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Engineering Sustainable Design and Innovation in Island Nations: Guam

This program is still in the planning stages for summer 2021.   
 
The dates listed are tenative dates at this time and costs is being reviewed 
 
Island nations provide a unique learning opportunity to evaluate the complex task of engineering for sustainability. On small islands the connections between social, economic, and environmental impacts are more easily traced and the scale of the processes more readily tracked. 
 
They often also present a unique and constrained set of material resources that have shaped indigenous cultural practices often spawning rare adaptations/designs. 
 
By studying abroad you will explore the context of engineering challenges/opportunities/tradeoffs for sustainability in Guam by considering social (culture, history, governance), environmental (natural resources, built infrastructure, environmental impacts of industry), and economic (socioeconomics/economic development) perspective. 
 
What You'll Accomplish
As an active and engaged participant on this program, you can expect to:
 
  • Gain an understanding of the chanellges that Pacific islands face and meeting the UN Sustainable Development goals  
  • Develop insight on Guam’s economic, cultural, and social structure
  • Learn how to use sustainable design (i.e. biomimicry) to balance natural resource management with economic development
  • Collaborate with local entities and learn to research and develop contemporary engineering sustainability solutions
  • Learn how to cook a local Chamoru dish (and eat it!)
 
 
Guam is a U.S. territory in the center of the Asian Pacific. Sitting on the other side of the international dateline, Guam is the largest island in Micronesia in the western Pacific Ocean. Guam has an area of 210 Square miles and a population is approximately 180,000. 
The island has been inhabited by the Chamoru people since 2500 B.C.  The island was colonized by Spain in 1565 and governed as a colony for 300 years before it was ceded to the U.S. after the Spanish-American War 1898. 
 
With over a million tourists visiting the island every year, it boasts a robust multicultural heritage with residents from around the world. 
 
To learn more- visit this website. 
 
Where You'll Live

You you will be staying in a hotel or resort.  More infromation about housing will be updated soon. 

What You'll Study

 

Through academic and cultural tours, talks by local experts, and interviews, you will be exposed to the complexity of sustainable engineering problems faced by Pacific Islands. 

Working with local organizations to better understand the challenges and barriers to sustainability you will build upon their initial ideas and apply engineering designs to produce solutions that meet specified needs with consideration of public health, safety, and welfare, as well as geo-political, cultural, social, environmental, and economic factors. 

 

Students will gain the ability to acquire and apply new knowledge as needed, using appropriate learning and research strategies. 

 

The syllabus for this course will be available soon. 

 

This course can count for the Sustainability Certificate.  We are having faculty directors review the syllabus to verify how the course will count for requirements. 

 

Through academic and cultural tours, talks by local experts, and interviews, you will be exposed to the complexity of sustainable engineering problems faced by Pacific Islands. 

Working with local organizations to better understand the challenges and barriers to sustainability you will build upon their initial ideas and apply engineering designs to produce solutions that meet specified needs with consideration of public health, safety, and welfare, as well as geo-political, cultural, social, environmental, and economic factors. 

 

Students will gain the ability to acquire and apply new knowledge as needed, using appropriate learning and research strategies. 

 

The syllabus for this course will be avialable soon. 

This course can count for the Sustainability Certificate.  We are having faculty directors review the syllabus to verify how the course will count for requirements. 

 

Experiential Learning Description

You will be immersed into the culture of Guam through service learning opportunties as well as an opportunity for creative designs in collaboration with organizations. You will have the opportunity to bridge site visits with working sessions.

Your Pitt Study Abroad Contacts

Dr. Diane Hardy Saran

Buna! That’s hello in Romanian.  After returning from being a Peace Corp volunteer in Transylvania- I decided to work in the field of international education helping international students.  Life took me back to Buffalo, NY (where I grew up- land of chicken wings)- and I worked for SUNY Buffalo for many years assisting international students and scholars.  In 2010, I moved to the ‘Burgh- and am now assisting engineering students to study abroad.  For fun I enjoy my two kiddos, yoga and fitness, international films, and travel (of course). Come talk with me about studying abroad!  dmhardy@pitt.edu |  412-624-9823 | 152 Benedum Hall -https://www.instagram.com/ssoeinternational/   |    www.facebook.com/SSOEIntProg  

 

E-mail
dmhardy@pitt.edu

Schedule an appointment

Schedule an appointment with me using Pathways!

To make an appointment- login to Pathways, Select Appointments > Schedule an Appointment> Select Pitt Global as the appointment type> Select 152 Benedum – ENGR International Advising, choose a date and time.

Don't see a time that works for you? Just send me an email!

Dr. David Sanchez

David Sanchez, Ph.D. is an Assistant Professor in the University of Pittsburgh’s Civil & Environmental Engineering Department. He is also the Assistant Director for the Mascaro Center for Sustainable Innovation where he oversees the Sustainability Education programs such as the Undergraduate Certificate, Master’s in Sustainable Engineering and John C. Mascaro Faculty Fellows program.  As an investigator Dr. Sanchez directs the Sustainable Design Labs where they look to enhance the sustainability of the natural and built environment on a local/regional scale. Current projects include converting Waste-to-Energy via bio-electrochemical systems, designing and deploying real-time sensors to identify uncertainty in water quality trends, and optimizing vertical agriculture/aquaculture systems. Dr. Sanchez is the recipient of several awards including a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship, IGERT Traineeship, Alfred P. Sloan Scholarship, Pittsburgh Business Time Energy Award, the Pitt Faculty Sustainability Award and, the Best Mentor Award for Pitt’s Excel program. He actively leads international engineering trips on behalf of the Swanson School of Engineering and is excited about our new Jamaica program.

E-mail
david.sanchez@pitt.edu

Information about budgets will be updated soon. 

What's Included

Information about what is included will be updated soon.