NMT Students Debate the Merits of Autonomous Vehicles

March 24, 2018


First NMT-sponsored student debate centered on driverless cars and the policy issues they spark

CLICK HERE To watch the final round

 

Debate winners Jonathan and Ria KidnerSOCORRO, N.M. - Jonathan and Ria Kidner walked away the big winners at New Mexico Tech’s inaugural student debate, besting 13 other teams to claim first place and $1,200. The duo’s stance for the widespread use of autonomous vehicles - citing the public's consent via government leadership and tremendous overall safety record during testing - proved to be the winning argument in the final round.

“It was surprising honestly, because we weren't expecting to win,” Jonathan Kidner said. “In talking to the rest of the teams, we most all signed up for the experience, not with the expectation of winning. For most of us, it was the first time we took part in a debate in this formal of a setting.”

The $1,200 purse didn't hurt, either, Kidner said. “There was a good balance of incentive for students to take on the additional workload on top of an already significant homework burden,” Kidner said. “But I might be biased because we won. I enjoyed it. It was well worth the time. The prize is also helpful. We have moving costs coming up and there’s always rent.”

Teams of two students from 12 different science and engineering disciplines formed 14 teams. The teams debated in four knockout rounds. Teams didn’t know which side they were supporting until 30 minutes before each of the four rounds. Kidner said having to research both sides of the argument actually helped make his team’s rebuttal even stronger.

“This actually proved helpful because you were able to anticipate what the other side was going to say - you’ve already written that side of the argument,” Kidner said. “You had to spot holes in either side, even the side you were for.”

In Round 1, the teams were placed on either side of the statement, “Driverless cars are safer than cars with drivers.” In Round 2, teams debated the economic issue, “Driverless cars are cheaper and more efficient than driven cars”. In Round 3, teams debated oversight issues, with the ‘For’ team defending “Driverless cars should be treated as normal cars” and the “Against” team defending “Driverless auto transportation should be treated as its own form of transportation with its own rules”. In the final round, teams argued both for and against whether driverless cars should be allowed on public roadways, having taken the topic from each of the previous three rounds into consideration. 

The competition was the first such event held at NMT’s campus where students from each team constituted two inter-disciplinary students. Dr. Ashok Ghosh, the Education Vice-President in the Board of Directors, New Mexico Society of Professional Engineers (NMSPE), and NMT liaison, organized the competition. Dr. Jesse Priest, Assistant Professor of CLASS Department at NMT assisted in the organization of the event. NMSPE and the Vice-President, Academic Affairs, NMT, sponsored the competition.

Three officers from New Mexico Society of Professional Engineers served on the judging panel, along with a number of NMT administrators, including president Dr. Stephen Wells.

“It was privilege for me to participate in this student debating experience,” Wells said. “I can clearly state that such an experience will impact the lives of those students who participated in two positive and significant ways. First, the experience allowed the students the ability to present one’s thoughts through articulated argument in a way that is rational, clear, and devoid of one’s personal opinion... These are the skills that will help our students advance their careers once they leave the college campus, as well as making them better and more informed citizens.”

“In addition, the students improved their understanding on how the question of ethics influences the science and engineering decision-making process,” Wells said. “Understanding ethical consequences is critical when making both career and personal decisions.”

Friday before the spring break week, Ghosh and Priest organized an information workshop discussing technical and debate-related topics with participating students. The workshop was recorded and shared with all the participating teams. Subsequently, volunteers at the NMT Writing Center, under the supervision of Priest, provided coaching to the teams.

“Before the debate, my personal opinion was that driverless cars are not safe,” Anastasiya Hamdi, a junior in Chemical Engineering said. “But, at the end of the preparation, I realized that I no longer hold the same opinion as before. Practicing debate with my partner made me discover new ideas and made me think differently about other facts that I haven’t thought about before.”

“This debate encouraged me to overcome my fears of speaking in the public, especially with my non-native accent,” Hamdi said. “To be successful in the profession, I will be asked to present projects and defend my ideas as we did during the debate. So, the competition showed me how to do it professionally."

 

Contestants:

Carlos Talamante (Petroleum), Julian Bojorques (Mechanical), Israel Gabaldon (Bio-Med), John Lee (Mechanical), Casey Aumack (Mechanical), Danny Royer (Management), Brandon Bicknell (Computer Sci.), Timothy Chavez (Chemistry), Celeste Herrera (Petroleum), Albert Reed (Electrical), Scott Garcia (Mechanical), Mariah Smith (Environmental), Anastasiya Hamdi (Chemical), Adriana Gallegos (Mechnical), Bryce Hart (Mechanical), Kyle Buchmiller (Computer Sci.), Shuprio Ghosh (Mechanial), Noah D’Antonio (Physics), Jason Pollock (Mechanical), Haley Hanson (Environmental), Jonathan Kidner (Mechanical), Ria Kidner (Chemistry), Geronimo Macias (Mechanical), Gregory Strobel (Materials), Jacob Pelster (Mechanial), and Steven McCrory (Chemical).

 

Judges:

from NMT:

Dr. Stephen Wells, President; Van Romero (VP), Kevin Wedeward (Engineering Dean), Bill Stone (Science Dean), Julie Ford (Mechanical), Peter Martinez (Library), Dave Thomas (IRIS-PASSCAL)

From New Mexico Society of Professional Engineers (NMSPE):

Dr. Walter Gerstle, Past President, Joe Higham (President electr) and Deanna Trujillo (Executive Director)

 

Volunteers:

Jonathan Logan, Michael Diswood, John Bradshaw, Hugh Shortt, Pnina Miller, Jason Leiker, Rachel Montoya, Ashley Burkhard, Edie Steinhoff, Javier Koerdell.