Engineering, Design and Society
Department Leadership
Dean Nieusma, Department Head
Chelsea Salinas, Assistant Department Head; Director of Design Engineering Program
Professors
Juan Lucena, Humanitarian Engineering Director of Undergraduate Programs and Outreach
Kevin Moore, Executive Director of Humanitarian Engineering
Jessica Smith
Assistant professors
Elizabeth Reddy, Assistant Director of Humanitarian Engineering and Science Interdisciplinary Graduate Program
Marie Stettler Kleine
Teaching Professors
Yosef Allam, Director of Cornerstone Design Program
Alina Handorean
Teaching Associate Professors
Jack Bringardner
Mirna Mattjik
Mark Orrs
Sid Saleh, Director of McNeil Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation
Kate Youmans, Presidential Faculty Fellow for Diversity, Inclusion & Access
Teaching Assistant Professors
Cynthia Athanasiou
Duncan Davis-Hall
Michael Sheppard
Aubrey Wigner
Professors of Practice
Donna Bodeau
Garrett Erickson
Antonie Vandenberge
Staff
Becky Buschke, Program Assistant
Leah Fitzgerald, Stakeholder Relations Manager
Kirsten Kelly, Capstone Administrative Assistant
Julia Roos, Associate Director of Humanitarian Engineering
Kimberly Walker, Department Manager
Courses
EDNS501. COMMUNITY-CENTERED APPROACHES TO RESILIENCE. 3.0 Semester Hrs.
Community resilience to the inevitable effects of a changing climate is an emmerging topic in local and global community development spheres. This course will provide learners with a survey of how institutions from governments, donors, to public and private organizations are quickly pivoting from a world of ‘sustainable development goals’ to one of resilience, remediation, and adaptation at national, subnational, and local scales, and how sociotechnical perspectives can support their participation in this new world. At the end of this eight-week course, learners will be able to assess and answer the following questions: [1] what is 'community resilience' and how do different communities, stakeholders, and sectors define it, [2] how does new terminology around ‘resilience’ relate to previous humanitarian efforts aimed at sustainable community development, [3] what are significant sociotechnical pillars of resilience, including built infrastructure and the environment, social infrastructure and governance, [4] how can mainstream efforts aimed at resilience lead to inequality and perpetuate systemic power imbalance. Experiential learning through guest speakers and case studies will illuminate the varied and multidimensional and intersectional aspects of resilience.
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EDNS502. MANAGING AND LEADING IN MULTISTAKEHOLDER ENVIRONMENTS. 3.0 Semester Hrs.
Managing, leading, and dare we say ‘solving’ wicked public interest issues requires multistakeholder engagement across sectors, agencies, and public interest domains. This course is designed to provide learners with tools to manage and lead across these complex multistakeholder environments, and to navigate wicked problems, like climate change and community resilience. This course is designed for those who are or aspire to be public-facing managers and leaders—including those working for state and federal agencies, nonprofits, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and quasi-governmental organizations. Key learning objectives include [1] defining the public interest, [2] assessing stakeholder environments, [3] exploring ethical decision-making tools and considering competing stakeholder interests, [4] analyzing the functions and roles of the ‘responsible’ public manager, [5] synthesizing modern community-engaged leadership styles and applying them in practice, [6] exploring current challenges and perspectives from leaders in relevant fields and organizations, and [6] learning and applying advanced communication skills.
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EDNS515. INTRODUCTION TO SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY STUDIES. 3.0 Semester Hrs.
This course engages scholarship on the inextricable link between science, engineering and the various social contexts within which scientists and engineers work. We begin by critically reflecting on the question, What are science and engineering for? We then explore key conceptual domains in the social scientific study of science and engineering, including knowledge, agency, and expertise. We will learn from a diverse set of social scientific experts who study and collaborate with scientists and engineers. Students will leave the course with a better understanding of how social scientific inquiry can aid in understanding, and practicing, science and engineering. They will also have a clearer articulation of their individual professional commitments and how those fit with more traditional understandings of science and engineering.
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- By the end of this course, students will have demonstrated the ability to:
- By the end of this course, students will have demonstrated the ability to:
- By the end of this course, students will have demonstrated the ability to:
- By the end of this course, students will have demonstrated the ability to:
- By the end of this course, students will have demonstrated the ability to:
EDNS544. INNOV8X. 3.0 Semester Hrs.
Innov8x introduces concepts and tools to accelerate the design, validation and adoption of innovations in support of creative problem solving. Using an entrepreneurial mindset, we learn how to identify and frame problems that beneficiaries and stakeholders face. We attempt to design and test practical solutions to those problems in collaboration with those who experience the problems. We apply beneficiary discovery, pretotyping, business model design (social, economic and environmental), constrained creativity, efficient experimentation, and rapid iteration. While resolving challenges involves technical solutions, an important aspect of this course is directly engaging beneficiaries and stakeholders in social contexts to develop solutions with strong impact potential. Innov8x is grounded in collaborative creativity theory at the intersection of organizational behavior (social psychology), design principles, entrepreneurship and innovation management.
