History
Humanitarian Engineering has a long history at the Ohio State University with many projects, presentations, publications and resources having been developed. We encourage faculty, staff, and students to submit their work in the field of humanitarian engineering to be featured.
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Tech4Community: Operation in Columbus, Ohio, where engineers and social workers work together (i) with the poor and homeless to help meet their technology needs, and (ii) to provide technology services to the support system (e.g., shelters or food pantries) for people who are poor. This is an ECOS project.
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Student organization projects (e.g., computer education for senior citizens, wheel chair ramps, Ask-a-Buckeye STEM question hotline for K-12, rain garden construction, apps)
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Student organization projects (e.g., solar-powered food cart, K-12 outreach, solar picnic tables)
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Student organization projects (e.g. STEM after-school programs, Friends of the Lower Olentangy Watershed projects, etc.)
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Humanitarian Engineering - CAR Partnership (Center for Automotive Research): Project to collaborate (hence the "we" since we will involve not only OSU students, but also persons from disadvantaged neighborhoods in Columbus and the developing world) to design low-cost non-polluting transportation.
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"Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics" (STEM) reachout to area grade schools and high schools (K-12) by Betty Lise Anderson, see also information at: weLab: Low-cost engineering laboratory project for international STEM Outreach.
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Assistive Technology of Ohio: Provide adaptive toys and refurbished computers to physically disabled persons.
- Honduras, Montaña de Luz non-profit.
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Colombia (several cities), Kevin Passino on humanitarian engineering education.
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Ghana, Africa, project in City and Regional Planning (KSA), contact Kim Burton. "Ghana sustainable change program."
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India project, Sheryl Sorby and Lisa Abrams.
- A few years to El Salvador, South Africa, Andy Ward, and Dominican Republic, Esfuerzo de Paraiso, Flood mitigation project by Engineers Without Borders (EWB).
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Paraguay, Asuncion and the Toba Qom community, contact Kevin Passino.
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Gambia, EWB student group, contact Amanda Davey.
- Choluteca, Honduras, Roger Dzwonczyk.
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Choluteca, Honduras, Howard Greene, see video about project.
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Haiti, Solar Education and Outreach
Sustainability, India, and Colombia
Prof. Bhavik Bakshi: Research in collaboration with institutions in India is developing data and models for assessing the sustainability of various activities such as fuels from biomass, methods for treating municipal solid waste, and for water purification. A model of Indian economic sectors and their direct and indirect dependence on water has been developed and is used for water footprint calculations. Studies on the water-food-energy nexus in selected regions of India are being completed. Soon to start a research project on life-cycle assessment of biofuels for Colombia.
Low-Cost, Point-of-Use Flexible Plastic Solar Cells
Prof. Paul R. Berger: Research is being progressed to advance plastic solar cells that can be conformally coated atop building materials, automobiles, tents, jackets and backpacks to deliver affordable point-of-use energy. In addition to the engineering advancements, Prof. Berger promotes an awareness of the subject by delivering IEEE Distinguished Lectures and Short Courses at venues like IEEE's Photovoltaic Specialist Conference (PVSC). Collaborations are formulating with India and Brasil on these synergistic topics.Project in Choluteca Honduras (M Soto in green shirt in back), conducting a sanitation survey, project leader Roger Dzwonczyk.
Women, Agriculture, Medical Gloves, and Condoms in Africa
Prof. Katrina Cornish: Graduate level research project in South Africa involving women, agriculture, medical gloves, and condoms. Encouraging local entrepreneurship.
Water, Soil, and the Republic of Georgia
Prof. Sarah Cowles: Water pollution and soil degradation study and alleviation for the Republic of Georgia.
Integrated Sustainability Assessment in the U.S. and Southeast Asia
Prof. Joseph Fiksel: Research on integrated sustainability assessment at a community and regional scale, considering interactions among environmental, economic, and social systems. System dynamics modeling is used to create interactive, high-level simulations that enable policy-makers and stakeholders to understand how current trends, such as economic growth and climate change. may affect future human well being, including equitable access to energy, water, food, transportation, and jobs. These models have been applied by government agencies in both Ohio and Massachusetts. Now working with USAID and US EPA to implement similar modeling efforts in Southeast Asia, focusing on urban climate adaptation.
