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Piloting transdisciplinarity among faculty and students concerned with flood management on the South Texas Gulf Coast: A four-stage model for initial collaboration

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Conference

2022 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Location

Minneapolis, MN

Publication Date

August 23, 2022

Start Date

June 26, 2022

End Date

June 29, 2022

Conference Session

Environmental Engineering Division Technical Session 4

Page Count

14

DOI

10.18260/1-2--40794

Permanent URL

https://peer.asee.org/40794

Download Count

333

Paper Authors

biography

Ari Sherris

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Ari is an Associate Professor of Bilingual Education at Texas A&M University-Kingsville. During the 2015-16 academic year, he was a J. William Fulbright Scholar at the University of Education, Winneba, Ghana. During June 2019, Ari was a distinguished guest researcher at the University of South Africa. He holds a PhD in Second Language Development, an MA in Applied Linguistics, and a BA in the Humanities. He is certified as an EFL and ESL teacher as well as a School Principal. Ari’s research and language revitalization interests include Mikasuki, Salish Ql’ispe (a.k.a. Salish-Pend d’Oreille, Montana Salish, and Flathead Salish) and Safaliba. His ethnographic work documents situated practice in grassroots policy initiatives and school-based activism among the Safaliba in rural Ghana. His language documentation includes conceptual metaphors and formulaic language in Salish Ql’ispe and Safaliba. He also explores applications of task-based language teaching in the pedagogy of revitalization. His practitioner papers analyze integrated content and language instruction, academic English instruction for graduate students, and asset-based coaching for and by language teachers (e.g., peer coaching, critical friending in educational contexts). Ari has planned and facilitated language and literacy workshops and lectures, as well as curriculum development, in Ghana, Israel, Italy, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Sweden, Thailand, and the USA.

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Hua Li Texas A&M University - Kingsville

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Dr. Hua Li is a Professor in the Mechanical and Industrial Engineering Department at Texas A&M University-Kingsville. His areas of expertise include renewable energy, data science, optimization, and engineering education. He has received more than $8M federal grants as PI and Co-PI, and has published over 70 peer-reviewed papers. He is currently serving as PI of NASA MUREP INCLUDES, NSF REU, USDA REEU, and ED MSEIP projects. He received his doctoral degree in Industrial Engineering from Texas Tech University in 2009.

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David Ramirez

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Tushar Sinha Texas A&M University - Kingsville

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Francisco Haces Fernandez Texas A&M University - Kingsville

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Christine Robbins Texas A&M University - Kingsville

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Marisol Pirozzolo Texas A&M University - Kingsville

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Mohammad Azayzeh Texas A&M University - Kingsville

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Alberto Aguirre Texas A&M University - Kingsville

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Danielle Maynard Texas A&M University - Kingsville

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Danielle Maynard is a master's student studying environmental engineering at Texas A&M-Kingsville. She graduated with her undergraduate degree in civil engineering at Texas Tech University in May 2021. She is interested in flood modeling, risk analysis and assessment, and mitigation via low impact development strategies.

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Yara Green-Jordan Texas A&M University - Kingsville

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jianhong Ren Texas A&M University - Kingsville

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Mariee Cruz Mendoza Texas A&M University-Kingsville

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Mariee Cruz-Mendoza is a Graduate Teaching Assistant pursuing a Ph.D. in Engineering with a concentration in Sustainable Energy. Mariee obtained her B.S. in Industrial Management and Applied Engineering Technology, and a M.S. in Industrial Engineering. Her focus is wind energy, solar energy, and renewable energies in agriculture and geospatial analysis.

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Abstract

The economic, social, environmental, and scientific interrelatedness of our ecological survival depend on shifts in how we educate the next generation of educators, engineers, scientists, and social activists. Education, both formal and informal, as well as social activism, have to find ways to cross borders, collaborating to find solutions to the pressing problems of our time. On the South Texas Gulf Coast, one of these pressing issues is stormwater management and policy, but it has been challenging to effectively engage local leaders, water professionals, researchers, and community stakeholders in the solution-seeking process. To overcome this challenge, the research team adopted a transdisciplinary methodology to pilot a four-stage model for initial collaboration activities in applied, convergent research. This paper reports on this pilot simulation to (1) test the effectiveness and (2) demonstrate the means on how to facilitate a transdisciplinary approach in engineering problem solving and education, targeting the case study of local flood management. This collaborative model for the identification, planning, and facilitation of convergent solution seeking processes is adaptable and scalable widely in addressing the five grand challenges identified by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM).

Sherris, A., & Li, H., & Ramirez, D., & Sinha, T., & Haces Fernandez, F., & Robbins, C., & Pirozzolo, M., & Azayzeh, M., & Aguirre, A., & Maynard, D., & Green-Jordan, Y., & Ren, J., & Cruz Mendoza, M. (2022, August), Piloting transdisciplinarity among faculty and students concerned with flood management on the South Texas Gulf Coast: A four-stage model for initial collaboration Paper presented at 2022 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Minneapolis, MN. 10.18260/1-2--40794

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