Lies, damned lies and statistics
Statistics were part of our everyday lives long before anyone had heard of COVID-19. Pick up a newspaper any day of the week and see how many stories you find […]
Engineering education
Who is an author?
In technical writing the question of who is an author is more important than you might realize. Although the obvious answer is that it’s the person who wrote the report, […]
What is a pooled sample?
The engineers’ code of ethics requires us to “hold paramount the safety, health, and welfare of the public“. Here’s one way public health officials use statistics to do just that. […]
Death by PowerPoint
One of the most memorable presentations I ever attended was at once both a highly engaging talk about archeometry and a parody of bad presentations. (In case you didn’t know, […]
Poems for the Sons of Martha
This is the time of year for graduations. Unfortunately, there won’t be the usual ceremonies and other gatherings to mark the occasion this year. Instead, we offer some classic poems–and […]
Public health, safety, and welfare
For the 2019-2020 school year, the ABET criteria for student outcomes include “an ability to apply engineering design to produce solutions that meet specified needs with consideration of public health, […]
The ethics of technical writing
While looking for something else, I happened on the National Society of Professional Engineers (NSPE) Rules of Practice regarding engineering communications. Here’s what they say about the ethics of technical […]
2019-2020 ABET criteria for student outcomes
For would-be engineers, the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) sets the standards for university education. University engineering departments seeking accreditation must demonstrate how they meet the ABET criteria. […]
Write good engineering reports for clients
Many professionals struggle to write engineering reports for clients.* Most engineering schools provide some instruction in report writing, but students’ reports tend to be formulaic and stilted. However, once students […]
Tables and figures in technical writing
In technical writing for clients, it’s often necessary to include numerical data in graphical or tabular form. Good tables and figures in technical writing make complex information much easier for […]