Remote Sensing for Agriculture, Weather, Health, and Africa
Prof. Joel Johnson: Member of NASA's Soil Moisture Active/Passive (SMAP) mission science team. The satellite will launch in 2014, and will provide global observations of surface soil moisture. This can be useful for a variety of applications relevant to the developing world (agriculture, drought detection, early warning for famine, floods and landslides, and identifying and mapping vector habitats for human diseases such as malaria) and Prof. Johnson does some work with Africa.
Socially Just Cities and Neighborhoods
Prof. Jesus J. Lara: Research and pedagogy are centered on sustainable urban design, Latino Urbanism, community development, and sociocultural factors in community design, from urban environments and poverty stricken areas to empty suburban malls and commercial areas at the intersection of upscale developments and highway commerce, and university‐community partnerships.
Development Economics: Mathematical, Optimization, Statistical, and Computational Methods
Prof. Mario Miranda: Computational economics; agricultural finance and risk management; catastrophic insurance and reinsurance; agricultural and environmental policy; microfinance, microsavings, and microinsurance in developing countries (e.g., Africa). Randomized controlled trials in developing world with PhD students.
Sociotechnological Systems for Humanitarian Engineering
Prof. Kevin Passino: Research on systems and control theory and engineering approach to social, economic, and political systems, in particular "sociotechnological systems," for design and evaluation of technologies to assist disadvantaged individuals and communities (i.e., sustainable development).
Energy Efficiency, Lighting, and Water Purification
Prof. Siddharth Rajan: Research in (i) new methods to increase efficiency and reduce cost of Gallium Nitride solid-state (LED) lighting; (ii) research on wide band gap energy-efficient power transistors to reduce energy wastage; (iii) device designs that could enable ultra-violet light emitting diodes for water purification. Such research has far-reaching applications in the developing (and developed) world. Low-cost lighting is a critical technology for low-cost non-polluting lighting when there is no available electricity grid. Clear water is a major problem for the developing world.
Robots for Responding to Natural or Human-Made Disasters
Prof. Yuan Zheng: Development of robots for natural and human-made disasters where (often) shorter-term humanitarian response is needed.
- Roger Dzwonczyk, Chris Riha. Medical equipment donations in Haiti: Flaws in the donation process. Pan American J Public Health 2012;31(4):345-8.
- Bixler GD. Extreme User Centered Design: Methodology for Eliciting and Ranking Requirements in User-Centered New Product Development: Case Studies from Honduras and the Central African Republic. Proceedings of the IEEE Global Humanitarian Technology Conference (GHTC). 201: 311 - 315.
- Presentations by students in the Honduras service-learning program, Choluteca, Honduras, click here.
- Roger Dzwonczyk, Ohio State Engineering Students and Faculty Form an Organization to Help People at Home and Abroad, The Bridge, The Magazine of Eta Kappa Nu, Autumn 2006.
- Son Ngo, presented a poster at the 2011 ADA conference at OSU on the ECOS Wheelchair ramp project run by Roger Dzwonczyk.
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Deep Shah, Purav Patel, Patrick Kudo, Aaron Steinberg, and William Herold, Feasibility of Rainwater Harvesting on Scott Laboratory, IEEE Global Humanitarian Technology Conference, San Jose Airport Garden Hotel, Oct. 20 - Oct. 23, San Jose, California, 2013.
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Victoria Chen, Charisma Acey and Jesus J. Lara. 2012 “Sustainable Futures for Linden Village: A Model for Rehabilitation and Sustainable Development of Urban Neighborhoods”, 2nd International Conference for Sustainable Design, Engineering and Construction. Fort Worth, TX November 7-9 2012.
