In the next two decades, almost two billion additional people are expected to populate the Earth. This growth will create unprecedented demands for natural resources, materials, waste disposal, health care, and infrastructure. The role of engineers will be critical in fulfilling those demands at various scales, ranging from small communities to large urban areas, and mostly in the developing world. A simple question arises: Do today’s engineering graduates and engineers have the skills and tools to address the global problems that our planet and humans are facing today, or will be facing within the next 20 years? Since the answer to that question is negative, a new epistemology of engineering practice and education is needed. This paper addresses the importance of reflective and adaptive practice, system thinking, and social engagement (e.g., Engineers Without Borders) when addressing global problems. As we enter the first half of the 21st century, the engineering profession must embrace a new mission statement—to contribute to the building of a more sustainable, stable, equitable, and above all, peaceful world. Engineers must be more than providers of technical solutions. They must also be peacemakers, social entrepreneurs, and leader and be able to operate in a multi-cultural world.
Speaker // Bernard Amadei
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. He is also the Founding President of Engineers Without Borders – USA and the co-founder of the Engineers Without Borders-International network. Among other distinctions, Dr. Amadei is the 2007 co-recipient of the Heinz Award for the Environment; the recipient of the 2008 ENR Award of Excellence; the recipient of the 2015 Washington and ASCE OPAL awards; the recipient of the 2016 C. H. Dunn Award of the Construction Industry Institute; an elected member of the U.S. National Academy of Engineering and the National Academy of Construction; and an elected Senior Ashoka Fellow. He 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 U.S. Department of State.
