Empowering Students to Empower Communities: Research Translation in Graduate and Undergraduate Engineering Education

Juan C. Lucena; Mateo Rojas; Casey Gibson; Jaime Elizabeth Styer; Sofia Lara Schlezak

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Conference: 2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition
Location: Portland, Oregon
Publication Date: June 23, 2024
Start Date: June 23, 2024
End Date: July 12, 2024
Conference Session: Engineering Empowered Communities: Place-Based Community Engaged Learning
Tagged Division: Community Engagement Division (COMMENG)
Tagged Topic: Diversity
Permanent URL: https://peer.asee.org/47251

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Paper Authors

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Juan C. Lucena Colorado School of Mines

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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

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Mateo Rojas

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Casey Gibson National Academy of Engineering orcid.org/0000-0003-4338-3489

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Casey Gibson, M.S., is an Associate Program Officer at the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) of U.S. National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine. Gibson contributes to multiple NAE and cross-Academies initiatives, focusing primarily on the Cultural, Ethical, Social, and Environmental Responsibility in Engineering program. Gibson completed her M.S. from the Colorado School of Mines as a member of the inaugural cohort in Humanitarian Engineering and Science (HES). In the HES program, Gibson specialized in Environmental Engineering and conducted research under the NSF-funded “Responsible Mining, Resilient Communities” project in Colombia. She was named Outstanding Graduate Student in HES. Gibson earned her B.S. in Biological/Agricultural Engineering and minor in Sustainability from the University of Arkansas, along with a B.A. in Spanish Language. In addition, Gibson served as a Fulbright-García Robles Scholar in Mexico.

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Jaime Elizabeth Styer Colorado School of Mines

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Sofia Lara Schlezak Colorado School of Mines

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MS in Humanitarian Engineering and Science

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Abstract

This paper shows how “research translation” (RT) can become an established practice in engineering education to provide necessary connections between graduate research and undergraduate learning and explicit social relevance of graduate research. RT has been defined by USAID as “a co-design process between academics and practitioners, where research is intentionally applied to a development challenge, and embedded in the research project from the beginning so that the result is a tested solution adapted for use as a product, practice, or policy.” While the concept has a history in the health sciences and in commercialization of technology, RT remains undertheorized and underapplied in engineering, especially in engineering for community development programs. In this paper, we will review the literature on RT to identify barriers and opportunities for the development and implementation of RT in graduate engineering education, especially for those students interested in community development. Then we will present four case studies of graduate students in [name of program] engineering who have used RT to connect their research with undergraduate engineering education and with the communities they want to serve. The first case study will show how research on gold processing plants in ASGM has been translated to teach engineering students how engineering is ultimately a sociotechnical practice and how it can be disseminated so ASGM communities understand the power dimensions affecting their work. A second case-study will describe how RT can be used to teach undergraduate engineering students community-based research methods and to empower communities at the intersection of ASGM and agriculture to evaluate environmental risks. A third case study will show how research on electrical and electronic waste (e-waste) recycling has been translated to teach students about engineering and community development and to empower communities to recycle e-waste in safer and more profitable conditions. A fourth case study will show how research on construction and demolition waste (C&DW) has been translated to teach freshmen engineering students about design for community and to empower communities near C&DW sites how to recycle these materials to diversify their incomes. The paper concludes with recommendations for how to make RT a more central feature of graduate engineering research.

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Lucena, J. C., & Rojas, M., & Gibson, C., & Styer, J. E., & Schlezak, S. L. (2024, June), Empowering Students to Empower Communities: Research Translation in Graduate and Undergraduate Engineering Education Paper presented at 2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Portland, Oregon. https://peer.asee.org/47251

TY  - CPAPER
AB  - This paper shows how “research translation” (RT) can become an established practice in engineering education to provide necessary connections between graduate research and undergraduate learning and explicit social relevance of graduate research. RT has been defined by USAID as “a co-design process between academics and practitioners, where research is intentionally applied to a development challenge, and embedded in the research project from the beginning so that the result is a tested solution adapted for use as a product, practice, or policy.” While the concept has a history in the health sciences and in commercialization of technology, RT remains undertheorized and underapplied in engineering, especially in engineering for community development programs. In this paper, we will review the literature on RT to identify barriers and opportunities for the development and implementation of RT in graduate engineering education, especially for those students interested in community development. Then we will present four case studies of graduate students in [name of program] engineering who have used RT to connect their research with undergraduate engineering education and with the communities they want to serve.  The first case study will show how research on gold processing plants in ASGM has been translated to teach engineering students how engineering is ultimately a sociotechnical practice and how it can be disseminated so ASGM communities understand the power dimensions affecting their work. A second case-study will describe how RT can be used to teach undergraduate engineering students community-based research methods and to empower communities at the intersection of ASGM and agriculture to evaluate environmental risks. A third case study will show how research on electrical and electronic waste (e-waste) recycling has been translated to teach students about engineering and community development and to empower communities to recycle e-waste in safer and more profitable conditions. A fourth case study will show how research on construction and demolition waste (C&amp;amp;DW) has been translated to teach freshmen engineering students about design for community and to empower communities near C&amp;amp;DW sites how to recycle these materials to diversify their incomes. The paper concludes with recommendations for how to make RT a more central feature of graduate engineering research.
AU  - Juan C. Lucena
AU  - Mateo Rojas
AU  - Casey Gibson
AU  - Jaime Elizabeth Styer
AU  - Sofia Lara Schlezak
CY  - Portland, Oregon
DA  - 2024/06/23
PB  - ASEE Conferences
TI  - Empowering Students to Empower Communities: Research Translation in Graduate and Undergraduate Engineering Education
UR  - https://peer.asee.org/47251
ER  -