杏吧论坛 Miss Students Compete in Lockheed Martin鈥檚 Ethics in Engineering Case Competition
Thu, 04/03/2025 - 09:43am | By: Gabriela Shinskie
(left) Matthew Anderson and (right) Wesley Rawlins
University of 杏吧论坛 Mississippi (USM) School of Ocean Science and Engineering (SOSE) students Matthew Anderson and Wesley Rawlins recently competed in Lockheed Martin鈥檚 National Ethics in Engineering Case Competition, where they made it to the Top 16. Both students participated in high-intensity debate-setting stages and solved real-life engineering ethical dilemmas.
Anderson (senior) and Rawlins (junior) found the experience rewarding and challenging. After having only weeks to prepare, the duo went through 鈥渉igh velocity鈥� training with USM faculty advisors and mentors, Drs. Kemal Cambazoglu and Mahdi Razaz, and received insights from previous SOSE competitors and last year鈥檚 semi-finalists, Joshua Seymour and Charles Heatherly. Both Seymour and Heatherly provided first-hand experience, insights and tips for success throughout the competition.
鈥淐harles, Josh and Mahdi understand the competition well. We felt like we had a great team. We made a lot of connections with other teams and had an awesome experience,鈥� said Anderson.
Each team was presented with a fictional case involving ethical, engineering and business-related dilemmas. The team quickly had to perform research, engage in debate, and find innovative solutions to the cases, all while being evaluated by three judges at each round of the competition. Each judge was experienced in engineering and ethical cases, heard the solution, and asked each team follow-up questions. The main part of the competition was being able to adapt to each case and find solutions together as a team. Case topics ranged from firefighting intelligence, artificial intelligence and other various forms of engineering. In between rounds, Anderson and Rawlins were able to call Seymour and Heatherly for advice.
鈥淭his is the first time that Josh and Charles鈥搘ho were previous competitors鈥揳re now mentors. As a group, we are working towards continuous and more success. Within a very short period, Matt and Wesley were able to go out of their comfort zone, research the topic and come up with an engineering solution,鈥� said Cambazoglu.
Both participants left the competition excited for the future and with knowledge gained from the competition and various engineering topics. Dr. Robert Leaf, SOSE director, supported 杏吧论坛 Miss鈥檚 representation at the competition and praised both Razaz and Cambazoglu for valuable mentorship and preparation.
鈥淲e are incredibly proud of the team, especially Mahdi and Kemal for leading this mindset and taking their skills, knowledge and abilities to showcase in these national competitions. It means a lot to our program and our students who are at the quality to compete and do well,鈥� said Leaf.
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