A team of two Texas A&M University engineering seniors has won the 2025 Lockheed Martin Ethics in Engineering Competition held Feb. 24-26 at the corporation’s Center for Leadership Excellence in Bethesda, Maryland. The competition required teams to use AI and human decision-making as they faced a simulated emergency while working in leadership roles.
Each year, Lockheed Martin holds this competition to challenge student teams to work through a case study that presents ethical, business, and engineering dilemmas. The first-place prize is a $600 Amazon gift card for each student.
Jenna Pirazzi, of the Department of Materials Science and Engineering (MSEN), and her teammate Timothy Smith II, of the Department of Computer Science and Engineering, bested 65 other teams from 56 colleges in the competition, which asked the teams to incorporate advanced systems – including autonomous flight and resource allocation optimization – into wildfire management during a simulated crisis scenario. Organizational ethics and inter-team dilemmas had been built into the fictional case, requiring the students to work through those as they managed a wildfire emergency.
Both students enjoyed seeing their hard work pay off and gained skills that will serve them well in future endeavors.
“The competition helped me build skills in conflict resolution and goal-oriented communication,” Pirazzi said. “While I plan to start my post-grad journey as a Ph.D. student, I know that my passion is to return to industry. I think that the skills built during the competition have direct implications in both aspects. Especially when pursuing a Ph.D., being able to effectively communicate complex ideas and truly communicate why that idea is important is paramount.”
Their success is not just a personal accomplishment; it is a testament to their leadership, integrity and the core values we uphold in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at Texas A&M University and Texas A&M University College of Engineering, demonstrating what it truly means to be an Aggie engineer.
Their success didn’t just come from their knowledge but, more importantly, from their ability to navigate ambiguity, make ethical decisions, and collaborate under pressure — skills that resonated well with the industry professionals judging the event.
“Each round was thrilling as industry judges challenged us to confront the hard questions in our approach to risk analysis, climatology and AI ethics,” Smith said.
Magda Lagoudas, executive director of Industry and Nonprofit Partnerships and instructional associate professor, and Shayla Rivera, professor of practice, both in the College of Engineering, served as faculty advisors to the pair. Reflecting on the importance of ethics in engineering, Rivera emphasized, "Engineers make decisions that profoundly impact lives, making it essential to uphold ethical principles such as honesty, fairness, and accountability. As technology and innovation continue to evolve, so do the ethical challenges we face. As Aggie engineers, we are committed to continuous ethical education through our professional code of ethics, case studies, workshops, and discussions."
“This is a remarkable achievement among teams from more than 50 colleges and universities,” said Dr. Ibrahim Karaman, Chevron Professor and MSEN department head. “Their success is not just a personal accomplishment; it is a testament to their leadership, integrity and the core values we uphold in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at Texas A&M University and Texas A&M University College of Engineering, demonstrating what it truly means to be an Aggie engineer.”
This is the second time a MSEN senior participated on a winning team in the competition in the seven years since the department had its first undergraduate cohort. In 2021, industrial and systems engineering senior Chase Dickson and MSEN senior Gavin Van Skiver comprised the winning team. They were also advised by Lagoudas and Rivera.
“There is no greater reward for a professor than witnessing students rise to greatness. Congratulations to Jenna and Timothy!”, Karaman said.