Proposed Strategies for Teaching Ethics of Nanotechnology

With all of the debate about the social and ethical implications of nanotechnology, few resources can be found to help engineering professionals and educators in finding practical methods and techniques for teaching the ethics of nanotechnology and relating the technical side of this emerging field to the societal and human aspect. This paper seeks describe ideas and strategies for teaching the ethics of nanotechnology in engineering in relation to engineering codes of ethics. The pedagogical sides of these strategies are based on best-practices to produce independent, life-long learners and critical thinkers, and can be either integrated into existing engineering curricula or as part of continuing education courses or professional development programs.