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Greg Bixler, Joseph Campbell, Roger Dzwonczyk, Howard Greene, John Merrill, and Kevin M. Passno, "Humanitarian Engineering at The Ohio State University: Lessons Learned in Enriching Education While Helping People," Int. Journal of Service-Learning in Engineering: Humanitarian Engineering and Social Entrepreneurship, pp. 78-96, Fall 2014.
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Mariantonieta Gutierrez Soto, Roger Dzwonczyk. Maximizing Service and Learning in an Engineering Service-Learning Program. 2015 Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers Global Humanitarian Technology Conference, Seattle, WA.
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Roger Dzwonczyk, Matthew Brockman, Daniel George, Nathan Hankins, Marissa McHugh, Mariantonieta Gutierrez Soto. A Method of Powering a Nebulizer Manually Using Parts Locally Available in Honduras. 2015 Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers Global Humanitarian Technology Conference, Seattle, WA.
- Kevin M Passino, "Globalizing Humanitarian Engineering Education," IEEE Foundation, 2015-2016.
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Kevin M. Passino, Teaching Professional and Ethical Aspects of Electrical Engineering to a Large Class, IEEE Transactions on Education, Vol. 41, No. 4, pp. 273-281, Nov. 1998.
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Kevin M. Passino, A presentation on Engineering Volunteerism, Talk first given Feb., 2005 at Cornell University, ESW (later given at Univ. Dayton, Western. Mich. Univ., Univ. Kentucky, Univ. Pittsburgh).
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Kevin M. Passino, "Educating the Humanitarian Engineer," Journal of Science and Engineering Ethics, Vol. 15, pp. 577-600, Dec. 2009.
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Miriam R Simon, Gregory D Bixler, Gradley Doudican, Roger Dzwonczyk. Engineering Service-Learning - Importance of Appropriate Collaboration with International Partners. International J Service Learning in Engineering 2012;7(1):26-37.
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Kevin M. Passino, A presentation on Educating the Humanitarian Engineer, talk at Universidad de El Salvador, San Salvador, El Salvador, Aug. 14, 2013.
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Kevin M. Passino, Humanitarian Engineering: Advancing Technology for Sustainable Development, Edition 3, Bede Publishing, Columbus, OH, 2016 (free download).
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Greg Bixler, Joseph Campbell, Roger Dzwonczyk, Howard Greene, John Merrill, and Kevin M. Passno, "Humanitarian Engineering at The Ohio State University: Lessons Learned in Enriching Education While Helping People," Int. Journal of Service-Learning in Engineering: Humanitarian Engineering and Social Entrepreneurship, pp. 78-96, Fall 2014.
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Battelle Endowment for Technology and Human Affairs: "Engineers for Community Service: Model Programs for the Development of a Profession" (K. Passino, PI, co-PIs are H. Walker, J. Merrill, and B. Lilly), 2005-2007.
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US Environmental Protection Agency (P3 Award: A National Student Design Competition for Sustainability Focusing on People, Prosperity, and the Planet): "Development of a Sustainable and Appropriate Drinking Water System for Montana de Luz and Nueva Esperanza, Honduras", (H. Walker, PI, K. Passino and J. Merrill, co-PIs), July 1, 2006-June 30, 2007.
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General Motors Foundation: "Choluteca, Honduras, Aquaponics Project", Howard Greene, PI, 2012-2014.
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Battelle Engineering, Technology, and Human Affairs Endowment (BETHA), “Engineering, Technology, Human Affairs, and Social Justice: From Columbus to Colombia”, (K. Passino, PI, co-PIs, Betty Lise Anderson, John Clapp, Leslie Moore, Melissa Wilson), 2014-2016.
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Battelle Engineering, Technology, and Human Affairs Endowment (BETHA), "Sustainable Housing in Central America (Honduras)," (Howard Greene, PI; co-PIs: Judith Tansky and Mac Ware (Construction Systems Management)), 2014-2016.
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Mathworks Corp., donation of "SimEvents" for service project of studying logistics (people/product flow) in the Worthington Food Pantry.
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OSU Outreach and Engagement, Engagement Impact Grant, "Creation of the Central Ohio Community Technology Clinic," (K. Passino and J. Clapp)
