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Leadership has little or nothing to do with your title or your position.
But it has everything to do with your ability to influence and bring out
the best in others.
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Spreading Expertise: Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology Professor Heinz
Luegenbiehl was among Japanese nuclear energy experts featured on Australian
Broadcasting Corporation’s “Four Corners” current affairs television show.
The interview was broadcast on Monday. |
Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology Professor Heinz Luegenbiehl has
helped media throughout the world put into context the important role of
nuclear energy in Japan’s economy and the emerging nuclear crisis
following the country’s recent devastating earthquake and tsunami.
Luegenbiehl, professor of philosophy and technology studies, specialized
in the ethics of the Japanese nuclear industry since 2002 and gave the
keynote address at the 1999 Japanese Atomic Energy Conference in
Hiroshima. He wrote a paper in 2009 about ethics in the Japanese nuclear
energy policy.
On Monday, Luegenbiehl was featured in the Australian Broadcasting
Corporation’s special “Four Corners” show that investigates Japan’s
nuclear nightmare and the fear that has gripped a nation. He pointed out
that the Tokyo Electric Power Company falsified air pressure readings in
the containment buildings in nuclear power plants.
“Obviously when you think about it from the current perspective, these
are serious issues because cracks in reactor shrouds indicate that radio
activity could potentially escape if there is enough radioactive
build-up,” the Rose-Hulman professor stated.
Later, he added: “Given that the Daiichi plant is basically going to be
written off, that means you're losing six reactors, six out of 55.
That's over 10 percent of (Japan’s) nuclear power generation. So, I
think there will, in fact, be a push maybe to increase the pace at which
(Japan) reconstructs nuclear power.”
Luegenbiehl was interviewed by “Four Corners’” production team in the
United States late last week. “Four Corners” is Australia's premier
television current affairs program, and is broadcast each Monday. In
this week’s 45-minute special show, reporter Quentin McDermott examined
on how the current nuclear emergency began, the increasingly desperate
efforts employed to bring the situation under control and the worrying
history of the plant's operators.
Watch Monday’s show, featuring Luegenbiehl, at:
www.abc.net.au/4corners/special_eds/20110321/japan. A transcript of the
show can be viewed
www.abc.net.au/4corners/content/2011/s3169729.htm.
Last week, Luegenbiehl was also interviewed by the Terre Haute
Tribune-Star and Indianapolis radio station WIBC-AM about the unfolding
nuclear meltdown at Japanese power plants. He told the newspaper about
one of his visits to a nuclear power plant in Japan.
“I remember it was a real shock to me,” Luegenbiehl told Tribune-Star
Reporter Brian Boyce, recounting his trip and the sight of seven
reactors lined up a row. “So that was an image that really stuck in my
mind. I couldn’t help but wonder why anyone would place seven nuclear
reactors in one place.”
Read the Tribune-Star’s story at
http://tribstar.com/news/x814641763/Nuclear-Japan-expert-says-recent-disaster-will-spur-other-nations-to-preparedness
Terre Haute television station WTHI-TV recently
featured Luegenbiehl in its coverage of the aftermath in Japan.
View the station’s coverage at
http://www.wthitv.com/dpp/news/local/rose-prof%3A-nuclear-plant-damage-avoidable.
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In The Classroom: Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology’s Heinz
Luegenbiehl, professor of philosophy and technology studies, teaches a
bioethics course during the spring academic quarter. |
Luegenhiehl’s 2009 paper examined the influence of Japan’s social values
on the development of its nuclear policy, in particular the importance
of the changing relationship of physical safety to national security. In
the summary statement for his 2009 paper, Luegenbiehl states: “In light
of the historical experience of Japan with atomic weapons and the
variety of accidents which have occurred in the Japanese civilian
nuclear industry, one might expect that the Japanese would be firmly
opposed to the use of nuclear energy. Yet, when seen in light of its
value structure, the very significant use of nuclear power in Japan is a
rational activity, as is the recent beginning of more widespread public
opposition to the government’s long-term plan to continue to increase
dependence on nuclear energy.”
Based on the Japanese experience, the final part of the paper then
briefly explored the potential for applying this analysis to examining
the currently changing attitudes in the United States in favor of a
re-emphasis on the further deployment of nuclear power for the
production of energy.
“At this critical juncture in the debate about whether the U.S. should
expand the use of nuclear power, an understanding of how the underlying
values influence the importance given to such societal goals as the
reduction of global warming or lessening of dependence on foreign oil
could add a valuable perspective to the debate,” Luegenbiehl stated.
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