2026 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

RFE-NLI: A Collaborative Approach to Advancing Sustainable Engineering Education

Presented at NSF Grantees Poster Session II

The need to integrate sustainability into engineering education is urgent and widely recognized. Yet faculty face persistent challenges translating sustainability goals into concrete classroom practice. This poster shares early findings from a multi-institution faculty development initiative designed to support engineering faculty in implementing sustainability concepts through classroom-based action research. This initiative brings together engineering faculty from three institutions to design, implement, and evaluate sustainability-focused instructional interventions using the Engineering for One Planet (EOP) Framework. Faculty participate in a virtual Community of Practice (CoP) and in-person retreats that create space for collaborative reflection and support participants in developing and refining classroom activities and assessments aligned with EOP learning outcomes. The work draws on Community of Practice, Agency Theory, Collaborative Action Research, and Situated Learning Theory. In the first year, we facilitated CoP meetings and a retreat to build participants’ EOP knowledge and inquiry readiness. A focus group identified three emergent themes: a need for practical resources; uncertainty about designing assessments; and the importance of peer community for collaboration and shared problem-solving. These early findings point to the importance of building supportive communities, offering tangible resources, and demystifying assessment as essential strategies for enabling broader transformation of engineering curricula considering sustainability integration.

Authors

Dr. Medha Dalal http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5705-1800 Arizona State University [biography]

Dr. Medha Dalal is an assistant research professor and associate director of scholarly initiatives in the Fulton Schools of Engineering at Arizona State University. Her research seeks to transform and democratize engineering education by exploring ways of thinking, identifying effective professional development approaches, and uncovering pedagogical techniques to enhance students’ engineering curiosity, engagement, and learning.
Dr. Roneisha Worthy http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8093-8570 Kennesaw State University [biography]

Dr. Roneisha Worthy, Ph.D. is currently the Assistant Dean of Student Success within the Southern Polytechnic College of Engineering and Engineering Technology at Kennesaw State University. In addition to her administrative role, she remains actively engaged in teaching and conducts research with a focus on increasing the representation of minorities in Engineering. Before joining the university, Dr. Worthy served as a Research Assistant at Vanderbilt University, contributing to a group funded by the Department of Energy. Her primary research focused on the long-term evaluation of near-surface waste disposal under climate change impacts at nuclear waste sites. With a background as an environmental engineer/planner at Gresham, Smith, and Partners, as well as General Motors Corporation, Dr. Worthy brings a wealth of industry experience to her academic roles. She has a proven track record of addressing critical environmental challenges. In her recent endeavors, Dr. Worthy is actively collaborating with the Lemelson Foundation to institutionalize the Engineering for One Planet framework at Kennesaw State University. This initiative reflects her commitment to sustainability and innovative engineering practices.
Dr. Bridget M Wadzuk http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7777-1263 Villanova University
Mrs. Deeksha Seth Villanova University [biography]

Deeksha Seth is an Assistant Professor in the Mechanical Engineering department at Villanova University. Her primary research interests include bio-robotics, mechatronics, engineering design and STEM education. Her current research includes the developmen
Dr. Nadia N. Kellam http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9327-1226 Arizona State University [biography]

Nadia Kellam (she/they) is Professor of Engineering, Engineering Program Chair, and the Associate Director for Strategic Initiatives within The Polytechnic School of the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering at Arizona State University. She is a faculty in the Engineering Education Systems and Design PhD program. Dr. Kellam is an engineering education researcher and a mechanical engineer. She was recently deputy editor of the Journal of Engineering Education and is currently co-chair of ASEE’s Committee on Scholarly Publications. Her research employs narrative inquiry, arts-based methods, and futures thinking to explore the culture of engineering education—especially the experiences of marginalized undergraduate students and faculty.

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