The World Federation of Engineering Organizations (WFEO) 2030 Plan actively demonstrates the commitment by WFEO, its members and partners, to advance the UN Sustainable Development Goals through engineering. This would imply the need for engineering professionals and students to become sustainability literate. But what does that mean? Should there be a common set of terms and concepts that is understood from the agricultural engineer to the transportation engineer? And if so, who would decide what that is? Indeed, the rulebooks for engineering the substance of life on this planet would seem to demand a transdisciplinary approach to establishing minimum guidelines as to what the 21st Century engineering professional is expected to know and apply. This webinar will bring five experts who are members of a working group being established under the auspices of the Sustainable Futures Lab at the School of Engineering at Morgan State University to begin a global conversation on the need for a global body of knowledge for teaching sustainability engineering across all engineering disciplines.
Presenters
Dr. John D. Atkinson is the Scott and Coleen Stevens Chair in Engineering Sustainability and an Associate Professor in Environmental Engineering at the University at Buffalo, where he created the University’s most popular study abroad course and has been recognized as an Early Career Teacher of the Year, Experiential Learning Faculty Fellow, Life Raft Debate Winner, TEDx Speaker, and Best Undergraduate Mentor. His work is driven by an overarching desire to more sustainably produce and consume, resulting in diverse publications and seminars. With on-going funding from New York State and the US National Science Foundation, as well as local industry, he is researching within the broad field of waste management, using life cycle analysis tools to investigate plastics and tire recycling, waste disposal options, and energy recovery. His work targets real-world problems that impact everyday life, aiming to make engineering more thoughtful and accessible. Dr. John emboldens lifestyle changes that promote sustainability. He encourages his students to expand their comfort zones, holistically problem solve, and embrace their creativity through design.
Dr. Niebert Blair is the Capacity Building Advisor for the 11th European Development Fund (EDF) Technical Assistance Programme for Sustainable Energy in the Caribbean (TAPSEC) where she coordinates the implementation of the TAPSEC Component 2: Information and Capacity Building. She supports the CARIFORM regional and international exchange on specific solutions, focusing primarily on issues related to the application of innovative technologies, financing models and regulatory mechanisms to Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency sectors within the CARIFORUM. Dr. Blair advises on the implementation of the Long-range Energy Alternatives Planning System (LEAP) regional training, CXC virtual Teacher training workshops, Sustainable Energy Training & Train-the-Trainer Programme, and the RegionalUniversities Network (RUN).In addition, Dr. Blair renders support to the regional institutions (CROSQ, CARICOM Secretariat, CARILEC, CDB, CDF and CCREEE) in implementing the Regional Energy Apprenticeship Programme (REAP). She holds a PhD in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Canterbury, New Zealand and a MPhil in Industrial Systems Manufacture and Management from the University of Cambridge, United Kingdom. Dr. Blair has experience in the power utility and manufacturing entities working on design, implementation, and management. She has developed power engineering systems utilizing various energy
Dr. Jacqueline Bridge is currently serving as the Head of the Department of Mechanical & Manufacturing Engineering at the University of the West Indies, St. Augustine Campus. She joined the Department in January 2002. She holds a PhD in Theoretical and Applied Mechanics from Cornell University, New York. She teaches courses in the Applied Mechanics stream including Machine Design, Mechanics of Machines and Finite Element Methods. Her main areas of research are vibrations and nonlinear dynamical systems theory. In 2004, she received a World Renewable Energy Network Award for contributions to research and public awareness of energy issues in the Caribbean and in 2006, she received a Society of Tribologists and Lubrication Engineers award for contributions to tribology education in Trinidad. She is the recipient of a UWI/Guardian Life Premium Teaching Award (2014) as well at the UWI Vice Chancellor’s Excellence Award for Teaching (2016).
John M Corliss, Jr. is Sr. Vice President and Chief Engineer of PEER Consultants. A Professional Industrial Engineer, he has a B.S. Urban Systems Engineering, M.S. Public Policy and M.S. Industrial Engineering from Purdue University. He led the development of post-Katrina recovery plans for three Louisiana parishes, the post flood recovery plan for Nashville, the British Virgin Islands Wastewater Master Plan, and the West Africa Water Initiative Strategic Plan. He started his career with the Secretary’s Policy Office at the U.S. Department of Energy. Between then and now he has produced folk festivals, led the redevelopment of a historic mill district, been a college financial aid director, managed the design and installation of solar systems on municipal buildings, set up a community foundation and headed wastewater planning for the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority. The common thread has been the need to apply systems thinking to public sector problems. John is a Fellow of the Institute of Industrial & Systems Engineers and founder of IISE’s Sustainable Development Division.
Dr Oludare Owolabi P.E. joined the Morgan State University (MSU) faculty in the summer of 2010. He is the Director of the Sustainable Infrastructure Development, Smart Innovation and Resilient Engineering Research Lab, as well as the Director of the Undergraduate Geotechnical Laboratory. He has about 30 years of outstanding experience in practicing, teaching, and research in civil and transportation engineering. In 2019 under his leadership as the Accreditation Board of Engineering and Technology (ABET) Accreditation Coordinator, he successfully led the department to attain another six-year accreditation cycle without any observation, concern, shortcoming or deficiency being the first of such in the history of the department. He is an expert in advanced modeling and computational mechanics. His major areas of research interest are pavement engineering, soil mechanics, physical and numerical modeling of soil structures, computational geo-mechanics, geo-structural systems analysis, structural mechanics, sustainable infrastructure, and material development, engineering education and experiential learning. Owolabi is also the recipient of the 2020 Morgan State University Outstanding Faculty Award for Excellence in Service. Dr. Owolabi currently is the PI of a three-year $1.5 Million NSF grant that cuts across multiple STEM disciplines at Morgan titled “Adapting an Experiment-centric Teaching Approach to Increase Student Achievement in Multiple STEM Disciplines”.
Dr. Claire A. Nelson
The first Jamaican woman to earn a Doctorate degree in an engineering discipline and the only black in her graduating class, Dr. Nelson holds Industrial Engineering Degrees from the State University of New York at Buffalo, Purdue University, and a Doctorate in Engineering Management from George Washington University. She has served on numerous boards and committees including: US Department of Commerce US/Caribbean Business Development Council Advisory Board; Black Leadership Forum; DC Caribbean Carnival Association; International Think Tank Commission on Pan-African Affairs, Office of the Prime Minister of Barbados; African-American Unity Caucus; National Democratic Institute/Carter Center Election Observer Mission to the Dominican Republic; Black Professionals in International Affairs; and the International Committee of the National Society of Black Engineers-Alumni Extension. Dr. Nelson is Ideation Leader of The Futures Forum and Sagient Futures LLC, which provides strategic foresight and development futures consulting practice. She is a member of the Editorial Advisory Board of the World Futures Society, and an emerging voice as a Black Futurist, Dr Nelson is also Recognized as a White House Champion of Change.