Programs

The Center for Ethics in Science and Technology invites senior division 2008 Greater San Diego Science and Engineering Fair participants to apply their interest and skills in science to address the ethical dimensions of their work.

Submission deadline: March 15, 2008 Submit electronically to: ethics@ucsd.edu

Award announcements: March 31, 2008

Awards: First place, $500, Second Place, $200, and three Third Place winners, $100 each. Recipients will be invited to an Ethics Center reception in conjunction with an event scheduled for Spring or Summer of 2008.

Purpose of Program: Science has brought us much that is good, such as discoveries about ourselves and the world around us, as well as the tools to make those discoveries. However, we know that science can also lead to harm. Effectively anticipating the risk of harm, both intentional and unintentional, requires a thorough understanding of the science. For this reason, it is essential that scientists themselves should help decide how research can be conducted ethically, and how the products of research should be used. The purpose of this award program is to encourage the next generation of scientists to see ethics as part of their research, and not as a question to be handled by others.

Areas of Interest: Many different disciplines provide useful approaches to answer ethical questions. Students should not be constrained to only a philosophical consideration of the ethical dimensions of scientific inquiry. A variety of other disciplines have helped us to better understand ethics, including anthropology, art, economics, education, history, law, literature, political science, psychology, public health, sociology, and theology.

Submission Requirements

To be eligible for participating in this program, you must have a Science or Engineering project accepted for the 2008 Greater San Diego Science and Engineering Fair. Each applicant can submit only one Ethics project. This should be your own work, but you are free to consult with others. You must of course give credit to those who have helped you. Your Ethics project should be submitted electronically to info@ethicscenter.net as a document prepared using standard word processing software and/or in pdf format. The Ethics project should include: (1) title page (title, your name and e-mail address, high school, and the names and affiliations of others who helped); (2) up to five pages of text (including any figures, graphs, tables, or drawings); and (3) one page for a biography. Font and Page Margins: any standard font, 12 points or larger, 8½" X 11" paper with 1" margins

Judging Criteria

Applications must be received on or before the submission deadline date noted above. Upon receipt, applications will be evaluated for completeness and relevance to the five criteria listed below . Applications that do not meet the Submission Requirements, that are incomplete, or received after the submission deadline, will not be reviewed. Scoring: Reviewers knowledgeable in ethics and science will evaluate projects according to how well they meet the following criteria: Significance: Identify and address an ethical challenge that is of significant concern in the area of science relating to the student's science fair project Ethical principles: Explicitly identify ethical principles that are at stake Stakeholders: Identify those who are at risk of some harm due to the conduct of or products of the science in question, and the stakes of these people in the outcome Solution: Recommend one or more clear courses of action Relevant Literature: Consider relevant published work and provide a bibliography