National Society of Professional Engineers

Last updated
National Society of Professional Engineers
AbbreviationNSPE
FormationSeptember 3, 1934 (1934-09-03)
TypeProfessional engineering society
Headquarters Alexandria, Virginia
Official language
English
Key people
David B. Steinman
Staff
30
Website nspe.org

The National Society of Professional Engineers (abbreviate as NSPE) is a professional association representing licensed professional engineers in the United States. [1] NSPE is the recognized voice and advocate of licensed Professional Engineers represented in 53 state and territorial societies and over 500 local chapters. [2] The society is based in Alexandria, Virginia.

Contents

History

The society was founded in 1934 as a nontechnical organization for licensed professional engineers. The bridge engineer David B. Steinman was its first president and one of the group of professional engineers that established it. [3] [4]

NSPE published Canons of Ethics for Engineers and Rules of Professional Conduct in 1946, which evolved to the current Code of Ethics adopted in 1964. [5] The first fundamental canon is "Hold paramount the safety, health and welfare of the public." [6] [7]

In 1973, NSPE entered into an agreement with the Society of Women Engineers to support efforts to increase the number of women professional engineers.

In 1976, NSPE was the petitioner in National Society of Professional Engineers v. United States, 435 U.S. 679 antitrust case. The United States government brought this antitrust suit against NSPE, claiming that NSPE's ethical canon prohibiting its members from submitting competitive bids for engineering services suppressed competition which was in violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act. NSPE countered with argument for exception under the Rule of Reason. The United States Supreme Court decided against NSPE, allowing the submittal of competitive bids by members thereafter. [8]

Partners

NSPE has founded and works closely with a number of nonprofit organizations and outreach-based activities.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Civil engineering</span> Engineering discipline focused on physical infrastructure

Civil engineering is a professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including public works such as roads, bridges, canals, dams, airports, sewage systems, pipelines, structural components of buildings, and railways.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Engineering</span> Applied science and research

Engineering is the practice of using natural science, mathematics, and the engineering design process to solve technical problems, increase efficiency and productivity, and improve systems. Modern engineering comprises many subfields which include designing and improving infrastructure, machinery, vehicles, electronics, materials, and energy systems.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mechanical engineering</span> Engineering discipline

Mechanical engineering is the study of physical machines that may involve force and movement. It is an engineering branch that combines engineering physics and mathematics principles with materials science, to design, analyze, manufacture, and maintain mechanical systems. It is one of the oldest and broadest of the engineering branches.

Software engineering is an engineering-based approach to software development. A software engineer is a person who applies the engineering design process to design, develop, test, maintain, and evaluate computer software. The term programmer is sometimes used as a synonym, but may emphasize software implementation over design and can also lack connotations of engineering education or skills.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Engineer</span> Professional practitioner of engineering and its subclasses

Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the limitations imposed by practicality, regulation, safety and cost. The word engineer is derived from the Latin words ingeniare and ingenium ("cleverness"). The foundational qualifications of a licensed professional engineer typically include a four-year bachelor's degree in an engineering discipline, or in some jurisdictions, a master's degree in an engineering discipline plus four to six years of peer-reviewed professional practice and passage of engineering board examinations.

Construction engineering, also known as construction operations, is a professional subdiscipline of civil engineering that deals with the designing, planning, construction, and operations management of infrastructure such as roadways, tunnels, bridges, airports, railroads, facilities, buildings, dams, utilities and other projects. Construction engineers learn some of the design aspects similar to civil engineers as well as project management aspects.

Regulation and licensure in engineering is established by various jurisdictions of the world to encourage life, public welfare, safety, well-being, then environment and other interests of the general public and to define the licensure process through which an engineer becomes licensed to practice engineering and to provide professional services and products to the public.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Institution of Civil Engineers</span> UK independent professional association

The Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) is an independent professional association for civil engineers and a charitable body in the United Kingdom. Based in London, ICE has over 92,000 members, of whom three-quarters are located in the UK, while the rest are located in more than 150 other countries. The ICE aims to support the civil engineering profession by offering professional qualification, promoting education, maintaining professional ethics, and liaising with industry, academia and government. Under its commercial arm, it delivers training, recruitment, publishing and contract services. As a professional body, ICE aims to support and promote professional learning, managing professional ethics and safeguarding the status of engineers, and representing the interests of the profession in dealings with government, etc. It sets standards for membership of the body; works with industry and academia to progress engineering standards and advises on education and training curricula.

Software engineering professionalism is a movement to make software engineering a profession, with aspects such as degree and certification programs, professional associations, professional ethics, and government licensing. The field is a licensed discipline in Texas in the United States, Engineers Australia(Course Accreditation since 2001, not Licensing), and many provinces in Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Engineering technologist</span>

An engineering technologist is a professional trained in certain aspects of development and implementation of a respective area of technology. An education in engineering technology concentrates more on application and less on theory than does an engineering education. Engineering technologists often assist engineers; but after years of experience, they can also become engineers. Like engineers, areas where engineering technologists can work include product design, fabrication, and testing. Engineering technologists sometimes rise to senior management positions in industry or become entrepreneurs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Order of the Engineer</span> Professional association

The Order of the Engineer is an association for graduate and professional engineers in the United States that emphasizes pride and responsibility in the engineering profession. It was inspired by the success of the Ritual of the Calling of an Engineer, a similar and much older Canadian ceremony, and has 245 active links across the United States.

