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MCEDC Quarterly Digest - Q3 2018
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The Mortenson Center in Engineering for Developing Communities
(MCEDC) advocates integrated development by educating globally responsible engineering students and professionals, promoting research on developing community issues, and reaching out to build local capacity and resiliency in developing communities worldwide.
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Evan Thomas Lays Out New Vision & Plans for Mortenson Center
Aug. 14, 2018 - By Josh Rhoten
Article Excerpt:
Since his arrival, Thomas and his team have been working to identify the most appropriate and impactful ways for CU Engineering students to engage in global development. One of the first steps, Thomas said, is to align the teaching and research missions of the center with impact goals. merge the education role of the center with a larger focus on research.
New facilities on East Campus in the Sustainability, Energy and Environment Community will take advantage of this alignment.
"We are building lab and office facilities where we'll be able to offer courses in impact evaluations, sensor design, data analysis, air and water quality, and where we can develop and validate technologies," he said.
Thomas said the center would work to attract students from all engineering disciplines, including the Aerospace, Mechanical, Computer Science, and Electrical Departments as well as the ATLAS Institute, in addition to collaborations with the Colorado School of Public Health, the Colorado Law School, the College of Arts and Sciences and the Leeds School of Business.
All of these changes will put CU in a great position, Thomas said.
"My career has come full circle back to Boulder. With the resources we have including 50 graduate students, an excellent leadership team, teaching faculty, important research and our new facilities, we are going to become the destination for engineers to learn how to engage in global development," he said.
Read the full article
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Thank You Robyn Sandekian
After 14 years with the Mortenson Center, Robyn Sandekian has moved on and become the first Manager of Diverse Faculty Recruiting for the College of Engineering and Applied Science. We extend our sincerest thanks to Robyn for all she has done through the years for the Center, the students, faculty, staff and board. On behalf of us all, we thank you Robyn - you will be missed.
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A Note From MCEDC's New Managing Director, Laura MacDonald
I couldn't have asked for a warmer welcome to the Mortenson Center in Engineering for Developing Communities, and my excitement in joining the team is just as strong as when I arrived at the end of August. Joining MCEDC was the perfect opportunity for me to combine my continued interest in water and sanitation with the desire to learn about, and contribute to, other areas of global engineering.
Starting from a domestically-focused environmental engineering degree, my first exposure to global engineering and the social aspects of technical challenges was through Engineers for a Sustainable World at Northwestern University, and our group's work on solar electrification in Panama. This experience led me to pursue an interdisciplinary degree in Geography and Environmental Engineering, and to work in capacity development for non-networked water and sanitation before coming to MCEDC. I'm excited to support MCEDC students in pursuing their educational and professional goals while also improving the livelihoods of others around the world.
MCEDC students, faculty and staff have been incredibly supportive of recent efforts to build upon existing education and research activities for greater global impact. I look forward to continuing to work with everyone on the team and to growing our network of partners and collaborators to achieve this desired impact.
Laura MacDonald, PhD
Managing Director
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A. Davis, A. Javernick-Will & S. Cook Published In Environmental Science: Water Research & Technology
Allie Davis, Amy Javernick-Will and Sherri Cook are recently published in
Environmental Science: Water Research & Technology with a paper
titled "A comparison of interviews, focus groups, and photovoice to identify sanitation priorities and increase success of community-based sanitation systems".
In attempting to address water and sanitation project priorities ". . .sanitation implementers often rely on a single method for priority assessment without understanding its effectiveness. . . . ." This paper compares three qualitative priority identification methods: interviews, focus groups and photo voice, and uses them to identify community and sanitation priorities in twenty communities in India. They found that their results were in contrast with current practice and support the use of interviews and the inclusion of community members in identifying priorities.
Download the article and learn more.
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Caleb Cord & Ken Wallace Practicum Findings Published
This past summer, EDC students Caleb Cord (right) and Ken Wallace (left) spent twelve weeks on their practicums with USAID SWS primarily in Fort Portal in Uganda. Their findings have since been published on the
IRC website.
Caleb's findings will hopefully result in the creation of a proposal for a piped water system to serve communities in Western Uganda. Ken's practicum was
an analysis on IRC's use of "Pay as You Fetch", and he was responsible for GIS mapping of the Kabarole District. Both students' blogs have also been posted to the IRC website Read
Caleb's blog and
Ken's blog.
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Shaye Palagi Receives Micro Grant
EDC Student Shaye Palagi received a micro grant from the
CU Office for Outreach and Engagement to facilitate a forum focused on dialogue and diverse participation within the communities affected by the devastating SuperTyphoon Haiyan in the central Philippines five years ago. Shaye and the CU Boulder team are positioned to share findings and facilitate a dialogue regarding implications and recommendations for future community development and disaster recovery efforts.
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Kimberly Pugel Awarded Best Presentation
Kimberly Pugel was awarded the best presentation in June at the Engineering Projects and Organizations Conference in Brijuni, Croatia. She sought to gather feedback from participants on a new method for integrating qualitative data about organization's priorities into a network analysis, in order to support groups of organizations seeking to work toward a common goal, but who face challenges reaching agreement on the best actions to reach that goal.
Read the paper titled, "Factor and Actor Networks: Alignment of Collective Action Groups for Water Sustainability in Ethiopia".
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Anna Libey Helps Design "Chili Briquette" Elephant Repellent
EDC student Anna Libey is an Engineering for Change Research Fellow. She, and teammates from different villages in Botswana who were a part of the
International Development Design Summit, worked to develop a "chili briquette" that, when burned, can turn away unwanted elephants. Botswana is home to more African elephants than all other African countries combined, and there is a problem with them encroaching on human settlements where they fight with livestock for water and raid crops. An elephant repellent would help prevent the animals from being killed by farmers or poachers while protecting the livelihood of the citizens.
Read more in Anna's blog.
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Chang With Maji Safi Group
Boren Fellow and EDC student Naomi Chang was recently highlighted by the
Maji Safi Group (MSG) for the work she did with them this summer in Shirati, Tanzania. One reason she chose to work with MSG is because of their community-based, participatory development approach. She is pictured here (left) with WA University student Yinran Huang.
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