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- Frame and translate complex ambiguous problems into actionable opportunities for innovation
- Conduct effective, objective and ongoing beneficiary discovery in efficient ways
- Combine tools and methods to quickly test assumptions and secure beneficiary acceptance
- Develop creative approaches to navigate real and perceived constraints
- Leverage mentor and stakeholder support through credible communication based on research • Launch innovative solutions with the advocacy of beneficiaries and stakeholders
- Create value by solving complex problems that straddle technical and social domains
- Launch innovative solutions with the advocacy of beneficiaries and stakeholders
EDNS577. ADVANCED ENGINEERING AND SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT. 3.0 Semester Hrs.
Analyzes the relationship between engineering and sustainable community development (SCD) from historical, political, ethical, cultural, and practical perspectives. Students will study and analyze different dimensions of sustainability, development, and "helping", and the role that engineering might play in each. Will include critical explorations of strengths and limitations of dominant methods in engineering problem solving, design and research for working in SCD. Through case-studies, students will analyze and evaluate projects in SCD and develop criteria for their evaluation. 3 hours lecture and discussion; 3 semester hours.
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EDNS578. ENGINEERING AND SOCIAL JUSTICE. 3.0 Semester Hrs.
Equivalent with LAIS578,
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EDNS579. COMMUNITY-BASED RESEARCH METHODS. 3.0 Semester Hrs.
Engineers and applied scientists face challenges that are profoundly sociotechnical in nature, and communities are increasingly calling for greater participation in the decisions that affect them. Understanding the diverse perspectives of communities and being able to establish positive working relationships with their members is therefore crucial to the socially responsible practice of engineering and applied science. This course provides graduate students with the conceptual and methodological tools to conduct community-based research. Graduate students will learn ethnographic field methods and participatory research strategies, and critically assess the strengths and limitations of these through a final original research project related to their ongoing independent research or practicums.
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- During this course students will learn to:
EDNS580. HUMANITARIAN ENGINEERING AND SCIENCE CAPSTONE PRACTICUM. 3.0 Semester Hrs.
(I, II, S) This course allows students to practice the concepts, theories and methods learned in HES courses with the goal of making relevant their academic training to real world problems. This practicum can be achieved through a number of possibilities approved by HES director, including supervision and/or shadowing in HES-related activities, engaging in a social enterprise where they do problem definition, impact gap analysis and layout a business canvas, and designing and carrying out a project or fieldwork of their own, etc. Prerequisite: EDNS570, EDNS479. 3 hours research; 3 semester hours.
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- • Identify successful practices for humanitarian projects in real settings (ABET a,h,j) • Determine different ways in which previous humanitarian projects could have been improved to yield more successful technical and social results (ABET a,b,h,j) • Determine effective engineering methods for different humanitarian applications (ABET b,c,h,j) • Work in teams to design, execute and evaluate a project with stakeholders (ABET a,b,c,d,e,j,k) • Gain experience in engaging and communicating with community members and stakeholders (ABET c,d,f,h,i,j,k) • Develop stronger professional communication skills through written assignments, group projects, discussions, presentations, and community engagement (ABET g,f,h,i,j,k)
EDNS590. RISKS IN HUMANITARIAN ENGINEERING AND SCIENCE. 3.0 Semester Hrs.
(I) This course provides students with opportunities to consider the risks related to humanitarian projects—or any projects that effect and involve people. These risks might include things that different scientific and engineering disciplines typically consider, as well as those that may be pertinent to project stakeholder perspectives. Guided by social scientific insights related to risk, students in this class will gain new tools for defining problems in ways that are relevant and appropriate for multiple contexts. Students will read, discuss, and analyze material together and to undertake independent research to deepen their understandings of chosen topics. 3 semester hours.
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- • Analyze humanitarian science and engineering projects using established evaluation criteria (ABET a,h,j) • Identify the most successful practices for humanitarian science and engineering (ABET a,h,j) • Determine different ways in which previous engineering or scientific projects could have been improved to yield more successful technical and social results (ABET a,b,h,j) • Gain conceptual tools for and experience in engaging and communicating with community members and stakeholders (ABET c,d,f,h,i,j,k) • Develop stronger professional communication skills through written assignments, group projects, discussions, presentations, and community engagement (ABET g,f,h,i,j,k)
EDNS598. SPECIAL TOPICS IN ENGINEERING DESIGN & SOCIETY. 0-6 Semester Hr.
(I, II, S) Pilot course or special topics course. Topics chosen from special interests of instructor(s) and student(s). Usually the course is offered only once, but no more than twice for the same course content. Prerequisite: none. Variable credit: 0 to 6 credit hours. Repeatable for credit under different titles.
EDNS599. INDEPENDENT STUDY. 0.5-6 Semester Hr.
Individual research or special problem projects supervised by a faculty member, also, when a student and instructor agree on a subject matter, content, and credit hours. Variable credit: 0.5 to 6 credit hours. Repeatable for credit under different topics/experience and maximums vary by department. Contact the Department for credit limits toward the degree. Independent Study form must be completed and submitted to the Registrar.