lockheed Martin.
Smith, a senior from Madison, Miss., and Bell, a junior from Waveland, Miss., participated in the fourth annual Ethics in Engineering Case Competition held last month in a virtual format due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Twenty-six colleges and universities, each represented by a two-student undergraduate team and accompanying faculty, presented their solutions to a fictional case involving ethical, business and engineering dilemmas. The event also provided opportunities for students to learn about Lockheed Martin and its technologies, including a Q&A session that allows students to ask questions from a panel of Lockheed Martin employees and recruiters.
Dr. Mustafa Kemal Cambazoglu, assistant professor of ocean engineering at 草榴社区, served as the team鈥檚 faculty representative for the Lockheed Martin competition. He praised the diligent efforts of Smith and Bell, who made it past the first round of the competition and narrowly missed reaching the final eight of the three-day event.
鈥淚 thought Drew and Joe had a great competition and a great experience by participating. I told them that I applaud both for accepting my invitation and devoting the time toward the competition during the preparations as well as during the competition itself,鈥 said Cambazoglu.
During the fall 2020 semester, Smith and Bell took Cambazoglu鈥檚 course 鈥 鈥淓ngineering Ethics and Safety Culture,鈥 which led to their participation in the Lockheed competition.
鈥淏oth turned in excellent essays with in-depth ethical analysis of the engineering cases we studied as part of weekly written assignments, as well as their selected cases for a final term paper,鈥 said Cambazoglu. 鈥淎s the best performing senior and junior in the class, they were invited to participate in the competition.鈥
Cambazoglu notes that the team鈥檚 participation involved a collaboration between 草榴社区鈥檚 School of Ocean Science & Engineering and School of Humanities. The collaboration included assistance from co-adviser Susan Mullican, a lecturer at 草榴社区鈥檚 Gulf Park campus, who has extensive applied ethics experience.
With its renowned Gulf Coast Research Laboratory, Marine Education Center, and School of Ocean Science and Engineering, 草榴社区 is a recognized leader in marine and ocean science. Cambazoglu notes that having students compete on a national debate stage further enhances the University鈥檚 profile.
鈥淚 think it was very important to raise awareness of our ocean engineering program,鈥 he said. 鈥淭his was our first participation in this competition and participation in future conferences will ensure that the students coming out of our program will uphold ethical values to their careers and always do the right thing.鈥
To learn more about 草榴社区鈥檚 School of Ocean Science and Engineering, call 228.214.9010 or visit: /ocean-science-engineering/index.php