Order of Engineer includes guest participant

“I am an Engineer” begins the pledge taken by 25 graduating seniors, four faculty members and two guests at SDSU’s Order of the Engineer ceremony May 5.

Held the day before commencement, the ceremony is designed to foster a spirit of pride and responsibility in the engineering profession to students embarking on the professional field. However, as evidenced by those who took part at the SDSU ceremony, Order of the Engineer isn’t limited to those fresh out of the classroom.

The list of oath takers included two department heads—Yucheng Liu (mechanical) and Muthu Muthukumarappan (ag and biosystems engineering)—and two faculty members—Michael Pawlovich (civil) and Saikat Basu (mechanical).

The guests were Tom Becker (ag and biosystems engineering and SDSU Foundation development director to the Jerome J. Lohr College of Engineering) and Michael Yaszemski (chemical engineer at Lehigh University and keynote speaker).

The students came from the fields of civil, mechanical, electrical and ag and biosystems engineering. The order is open to students of any engineering disciplines. Participation is voluntary. About one-fourth of the spring graduates took part.

In addition to taking an oath to uphold the standards and dignity of the profession, students receive a stainless steel ring that is to be worn on the pinkie finger of the working, or dominant, hand.

This year’s ceremony included a larger-than-life table model constructed by Tyler Hanks, head of the production lab in Chicoine Architecture, Mathematics and Engineering Hall.

Curiosity leads to invite

Guest speaker Yaszemski was present at the invitation of work colleague Kenton Kaufman, who received his ring in 1974 after earning a bachelor’s degree in ag engineering from SDSU.

Until Yaszemski’s February retirement, he and Kaufman both worked in the orthopedic surgery department at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. Kaufman, who went on to get a doctorate in biomechanical engineering, arrived at Mayo in 1996, and Yaszemski arrived the same year after a career in the U.S. Air Force, where he attained the rank of brigadier general.

The trail to May 5 began with a 2019 conversation between Kaufman and Yaszemski.

“He noticed my ring and asked me about it. The Order of Engineer didn’t exist at his school,” said Kaufman, who was named an SDSU Distinguished Alumnus in 2007 and an SDSU Distinguished Engineer in 2008. Yaszemski said Kaufman told him, “You need to be one of the persons who has the ring,” and Yaszemski agreed. Kaufman contacted the college, which agreed to have Yaszemski as part of the ceremony.

Appearance delayed by COVID

“We were scheduled to come in 2020,” but COVID-19 caused the ceremony to be canceled, Kaufman said.

At this year’s ceremony, Yaszemski spoke for 40 minutes on various character qualities and values, the principal of which was telling the truth. Recalling his speech afterward, Yaszemski said, “You always have to tell the truth. The truth is sometimes the first thing that falls when people don’t pay attention. Engineers, as you are on the road to be this being your life work, know that bad things happen. If something isn’t right, you need to speak up and say this is going to be trouble.”

He added, “I like to tell the students be liberal with saying thank you.” Then he held up his ringed finger and said thank you.

The pledge

The first Order of the Engineer ceremony was June 4, 1970, at Cleveland State University.

The oath, dubbed the Obligation of an Engineer, reads in full:

“I am an Engineer. In my profession I take deep pride. To it I owe solemn obligations.

“As an Engineer, I pledge to practice integrity and fair dealing, tolerance and respect; and to uphold devotion to the standards and the dignity of my profession, conscious always that my skill carries with it the obligation to serve humanity by making the best use of the Earth’s precious wealth.

“As an Engineer, I shall participate in none but honest enterprises. When needed, my skill and knowledge shall be given without reservation for the public good. In the performance of duty and in fidelity to my profession, I shall give my utmost.”

Engineers who did not take the oath and having an interest in doing so should contact the Lohr College of Engineering.