The National Society of Professional Engineers (NSPE) is an American professional association representing licensed professional engineers. Engineering.com describes NSPE as "the recognized voice and advocate of licensed Professional Engineers," represented in 52 state (and territorial) organizations and over 400 local chapters. The society is based in Alexandria, Virginia.
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History
The NSPE was founded in 1934, as a nontechnical organization for licensed professional engineers. The bridge engineer David B. Steinman was its first president, and one of the group of professional engineers that established it.
The NSPE published Canons of Ethics for Engineers and Rules of Professional Conduct in 1946, which evolved to the current Code of Ethics adopted in 1964. The first Fundamental Canon is "Hold paramount the safety, health, and welfare of the public."
In 1973 the NSPE entered into an agreement with the Society of Women Engineers, to support efforts to increase the number of women professional engineers.
In 1976, the NSPE was the petitioner in National Society of Professional Engineers v. United States, 435 U.S. 679 antitrust case. The United States government brought this antitrust suit against the NSPE, claiming that the NSPE's ethical canon prohibiting its members from submitting competitive bids for engineering services suppressed competition, which was in violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act. The NSPE countered with argument for exception under the Rule of Reason. The United States Supreme Court decided against the NSPE, allowing the submittal of competitive bids by members thereafter.
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Partners
NSPE has founded and works closely with a number of nonprofit organizations and outreach-based activities.
- National Engineers Week was founded in 1951 by NSPE to encourage diversity within engineering and ensure that there would be enough engineers in the future. Different aspects of this event include "Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day", which is designed to overcome the gaps the appear between genders in engineering employment.
- NSPE cofounded the middle school mathematics competition MATHCOUNTS in 1983. More than 350,000 middle school students from across the United States take part in the math-based competition each year.
- NICET (National Institute for Certification in Engineering Technologies) is an arm of the NSPE.
- Through its interest group Professional Engineers in Government, NSPE sponsors the Federal Engineer of the Year Award and (along with several other organizations) sponsors the Washington Award. It formerly published the Professional Engineers' Income and Salary Survey but no longer does so.
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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