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Join us in welcoming Aaron D. Franklin, a scientist and engineering professor from Duke University who will discuss the underlying role of ethics in the scientific breakthroughs you hear about in the mainstream media.
About this event
When you hear about a major scientific discovery or innovation – cure for cancer, smartphone battery that will last a month, flying cars – what is your take? Do you mark your internal calendar to set expectation of delivery based on what is reported? If so, have the history of such promises typically materialized? Behind every scientific breakthrough that makes its way to the mass media is a complex landscape of ethical decision points. Would awareness of the underlying ethics of what scientists study, discover, and communicate improve your ability to judge the value of reported breakthroughs? Is the journey from lab bench to frontpage media intrinsically flawed, or just occasionally hijacked by bad actors? This talk will explore these questions for the sake of discussion and to offer some perspective; after all, lessons in ethical leadership from scientific research have strong relevance in the business world, and vice versa.
Addy Professor of Electrical & Computer Engineering and Chemistry
Aaron D. Franklin is the Addy Professor of Electrical & Computer Engineering and Chemistry at Duke University where he leads a group of graduate and undergraduate students exploring new electronics and biosensors from nanomaterials (i.e., very, very small materials). After receiving his Ph.D. from Purdue University in 2008, Aaron spent six years on the research staff at the IBM T. J. Watso…
Aaron D. Franklin is the Addy Professor of Electrical & Computer Engineering and Chemistry at Duke University where he leads a group of graduate and undergraduate students exploring new electronics and biosensors from nanomaterials (i.e., very, very small materials). After receiving his Ph.D. from Purdue University in 2008, Aaron spent six years on the research staff at the IBM T. J. Watson Research Center in Yorktown Heights, NY. In 2014, he joined the faculty at Duke and now leads his research lab, spins off start-up companies, and educates the next generation of engineers and scientists. In the Pratt School of Engineering, Aaron serves as the Associate Dean of Doctoral Education, in which role he provides annual training to new Ph.D. students on responsible, ethical conduct in research and directs the graduate program of more than 600 graduate students.