Watson College seniors, graduate students welcomed into Order of the Engineer
Students taking the Obligation of the Engineer receive a stainless-steel ring at Engineers Week ceremony
When medical students become doctors, they take the Hippocratic Oath — an ancient Greek promise to “do no harm” and follow ethical guidelines.
The Order of the Engineer was founded in 1970 along the same principles, as a way of honoring graduates into the profession. Students taking the Obligation of an Engineer receive a stainless-steel ring to wear on the pinky finger of the receiver’s working hand as a reminder of their promises. It’s not a membership organization, though, and there are never any meetings to attend or dues to pay.
Binghamton University’s Thomas J. Watson College of Engineering and Applied Science has held Order of the Engineer ceremonies since at least the 1990s, and it’s become a highlight of Engineers Week festivities in recent years.
“As our students go out into the world to shape tomorrow’s innovations, it’s important that they remember the ethical lessons we taught them during their time at Watson College,” Dean Atul Kelkar said. “The Order of the Engineer reinforces those ideas, and the rings are tangible reminders that doing good is important.”
Seniors and graduate students in mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, computer engineering, biomedical engineering, and industrial and systems engineering are eligible to join. Each department or school sponsors its students’ inductions and pays for their rings, certificates, and wallet cards.
“I believe the Order of the Engineer is important because it serves as a reminder for engineering students to take pride in our profession while acting as a call for responsibility and accountability,” said Lexine Mae Egypto, a senior studying industrial and systems engineering. “It reminds us that the skills we have sharpened over the years are meant to build a safer and more sustainable world.”
”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 with deep fidelity to my profession, I shall give my utmost.”
Obligation of an Engineer
Jason Gilbert ’00, an alumnus of Watson’s Department of Mechanical Engineering who is now assistant director of design for the University’s Facilities Management, helped to bring back the ceremony in 2016 after a five-year gap.
“Some of the Dean’s Office staff remembered the tackle box where all the rings were stored, but no one knew where they had gone after the office moved to the Innovative Technologies Complex in 2011,” Gilbert said.
He did some sleuthing and talked to Professor Emeritus and former Associate Dean of Academic Affairs Dick Culver. Eventually, he found the box of rings on a closet shelf — a little dusty but ready for the next generation of engineers.
Gilbert recruited Professor Paul Chiarot (now ME Department chair) to help with organizing the ceremony that year, and more recently, Assistant Dean for Academic Affairs Debby Howell and Brian Palmiter, a site/civil engineering designer with Facilities Management, have joined the planning committee too.
“Without them, the ceremony wouldn’t be as successful as it is each year,” Gilbert said.
Chiarot praised the revival of the annual tradition: “The Order of the Engineer ceremony has become a highlight of the academic year and a special moment for our graduating students. Jason’s hard work and dedication make it all possible.”
Kevin Polanco, a senior in mechanical engineering, believes the ceremony reminds new engineers that professionalism and accountability should come before technical skill.
“The Order of the Engineer is a reminder that the engineering profession isn’t just about the importance of structural integrity, but integrity of character,” he said. “As I prepare to go into industry, it feels like a wakeup call that this profession is one of both creativity and consequence, where there is real responsibility in the things we create and how it will affect others.”
The number of participants for the ceremony has grown steadily since the event returned after the COVID-19 pandemic. This year, more than 200 students crowded into a lecture hall on Feb. 22 to take the oath.
“The Order of the Engineer represents one of the first steps to becoming a full-fledged professional engineer. It represents a serious dedication to the field, and it’s a promise to always try my best with my future work so that nobody gets hurt,” said Sebastian Marinescu, a senior in mechanical engineering who will pursue his master’s degree this fall as part of the 4+1 program. “On a less serious note, I thought it just would be cool! I had no other ring on my pinky, so it was really a net positive.”