2026 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

NSF RFE: Students’ Professional Identity Formation through Sustainability-Focused Course Interventions

Presented at NSF Grantees Poster Session II

Sustainability is a pressing issue for modern times. As a result, the role of engineers extends beyond the technical know-how to addressing problems with a sustainability-focused approach. This necessitates developing engineers who have both an understanding of and ability to address sustainability-related challenges. To this end, this project aims to integrate sustainability-focused course interventions into nine engineering technology and applied science courses at a private R2 university; and study the influence of these interventions on students’ professional identity formation. This research is funded by the Research in Formation of Engineers program.

Guided by the Engineering for One Planet and Sustainability Consciousness frameworks, the project team has developed interventions for nine courses in engineering technology and applied science. These interventions include sustainability-focused case studies, assignments, and course projects. These interventions are currently being implemented. Each intervention will be implemented for 2-3 offerings of the course.

To explore the influence of these interventions on students’ sustainability-focused identity construction, the project uses a multiple-case study research design, with each course serving as a case. Data are being collected in the form of written reflections and individual interviews to capture students’ understanding of sustainability and the influence of the course interventions on students’ professional identity development. These data will be analyzed using the Sustainability Consciousness framework, which characterizes sustainability along three dimensions - social, environmental, and economic - and three psychological constructs - knowledge, behavior, and attitude.

Preliminary findings suggest that while students enter engineering and related academic programs with disparate degrees of exposure to sustainability, course interventions can enhance student knowledge of sustainability at an introductory level, and reinforce its importance for those with prior knowledge. The findings from this project will provide deeper insights how students develop a sustainability focused professional identity. This knowledge can further inform the design and development of curricula in engineering and applied sciences, leading to the development of a workforce more aware of and equipped to address the current sustainability-related challenges.

Authors

Dr. Ashish Agrawal Rochester Institute of Technology (CET) [biography]

Ashish Agrawal is an Assistant Professor in the College of Engineering Technology at Rochester Institute of Technology. His research interests include exploring the intricacies of STEM curricula, studying the influence of curricular features on students’ experiences, and designing equitable interventions and assessing their influence on student learning. He has taught several introductory engineering courses using student-centric approaches such as project-based learning and flipped classroom.
Lucio Salles de Salles http://orcid.org/0009-0000-9080-4448 Rochester Institute of Technology (CET)
Dr. Yewande S Abraham http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1517-1980 Texas A&M University [biography]

Yewande Abraham Ph.D., LEED AP O+M, is an Associate Professor in the Department of Construction Science at Texas A&M University. She received her Bachelor's and Master's in Civil Engineering from Cardiff University, Wales, United Kingdom. She has construction industry experience in the US and internationally. Her research focuses on sustainable built environments, construction education, and the integration of emerging technologies into civil engineering and construction curricula. Dr. Abraham brings a global perspective to engineering education through her professional experiences in curriculum innovation, workforce development, and industry-academic partnerships. She is passionate about advancing future-ready construction education that aligns with real-world challenges and opportunities.
Dr. Lisa L Greenwood Rochester Institute of Technology (CET) [biography]

Dr. Lisa Greenwood is an assistant professor in the Department of Civil Engineering Technology, Environmental Management and Safety at the Rochester Institute of Technology. Dr. Greenwood has been involved in national and international environmental stan
Dr. Amanda Y Bao P.E. http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1530-8166 Rochester Institute of Technology (CET) [biography]

Amanda Bao is a Professor and Program Director in Civil Engineering Technology at Rochester Institute of Technology. She got her Ph.D. degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Colorado at Boulder, USA, in 2006. Dr. Bao started teaching at Rochester Institute of Technology in 2010 and she regularly teaches structural engineering courses. Prior to RIT, she worked as a bridge structural engineer at Jacobs Engineering Group, Inc. and Michael Baker International, Inc. in Denver, Colorado, and she is a licensed professional engineer in Colorado and New York, USA. Dr. Amanda Bao won the 2021 Eisenhart Award for Outstanding Teaching at RIT. Dr. Bao has been actively involved in engineering education research since 2011, including digital learning, active learning and intensive collaboration with industry. Dr. Bao develops a teaching website: http://baoteachingcet.com/ and opens a YouTube Structural Design Teaching channel to post screencasts to supplement traditional lecture-type classes, and she also created hands-on active learning modules to improve teaching and learning effectiveness. In addition to education research, Dr. Bao conducts research in the areas of bridge resiliency and sustainability, innovative construction materials and evaluation of aging infrastructure. She has extensive research experience in finite element modeling and lab testing of structures and published more than 25 research papers. She is an active member in ASEE, ASCE and AISC

Note

The full paper will be available to logged in and registered conference attendees once the conference starts on June 21, 2026, and to all visitors after the conference ends on June 24, 2026

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