“Dieselgate”: Scandal at Volkswagen
In 2013, engineering student researchers at WVU were performing on the road emission tests with
new miniaturized instrumentation on a variety of vehicles when they discovered that the Volkswagen
diesels they tested were not meeting EPA standards. Further investigation showed that the control
systems designed by Bosch and VW were deliberately designed to fool the standard stationary tests
of that time, and the ensuing scandal cost VW tens of billions of dollars in fines, and some of their
leadership their personal freedom. Robert Aftel will review the history of this scandal, and how
engineers used technology and knowledge of regulations to mislead governments and their customers.
Most engineering disasters are errors of omission or simple negligence; in Dieselgate we have a rare
example of engineers acting with malfeasance.
Robert Aftel is a Navy civilian with a background in engineering and IT. His background on Dieselgate
comes from his side passion for automobiles and internal combustion engines, where his knowledge
and experience is applied as an expert witness for clients in litigation.
