Feeling Overwhelmed About Big Challenges? Here's One Way to Take Action

Massive challenges —like climate change, inequity, systemic racism— make our world feel turned upside down and inside out. I often feel disempowered and at a loss for something tangible that I can do to be an engaged part of the solution. I vote. I protest. I work for an organization that cares about equity. But what else can I do to create the world that I want to live in —and we all deserve— yet isn’t equally available to all people?

One way I find solace is to concentrate on my sphere of influence and to take action. I am constantly asking myself, “What can I do specifically? How can I contribute? What skills and experiences do I have to offer?”

Fortunately, I’ve been deeply involved with an inspiring and collaborative movement called the Engineering for One Planet (EOP) initiative. The EOP initiative is working to transform engineering education across the US using an actionable curricular change tool —called the Engineering for One Planet Framework— to teach and prepare engineers to face the global challenges that we face today and into the future, which have immense environmental and social consequences. For example, the proliferation of climate change is an environmental injustice that has a disproportionately negative impact on communities of color and low income communities in the US and around the world. For this reason, the EOP is working together with key stakeholders to integrate social and cultural as well as business and economic factors into the future of engineering education.

If you are looking for ways to be a part of the solution, we invite you to join the EOP initiative here.

The Engineering for One Planet Roadshow

I’m going on a (virtual) tour for the next couple of months to share about the collaborative work the EOP initiative has been doing to develop the EOP Framework (available for free download here). It is the culmination of research, interviews, workshops, conversations, and the thoughtful contributions of hundreds of stakeholders —from academia (faculty, students & admins), non-profits, government and industry— over the past few years. This work was mobilized with the generous support and in partnership with The Lemelson Foundation, VentureWell’s founding funder.

The EOP Framework outlines the co-created list of core and advanced student learning outcomes that all engineers should be exposed to and acquire to become environmentally responsible professional engineers upon graduation. We are seeking your feedback and comments on the EOP Framework as we transition from theory to practice. This year we will launch a small pilot program to integrate the EOP Framework into engineering programs at academic institutions across the US.

Catch me on tour to learn more about the EOP Framework and how you can join the EOP initiative.

Virtual Tour Dates

Deshpande Symposium: Friday, June 12, 2020 at 3pm ET

• Transforming Campuses to Foster Sustainability-focused Learning and Institutional Change [live panel discussion with Q&A]

• Learn more: https://deshpandesymposium.org/agenda/

Annual Green Chemistry & Engineering Virtual Conference: Tuesday, June 16, 2020 at 1:45pm ET

• Innovating for a Systems-Inspired & Sustainable Future: A framework for green chemistry & engineering [pre-recorded webinar with live Q&A]

• This talk is part of the Re-imagining Chemistry education: Systems Thinking and Green & Sustainable Chemistry Technical Session, hosted by the American Chemical Society’s (ACS) Green Chemistry Institute (GCI)

National Academy of Inventors Annual Convening: Tuesday, June 16, 2020 at 11am ET

• An Educational Tool for a Sustainable Future: A framework for environmentally responsible engineering [pre-recorded webinar]

National Academy of Inventors Annual Convening: Tuesday, June 23, 2020 at 11am ET

• An Engineering for One Planet Roundtable [live roundtable discussion with Q&A]

Engineering Change Lab USA: Thursday, July 30, 2020 at 11am ET

• Environmentally Responsible Engineering: Building capacities for leading the change [live provocateur session with follow-up group activities]