2026 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Integrating Character Formation into an Introductory Engineering Design Course

Presented at Engineering Ethics Division (ETHICS) Technical Session 5

This paper presents an evidence-based intervention to integrate character formation into EGR 101 Introduction to Engineering Design and Communication, a required first-year course in Duke University’s Pratt School of Engineering with over 300 students. In collaboration with a new ethics initiative, Character Forward, we sought to make character central to students’ early experiences of engineering by introducing specific character traits and embedding reflection on those traits into the design process. Drawing on virtue ethics and character education, we identified five traits—respect, curiosity, resilience, integrity, and responsibility—as aligned with the iterative and collaborative nature of design in this course. Then we developed interventions to address these traits. Piloted in Spring 2025 and refined for Fall 2025, our interventions were evaluated through surveys comparing control and treatment sections. While our assessment tools faced various limitations, we did find that 80% of students reflected positively on the interventions. Our findings inform efforts to move engineering ethics education beyond compliance-based models toward pedagogies that intentionally cultivate character.

Authors

Dr. Rich Eva http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1661-060X Duke University [biography]

Rich Eva, Ph.D., is the inaugural director of Character Forward, an ethics initiative in Duke University’s Pratt School of Engineering, and a research fellow with the Kenan Institute for Ethics. A philosopher by training, his research and teaching focus on ethics, political philosophy, and pedagogy.
Dr. Michael Rizk Duke University [biography]

Michael Rizk, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor of the Practice in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Duke University. He is also the Associate Director of the First-Year Design program in Duke's Pratt School of Engineering. His interests include the first-year experience for engineering students, design courses, and introductory biomedical engineering courses.
Mahi Patel Duke University [biography]

Mahi Patel completed her Bachelor's Degree in Biomedical Engineering at Duke University, minoring in Chemistry and Computational Biology. Alongside her studies, she worked as a research assistant, focusing on character formation in engineering education. Her industry experience includes technology strategy consulting and working closely with international teams and stakeholders.
Dr. Alexandra Cooper Ph.D. Duke University [biography]

Alexandra Cooper, Ph.D., is the associate director for assessment at the Kenan Institute for Ethics at Duke Duke University, associate director of the Duke Initiative on Survey Methodology, and a member of the Duke University Institutional Review Board. She is trained in survey and qualitative research methods and uses these tools to support a wide variety of assessment and research projects.

Note

The full paper will be available to logged in and registered conference attendees once the conference starts on June 21, 2026, and to all visitors after the conference ends on June 24, 2026

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