COMP001/COMP002/COMP003
Academic and Professional Development

Date:  March 23, 2005 -- Professional development Seminar (COMP00X)

Title: Is Ethics Important for IT Professionals?

Abstract: To act ethically as IT professionals, we need to know what we mean.  
Is it compliance with the laws, or something more than that?  Then we also 
need to understand the scope of ethics for IT.  It starts with the popular 
issues of technology ethics such as piracy, privacy, hacking, identity and 
the like.  But ethics for the IT professional goes beyond these issues to 
things like workplace monitoring, 24/7 work schedules, outsourcing and the 
many other issues raised in today's technologically enhanced workplace.  I 
will make the case for acting ethically using a very broad definition of the 
term.

Brief Bio:

Albert M. Erisman is Co-Founder and Executive Director of the Institute for 
Business, Technology, and Ethics (www.ethix.org).  He is also the Executive 
in Residence at the School of Business and Economics at Seattle Pacific 
University.  He received his Bachelor of Science in Mathematics from Northern 
Illinois University in 1962 and his Master's in Applied Mathematics from Iowa 
State University in 1967.  He was awarded his Ph.D. in Applied Mathematics 
from Iowa State University in 1969.

Al worked for The Boeing Company for 32 years. His experience with Boeing 
includes working as an algorithmic researcher and technical manager.  When he 
left Boeing in April, 2001, he was Director of Mathematics and Computing 
Technology, an R&D organization of 250 computer scientists, mathematicians, 
statisticians, and engineers working on future technologies for the company.  
He was selected as one of the inaugural twelve Senior Technical Fellows of 
The Boeing Company in 1990.

Al's teaching experience includes lecturing at Carnegie Mellon, University of 
Washington, Regent College in Canada, Iowa State University, Seattle 
University, and most recently, Seattle Pacific University.  He has taught at 
both the undergraduate and graduate levels in courses such as numerical 
analysis, technology and ethics, technology and business, electrical 
engineering, information systems management, and applied mathematics.

Al has co-authored three books and numerous journal papers in such diverse 
journals as the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics, Numerische 
Mathematic, ACM, IEEE, Scientific American, and Life @ Work.  He is currently 
working on a book titled Why be Ethical in Business?  His writing ranges from 
ethics to supercomputer applications to mathematical algorithms to 
technology.

He has made presentations to professional societies, companies, and 
governments in many parts of the world, most recently in China and Southeast 
Asia.  In addition, Al has participated in several National Academy of 
Sciences committees and currently is Chair of the review panel for the 
National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST) Information Technology 
Laboratory.  He is also Chairman of the Board of the Washington Technology 
Center.