Building a Sustainable University-Wide Interdisciplinary Graduate Program to Address Disasters
- Conference
- Location
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Minneapolis, MN
- Publication Date
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August 23, 2022
- Start Date
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June 26, 2022
- End Date
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June 29, 2022
- Conference Session
- Page Count
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10
- DOI
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10.18260/1-2--41956
- Permanent URL
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https://peer.asee.org/41956
- Download Count
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369
Paper Authors
Marie Paretti
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
orcid.org/0000-0002-2202-6928
Marie C. Paretti is a Professor of Engineering Education at Virginia Tech, where she is Associate Director of the Virginia Tech Center for Coastal Studies and Education Director of the interdisciplinary Disaster Resilience and Risk Management graduate program. She received a B.S. in chemical engineering and an M.A. in English from Virginia Tech, and a Ph.D. in English from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Her research focuses on communication and collaboration, design education, and identity (including race, gender, class, and other demographic identities) in engineering. She was awarded a CAREER grant from the National Science Foundation to study expert teaching in capstone design courses, and she is PI or co-PI on numerous NSF grants exploring communication, teamwork, design, identity, and inclusion in engineering. Drawing on theories of situated learning and identity development, her research explores examines the ways in which engineering education supports students’ professional development in a range of contexts across multiple dimensions of identity.
Jessica Deters Virginia Tech Department of Engineering Education
Dr. Jessica Deters holds her PhD in Engineering Education and a M.S. in Systems Engineering from Virginia Tech. She trained as a Statistician at the Colorado School of Mines, earning a bachelor’s degree in Applied Mathematics and Statistics and an honors minor in Public Affairs.
Maya Menon Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
Margaret Webb Virginia Tech Department of Engineering Education
Margaret Webb is a PhD student in Engineering Education at Virginia Tech. Her advisor is Marie Paretti and she is interested in interdisciplinary engineering education as well as the preparation of engineers during and for disasters. Her bachelor's degree is in Mechanical Engineering from Rice University.
Abstract
Disasters are becoming more frequent as the global climate changes, and recovery efforts require the cooperation and collaboration of experts and community members across disciplines. The DRRM program, funded through the National Science Foundation (NSF) Research Traineeship (NRT), is an interdisciplinary graduate program that brings together faculty and graduate students from across the university to develop new, transdisciplinary ways of solving disaster-related issues. The core team includes faculty from business, engineering, education, science, and urban planning fields. The overall objective of the program is to create a community of practice amongst the graduate students and faculty to improve understanding and support proactive decision-making related to disasters and disaster management. The specific educational objectives of the program are (1) context mastery and community building, (2) transdisciplinary integration and professional development, and (3) transdisciplinary research. The program’s educational research and assessment activities include program development, trainee learning and development, programmatic educational research, and institutional transformation.
The program is now in its fourth year of student enrollment. Core courses on interdisciplinary research methods in disaster resilience are in place, engaging students in domain-specific research related to natural hazards, resilience, and recovery, and in methods of interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary collaboration. In addition to courses, the program offers a range of professional development opportunities through seminars and workshops. Since the program’s inception, the core team has expanded both the numbers of faculty and students and the range of academic disciplines involved in the program, including individuals from additional science and engineering fields as well as those from natural resources and the social sciences. At the same time, the breadth of disciplines and the constraints of individual academic programs have posed substantial structural challenges in engaging students in the process of building interdisciplinary research identities and in building the infrastructure needed to sustain the program past the end of the grant.
Our poster and paper will identify major program accomplishments, but also draw on interviews with students to examine the structural challenges and potential solution paths associated with a program of this breadth. Critical opportunities for sustainability and engagement have emerged through integration with a larger university-level center as well as through increased flexibility in program requirements and additional mechanisms for student and faculty collaboration.
Paretti, M., & Deters, J., & Menon, M., & Webb, M. (2022, August), Building a Sustainable University-Wide Interdisciplinary Graduate Program to Address Disasters Paper presented at 2022 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Minneapolis, MN. 10.18260/1-2--41956
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