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Honorary Degree Recipient
John W. Rowe
President and CEO of Exelon Corporation
John W. Rowe
Commencement Address
June 14, 2003
3:30 p.m.: College of Engineering and School of Biomedical Engineering, Science and Health Systems



CONGRATULATIONS

Upon Your Graduation From Drexel University

*You Enter A Professional World That Rests Upon The Achievements Of Generations Of Engineers

A World That Looks To Engineers Like You To Continue To Make It Better and to Fix Some Of Our Previous Mistakes

*Congratulations Also To The Families And Friends Who Have Helped Make this Day Possible For You

I AM A LAWYER BY TRADE AND AN HISTORIAN BY AVOCATION

*So You Could Well Ask Why President Papadakis Invited Me Here Today

*Probably He Did So Because My Company, Exelon Parent of PECO, is a Large Employer Of Drexel Graduates

*Possibly He Did So Because My Long Career With Electric Utilities Has Given Me Some Insights Into The Challenges Of Engineering In Our Complex Society

THE ENGINEERING PROFESSIONS ARE ABOUT BEING USEFUL TO SOCIETY
IN CERTAIN HIGHLY CONCRETE WAYS

*Useful Through Planning How We Use Our Intellectual, Material, Environmental And Financial Resources To Solve Problems And To Create Opportunities

*Useful Through Building Things That Work And Operating Things That Have Been Built

I COULD TALK TO YOU ABOUT ENGINEERING SUCCESSES AND THE ROLE
THEY PLAY

*But You Know As Much About This As I Do
    
*And I Will Simply Support This Proposition With One Illustration

*Exelon Is The Largest Operator Of Nuclear Power Plants In The United States

*Both Of Its Predecessor companies Suffered Financially, Politically And In Reputation From Operating Those Plants Poorly

* But A Group Of Dynamic, Committed And Competent Engineers Have Changed That Adding Billions Of Dollars In Value Through Careful Planning, Deep Accountability, And Precise Definition Of Work    

BUT TODAY I WOULD LIKE TO FOCUS UPON THE LIMITATIONS OF PLANNING AND THE LIMITS THESE PLACE UPON ENGINEERING    

*You Have Been Taught About Many Kinds Of Limitations

  • Through Examples Of Design Failures Such As The Space Shuttle Disasters
    • Through Examples Of Ignorance, Carelessness, And Greed
    • And Through Instances In Which Materials Are Unproven
  • And Trial And Error Remains The Test Of Theory
*But I Would Give You, From My Own Experience, Examples Of Other Kinds Of Human Limitations
  • The Engineers Who Committed My Companies To Nuclear Power Plants
  • Believing (rightly in my judgment) That These Would Make Energy In The Most Environmentally Benign Way
  • Without Comprehending The Opinions Of Those Who Disagreed (Including Most Of The Environmental Groups) And Without Fully Addressing The Continuing Issues Of Safety And Waste Disposal Deress Vignette
  • The Planners Who Reviewed The Supplies Of Oil And Gas And Predicted That Today
  • Oil Would Be $200 Per Barrel
  • Without Comprehending The Variety Of Supply And Demand Responses That Would Ensue
  • The Seers Who Argue That We Need No Coal Or Nuclear Energy Because Renewables
  • Will Solve All Our Energy Needs If Only Given A Chance
  • Without Comprehending The Costly Supply Chains Often Involved
  • And Those Lately Lamented Optimists Who Believed The NASDAQ Bull Market To Be Real
  • Due To Technological Change
  • Unsupported By Cash
*Are These Limitations The Result Of Financial Commitments, Hubris Or Simply Of The Limited Foresight Given To Humans

*And I Would Ask You, As Engineers And As Citizens, To Beware The One Perfect Solution
    
IN MY OPINION THE FUNDAMENTAL CHALLENGES OF OUR SOCIETY INCLUDE

*The Ever Difficult Issues Of Making Government and Relations Among Governments Work

*The ever-increasing importance of racial and economic interdependence
In Both Chicago And Philadelphia, I Am One Of A Minority And In Most Places Where You Seek To Do Your Work These Issues Will Be Present

This combined graduating class of 714 includes over 150 minority students and 121 more are international students (College of Engineering => of 672 students, 21% are minority and 17% are international School of Biomedical Engineering => 42 students, 29% minority and 17% more are international)    

*The ever-increasing need for more sustainable solutions to our economic and energy requirements    

*You Will See Even More Profound Shifts

AGAIN MY CONGRATULATIONS AND BEST WISHES FOR SUCCESS TO YOU AND MY THANKS TO PRESIDENT PAPADAKIS FOR INVITNG ME TODAY.




 Modified: Wednesday August 27 2003