2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Beyond uncritical blindness: How critical thinking about engineering for community development could lead to socially responsible and sustainable projects

Presented at Global Roles and Societal Responsibilities of Engineers

This paper explores how using concepts and frameworks from Science and Technology Studies (STS) to think and practice critically about engineering for community development (ECD) is a necessary precondition and preparation if engineering educators hope to instill socially responsible behavior in our students and social justice in their community projects. With the significant surge of community engagement projects in US engineering programs, there is a growing need for developing critical lenses for engineering students involved in community development, so they do not continue reproducing unfair practices and assumptions of past development practices. Here we explore how STS concepts have served engineering students to develop critical praxis, a more robust and responsible understanding of the relationships between engineering faculty, students, and communities, and the material an social worlds in which they are embedded, using community development projects related to artisanal gold mining, inclusive management of electronic waste, and water access for underserved communities as examples.

Authors

Dr. Juan C. Lucena Colorado School of Mines [biography]

Juan Lucena is Professor and Director of Humanitarian Engineering Undergraduate Programs at the Colorado School of Mines (CSM). Juan obtained a Ph.D. in Science and Technology Studies (STS) from Virginia Tech and a MS in STS and BS in Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering fro
Mateo F. Rojas Colorado School of Mines
Sofia Lara Schlezak Colorado School of Mines [biography]

MS in Humanitarian Engineering and Science
Emma Chapman Colorado School of Mines [biography]

Emma Chapman holds a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Newberg, Oregon’s George Fox University, where she participated in the Grand Challenge Scholar Program focusing on making solar energy economical and providing access to clean water. She is currently in Colorado School of Mines’ Humanitarian Engineering Master’s program concentrating in Environmental Engineering. Her Master’s thesis is on the water accessibility, prioritization, and treatment methods employed by the unhoused communities in her hometown of Portland, Oregon, and her previous research endeavors include biosand filtration and residential scale agrivoltaics.

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