Justin Hess's Research Group
Our research group was launched from the School of Engineering Education at Purdue University in 2019. We are a community of learners interested in a variety of areas, including but not limited to empathy, ethics, design, and teamwork.
Mission Statement
Our mission is to inspire change in engineering culture to become more socially responsive, environmentally friendly, and inclusive, thereby providing opportunities for all current and prospective engineers to reach their maximum potential and to help realize a sustainable world.
Group Members
Justin Hess
Assistant ProfessorMy aim is to inspire change in engineering culture to become more socially responsive, environmentally friendly, and inclusive, thereby providing opportunities for all current and prospective engineers to reach their maximum potential.
Athena Lin
Ph.D. StudentMy vision is to leverage my scholarship, teaching, and serial optimism to inspire engineering students to imagine and realize their roles in shaping prosperous futures for humanity.
Elizabeth Sanders
Ph.D. StudentMy vision is to prepare budding engineers with the knowledge and skills needed to engage in human-centered engineering design to contribute contextual, sustainable, and community-conscious design solutions to nurture a care-oriented world
Drew Whitehead
Ph.D. StudentMy vision is to bring the humanity back to engineering; a world where engineering students graduate from programs feeling empowered, recognized, and free to autonomously pursue their personal goals and aspirations while understanding the social impacts engineering has on the world around them. Through analyzing undergraduate student experiences inside and outside the classroom, I hope to understand their idea of ethics and community within engineering and how it reflects their passion for the profession.
Aristides Carrillo Fernandez
Ph.D. CandidateMy vision is to conduct transformative research on engineering students’ empathic communication and teamwork in academic contexts to prompt a change in engineering education values and norms. Developing more empathic, inclusive, supportive, and innovative individuals with collective goals will work together to build a better future for all.
Andrew Gray
Ph.D. StudentI want first-year engineering classes to make students feel empowered to change the world on their own and be excited about studying engineering.
Some research questions that we address include:
Publications
Selected Publications
A systematic literature review of US engineering ethics interventions.
Hess, J, L. & Fore, G. A systematic literature review of US engineering ethics interventions. Science and Engineering Ethics, 2018, 24, 2, 551-583
The development of empathic perspective-taking in an engineering ethics course
Hess, J. L., Strobel, J. & Brightman, A. O. The development of empathic perspective-taking in an engineering ethics course. Journal of Engineering Education, 2017, 106, 4, 534-563
Enhancing engineering students’ ethical reasoning: Situating Reflexive Principlism within the SIRA Framework
Hess, J. L., Beever, J., Zoltowski, C. B., Kisselburgh, L. G., & Brightman, A. O. Enhancing engineering students’ ethical reasoning: Situating Reflexive Principlism within the SIRA Framework. Journal of Engineering Education, 2019, 108, 1, 82-102.
Recent Publications
A Multi-layered Illustration of Exemplary Business Ethics Practices with Voices of the Engineers in the Health Products Industry
Kim, D. & Hess, J. L. (2022). A Multi-layered Illustration of Exemplary Business Ethics Practices with Voices of the Engineers in the Health Products Industry. Journal of Business Ethics. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-022-05255-2
Understanding influences on engineering students’ civic engagement in high school and the first year of college.
Lin, A. & Hess, J. L. (2022). Understanding influences on engineering students’ civic engagement in high school and the first year of college. IEEE Transactions on Education, 65(3), 287-296, https://doi.org/10.1109/TE.2022.3193580
Validating the Civic-Minded Graduate Scale in engineering education using mixed methods
Lin, A. & Hess, J. L. (2022). Validating the Civic-Minded Graduate Scale in engineering education using mixed methods. Michigan Journal of Community Service Learning, 28(1), https://doi.org/10.3998/mjcsl.308