UVM/GIV Engineering Summer Institute June 28 - July 5, 2008

Oath by John Kim (Kyung Mook Kim) 1^st Place

As a young child, I was taught history to see the future. Yet I witness ignorance of the world and myself each day, and I stand here today at this moment struggling to maintain the balance between education and reality, but I, John Kim, pledge to meet the reality through education, merge my knowledge in science and technology with a broad education, including politics, philosophy, economics and international relations to fight all and every barrier that separates education from reality. I will do so because I love my family. I will do so because I love my country, Republic of Korea, but, above all, I will do so because I have a solid piece of hope for humanity and love of mankind.

Technocratic Oath

By Joshua (Giosue) Improta (2^nd Place)

I am an Italian American citizen. Both my parents are natives of Napoli, Italy and our family holds the city and our family there deeply in our hearts. In fact, every Sunday from August to May, we listen to the game of the city’s most beloved soccer team, Napoli FC. WE ARE TRUE NAPOLITANS! However, my beloved city and its province are being engrossed by many diseases because trash flows into the streets; it is not picked up due to political issues, and people there are ignorant of recycling. Therefore, I vow to use my knowledge of Math, Science, and technology to create a state-of-the-art recycling system, to educate the people of the city, and ultimately, give my family a clean envirorment like there once was.

My technocratic oath would be that I will use my knowledge of Math, Science and Technology to give my country the know-how of energy efficiency and its implications, by imparting my knowledge of Math, Science, and Technology to students who wish to create a better neighborhood, city, country, and most importantly a better PLANET!

To do something for your environment may range from a very simple thing, such as, planting a tree to a simple thing such as giving out CFL’s to your neighborhood, and to a not-so-simple thing, such as, creating a state-of-the-art building such as NRG Systems, Vermont. Because, both planting a tree and creating a building requires the knowledge of second-grade science and second-year Engineering and math respectively.

This may sound a bit far fetched, but I would like to create a college in my country that focuses largely on environmental issues and studies. It will be a college that allows students to push their minds with ideas and creativity to such an extent that it cannot regain its orginal dimensions. Essentially, it will be a college that will be famous for its work in Environmental studies and its Application, more importantly. Any feasible ideas given by the student will be at least tried out once, sot that each student knows that his/her, idea/suggestion is valuable and may make a difference to the world!

Like I said, it may be implausible, but definitely possible!

My Technocratic Oath by Cole Winokur (Honorable Mention)

With a recent family emergency, I am leaving Vermont a little earlier than I had wanted to. However, within the last few days, I have learned from counselors, speakers, and even my peers, not only about science and engineering, but also the importance of applying the know ledge that I have been given to benefit mankind’s existence on planet Earth. After all, each and every one to the students attending this engineering program have been given the gift of knowledge and now hold the responsibility to help solve many of the worldly problems we are faced with today. My technocratic oath is to take the knowledge I have received in the areas of science to better the human race, as well as all of the other living species struggling to survive on this delicate planet.