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Professional Practice

Order of the Engineer Ring Ceremony

The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Orange County Branch invites you to participate in the Order of the Engineer Ring Ceremony to be held in conjunction with the annual Student Night dinner meeting on November 20, 2008.

The Order of the Engineer was initiated in the United States to foster a spirit of pride and responsibility in the engineering profession, to bridge the gap between training and experience, and to present to the public a visible symbol identifying the engineer. The first Ring Ceremony was held on June 4, 1970 at Cleveland State University. Over 2,400 ASCE members have participated in ASCE-led Ring Ceremonies across the United States since Summer, 2003.  More information on the Order of the Engineer can be found below at Frequently Asked Questions or at www.order-of-the-engineer.org.

Participants at the Ring Ceremony will take the Obligation of the Engineer and receive a stainless steel ring.

A registration form for the Ring Ceremony will be posted here, once it is available. Please print and fill the Registration Form and send it with a $ 15.00 check to:
ASCE OC Branch
Order of the Engineer
1405 Warner Avenue
Tustin, CA - 92780

For additional information on the Ceremony, please contact:
Brad Dybel, PE
Chairman of the Professional Practice Committee
ASCE Orange County Branch
(949) 291-5291

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the Order of the Engineer?
The Order is the roster of engineers in the United States who have participated in an Engineer’s Ring Ceremony and who have publicly accepted the “Obligation of an Engineer.”

What is the purpose of the Order and its “Obligation”?
The purpose is to stimulate formal public recognition by engineers in the United States of two basic principles. These principles are that (1) the primary purpose of engineering is service to the public, and (2) all members of the engineering profession share a common bond.

What is the “Obligation of an Engineer”?
The Obligation is the formal statement of an engineer’s responsibilities to the public and to the profession; the Obligation is publicly accepted by an engineer during induction at a Ring Ceremony. The Obligation is similar to the National Society of Professional Engineers’ Engineer’s Creed, the Engineers’ Council for Professional Development’s Canon, and the Canadian Ritual of the Calling of an Engineer.
 
What is an Engineer’s Ring Ceremony?
The Ring Ceremony is the public induction of candidates into the Order of the Engineer, during which the engineer candidates formally accept the Obligation of an Engineer and receive a stainless steel ring to be worn as a symbol on the fifth finger of the working hand.

What is an Engineer’s Ring?
The Engineer’s Ring in the United States is a stainless steel ring, worn on the fifth finger of the working hand by engineers who have accepted the Obligation of an Engineer in a Ring Ceremony. In Canada, the Engineer’s Ring is a wrought iron ring accepted by engineers inducted into the Ritual of the Calling of an Engineer in a secret ceremony.
 
Where was the Order of the Engineer founded?
During the 1960s, Ohio engineers attempted without success to extend the Canadian Ring Ceremony into American engineering schools. The first Engineer’s Ring Ceremony in the United States was conducted in 1970 by students at Cleveland State University’s Fenn College of Engineering. In 1972, the Order of the Engineer was incorporated in Ohio, and tacit approval was obtained from the Canadian Wardens. The Order’s national office remained in Ohio until 1987 when it was relocated to the United Engineering Center in New York City.
 
What are the membership activities of the Order of the Engineer after induction through a Ring Ceremony?
There are no dues and no meetings of the Order of the Engineer. Inductees are encouraged to wear the ring and to display the signed Obligation certificate as visible reminders of the publicly accepted Obligation as a contract with themselves.