Advancing Sustainable Engineering: Building the Future Workforce

What engineering expertise is needed to achieve the 17 SDGs by 2030? In celebration of World Engineering Day on March 4th, we are offering this webinar to highlight four Research Fellowship collaborations from our 2020 portfolio. At E4C, our Fellows complete projects that address essential questions related to the global agenda for sustainable development. They identify actionable recommendations for researchers and practitioners working in this upcoming decade. In 2020, 25 fellows from 15 countries participated in more than a dozen research collaborations with our cross-sectorial and international partner organizations (private sector, nonprofit, academia, etc).

During this webinar you will gain insights on the engineering response to Covid-19 around the globe, landscape analysis on social enterprises in the United States, academic program for engineering and sustainable development in Asia and the role of industry sustainability standards in design and manufacturing. Get inspired by recommendations and lessons learned in the future of engineering.

When: March 4, 2021, 11 AM ET

Invited speakers

Thomas Costabile is an accomplished C-level executive with a strong track record of delivering successful results for large global organizations while leading them through significant change. As Executive Director/CEO of The American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), he oversees the organization’s strategy around ASME’s initial core technologies – manufacturing, bioengineering, robotics, clean energy, and pressure technology- and organizational programs in codes and standards development, membership, conferences, technical publishing, education and professional development, and public policy. Costabile is a trained mechanical engineer who began his career in the nuclear power industry. He then went on to serve in important leadership positions at CBS Records, SONY Music, and the WEA Manufacturing-Warner Music Group. Prior to joining ASME, he served as consultant for Carlan Advisors and partner at 3ssentials, LLC. He has also provided leadership on several not-for-profit boards, including Montgomery Academy, University of Oregon Foundation, the Oregon Children’s Foundation and the High Tech Broadcasting Network. Thomas Costabile earned his MBA with honors in Finance from Long Island University and a BSME with honors from Manhattan College.

Mahantesh Hiremath, Ph.D., P.E., has been nominated as the 140th president of The American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) to serve during 2021-2022 term of office. Dr. Hiremath is a Fellow of ASME and has been an active member of the Society since 1997. He has had over 30 years of industry experience in space, energy, transportation, and infrastructure. He currently serves as vice president at SC Solutions, a premier consulting company based in the Silicon Valley, and has held important leadership positions at Space Systems Loral, SpinLaunch, ARES Corporation, Northrop Grumman, and Stellar Solutions. And has served as adjunct faculty in mechanical and civil engineering at Santa Clara University. Dr. Hiremath holds a bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Civil Engineering from the University of Pune, India. He has also received a master’s and doctorate in Structural Dynamics from The Ohio State University and a Certificate in Systems Engineering from Stanford University.

Grace Burleson is a Ph.D student in Design Science at the University of Michigan – Ann Arbor. She holds a dual MS in Mechanical Engineering and Applied Anthropology from Oregon State University and has been an ASME Engineering for Change Fellow since 2017. Her research focuses on the design of technologies intended for positive economic and social impact, the role of technology in complex socio-political systems, and methods of incorporating contextual factors into engineering design processes. As Engineering for Change’s Research Manager, Grace has collaborated with E4C expert advisors and partners while she supervised and edited all 2020 research collaborations and annual report. See their reports on the E4C Research page.

Patrick Sours is a senior lecturer at The Ohio State University. He earned a B.S. in Civil Engineering with a minor in Humanitarian Engineering and the Global Option Distinction. Then he earned a M.S. from the Department of Food, Agricultural, and Biological Engineering from The Ohio State University. His research efforts are focused on Sustainable Development Engineering. Patrick has extensive field work in international development working with rural communities on construction and optimization of water storage. Patrick has worked on a variety of projects in Tanzania, Ghana, Guatemala, and Honduras. As 2020 E4C fellow Patrick worked on research collaboration that provided a landscape analysis of Social Innovation in the U.S. The full report can be viewed here.

Elizabeth Collins graduated in 2017 with a Bachelors (Hons) in mechanical engineering from the University of Strathclyde in Scotland. She has worked on projects to provide sustainable energy to developing communities in Peru with the WindAid Institute and has volunteered with local non-profits from a young age. She has recently moved out of her corporate manufacturing role to pursue more development projects around the world. As 2020 E4C fellow, Elizabeth worked on a Research collaboration investigating the role of industry sustainability standards in Design and Manufacturing. The full report can be viewed here.

Pallavi Kunwar is currently an overseas Sales Manager at PHILOS Membrane. She is from Kathmandu, Nepal with a background in Environmental Engineering from Kathmandu University (Nepal) and a Masters in Chemical and Biological Engineering from Seoul National University (South Korea). Her field of interest is water and is currently doing her research related to water treatment and appropriate technology. She is also passionate about learning innovative methods of water treatment, stand alone, and safe technologies which has the potential to be scaled up. As an E4C research fellow in 2020, Pallavi worked on a Research collaboration mapping the State of Engineering for Global Development in in academic institutions in Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Japan, Nepal, & South Korea. The report can be viewed here.