Mathcounts, stylized as MATHCOUNTS, is a non-profit organization that provides grades 6-8 extracurricular mathematics programs in all U.S. states, plus the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam and U.S. Virgin Islands. Its mission is to provide engaging math programs for middle school students of all ability levels to build confidence and improve attitudes about math and problem solving.

Engineering management is applied engineering. It is the application of engineering methods, tools, and techniques applied to business management systems. Engineering management is a career that brings together the technological problem-solving ability of engineering and the organizational, administrative, legal and planning abilities of management in order to oversee the operational performance of complex engineering-driven enterprises. Careers positions include engineering manager, project engineer, product engineer, service engineer, process engineer, equipment engineer, maintenance engineer, field engineer, technical sales engineer, quality and safety engineer. Universities offer bachelor degrees in engineering management. Programs cover courses such as engineering management, project management, operations management, logistics, supply chain management, engineering law, value engineering, quality control, quality assurance, six sigma, quality management, safety engineering, systems engineering, engineering leadership and ethics, accounting, applied engineering design, business statistics and calculus. A Master of Engineering Management (MEM) is sometimes compared to a Master of Business Administration (MBA) for professionals seeking a graduate degree as a qualifying credential for a career in engineering management.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">American Society of Mechanical Engineers</span> Mechanical engineering professional society

The American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) is an American professional association that, in its own words, "promotes the art, science, and practice of multidisciplinary engineering and allied sciences around the globe" via "continuing education, training and professional development, codes and standards, research, conferences and publications, government relations, and other forms of outreach." ASME is thus an engineering society, a standards organization, a research and development organization, an advocacy organization, a provider of training and education, and a nonprofit organization. Founded as an engineering society focused on mechanical engineering in North America, ASME is today multidisciplinary and global.

The Sydney Accord is an international mutual recognition agreement for qualifications in the fields of engineering technology.

Engineering ethics is the field of system of moral principles that apply to the practice of engineering. The field examines and sets the obligations by engineers to society, to their clients, and to the profession. As a scholarly discipline, it is closely related to subjects such as the philosophy of science, the philosophy of engineering, and the ethics of technology.

Certified engineering technologist (CET) is a Canadian professional certification awarded on the basis of academic qualification and work experience. Abbreviated as C.E.T., most Canadian provincial engineering and applied science technology associations offer this certification. Certification is voluntary and does not represent a provincial regulatory requirement or a statutory required license.

The National Institute for Certification in Engineering Technologies (NICET) is an organization that was established in 1961 to create a recognized certification for engineering technicians and technologists within the United States. A 1981 study by the National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP), requested by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials' SubCommittee On Construction (AASHTO SCOC), prompted the National Society of Professional Engineers (NSPE) to merge two certification bodies; the Institute for the Certification of Engineering Technicians (ICET) and the Engineering Technologist Certification Institute. The result is a nonprofit organization that provides a nationally recognized and accepted procedure for recognition of qualified engineering technicians and technologists.

The American Engineers' Council for Professional Development or simply the Engineers' Council for Professional Development (ECPD), established in June 1932, was an engineering professional body dedicated to the education, accreditation, regulation and professional development of the engineering professionals and students in the United States. ECPD grew and has changed its name to ABET, Inc. and its focus solely to accreditation.

Professional Engineers Day was launched by the National Society of Professional Engineers in 2016 to celebrate and raise public awareness of the contributions of licensed professional engineers in the United States. As of 2015, there were 474,777 licensed professional engineers in the U.S. The first Professional Engineers Day was celebrated on August 3, 2016.

References

  1. NSPE. "About NSPE - Vision, Mission, Values, Goals". National Society for Professional Engineers. Archived from the original on July 22, 2013. Retrieved September 9, 2013.
  2. "National Society for Professional Engineers". Engineering.com Directories. Engineering.com. Archived from the original on October 30, 2013. Retrieved September 9, 2013.
  3. NSPE. "About NSPE". National Society for Professional Engineers. Archived from the original on September 27, 2013. Retrieved September 9, 2013. In 1934, a group of professional engineers met in New York City to establish... The National Society of Professional Engineers
  4. The American Engineer, January 1935, p. 10 says, "On December 10th, 1934, the Secretary of State of South Carolina issued to the National Society of Professional Engineers a certificate of incorporation."
  5. NSPE.org: Code of Ethics (adopted 1964) Archived 2014-09-03 at the Wayback Machine .
  6. NSPE. "NSPE Code of Ethics for Engineers". National Society of Professional Engineers. Archived from the original on December 3, 2013. Retrieved September 9, 2013.
  7. Lauren Zumbach (September 9, 2013). "Software Engineers Need a Crash Course in Ethics". Slate. Archived from the original on September 9, 2013. Retrieved September 9, 2013.
  8. "National Society of Professional Engineers, Petitioner, v. United States". Legal Information Institute, Cornell University Law School. April 25, 1978. Archived from the original on September 27, 2013. Retrieved September 9, 2013.
  9. Georgia Public Broadcasting. "For National Engineers Week Introduce a Girl to Engineering". Archived from the original on July 1, 2016. Retrieved February 20, 2014.
  10. University of California Irvine. "MATHCOUNTS". Archived from the original on February 24, 2014. Retrieved February 20, 2014.
  11. NSPE. "NSPE's Engineering Income and Salary Survey". National Society for Professional Engineers. Archived from the original on September 27, 2013. Retrieved September 9, 2013.