Engineering for Peace and Diplomacy

Webinar Summary 

This presentation makes a compelling argument for the role of the engineering profession in advancing human development and security, and its contribution to peacebuilding and diplomatic efforts in the 21st century's vulnerable, uncertain, complex and ambiguous (VUCA) environment. How do engineers, in collaboration with other disciplines, contribute to coherence between such efforts in various contexts and scales? How should they be trained in lifelong practice? What are the values of the engineering profession when involved in peacebuilding and diplomatic efforts? The presentation emphasizes the importance of designing programs such as peace engineering and engineering diplomacy and training globally engaged engineers with the necessary attitudes, skills, knowledge, and life-long experience to address the global challenges of the current century. Engineers in the twenty-first century must be more than providers of technical solutions; they must be globally engaged to play an active role in sustainable development, peacebuilding, peacemaking, peacekeeping, and diplomatic efforts. More than ever, science, technology, and engineering (STE) have a critical role to play in addressing the global challenges faced by humanity now and in the foreseeable future. Paraphrasing Albert Einstein, "Problems cannot be solved with the same level of thinking [mindset] that created them," a new mindset is needed for the 21st century. The presentation will discuss the components of the new mindset and how STE can put that mindset into practice.

About the Presenter

Dr. Amadei is a Distinguished Professor and Professor of Civil Engineering at the University of Colorado at Boulder. He received his Ph.D. in 1982 from the University of California at Berkeley. Dr. Amadei is the Founding Director of the Mortenson Center in Engineering for Developing Communities (now Global Engineering). He is also the Founding President of Engineers Without Borders - USA and the Engineers Without Borders-International network co-founder. Among other distinctions, Dr. Amadei is an elected member of the US National Academy of Engineering and the National Academy of Construction. He is also an elected Senior Ashoka Fellow and was recently inducted into the 2023 ASEE Hall of Fame.

Dr. Amadei holds seven honorary doctoral degrees (UMass Lowell, Carroll College, Clarkson, Drexel, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, the Technion in Israel, and SUNY-ESF). In 2013 and 2014, Dr. Amadei served as a Science Envoy to Pakistan and Nepal for the US Department of State.

Webinar Format

This webinar will include a moderated Q and A session following the speaker’s presentation. The session is open to environmental engineering and science professionals across all sectors and career stages. Our objective is to offer special insights on leading edge solutions for graduate and undergraduate students as well as early to mid-career environmental professionals who are considering specialty certification.

AAEES Board Certified Individuals: Attend this event and earn 1.5 PDHs towards your PDH requirements for maintaining your specialty certification.

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Professor Daniel B. Oerther, PhD, PE, BCEE, BCES is the Executive Director of the American Academy of Environmental Engineers and Scientists and a Professor of Environmental Health Engineering at the Missouri University of Science and Technology. Dan earned his PhD from the University of Illinois, and he previously served as the Senior Science Advisor to the United States Secretary of State in the Office of Global Food Security. Dan is widely known for his discovery research in environmental biotechnology, his integrative research resulting in the nurse+engineer STEMpathy framework, his application research employing science diplomacy to support access to water and food security in developing communities globally, and his scholarship of teaching and learning including modified mastery learning. Dan is a three-time recipient of the Fulbright Award (India, Brazil, and the United Kingdom), and the only individual to be recognized as Board Certified by the American Academy of Environmental Engineers and Scientists, a Diplomate Laureate of the American Academy of Sanitarians, and a lifetime honorary Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing.

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