Past Events

  1. HDI Seminar: Listening as Leadership - Engineers in Community Development and the Extractive Industries

    Apr 18, 2019, 9:00am - 10:00am

    Learning how to listen to other perspectives – especially from people who are not engineers or who are critical of the organizations for whom they work – is a key but often overlooked aspect of engineering leadership. We begin by profiling engineers who had to learn to listen in order to engage in community development work, and then show that listening also plays a key role in what many would consider to be an unexpected place: the mining and oil industries.

  2. Humanitarian Engineering Advisory: "Did You Know?"

    Mar 6, 2019, 1:00pm - 2:00pm

    Come and engage in 1-slide, 3-minute presentations given by OSU faculty unified under the theme of Humanitarian Development and Innovation.

  3. HDI Seminar: 3D printing for rural Kenyan hospitals

    Feb 4, 2019, 9:00am - 10:00am

    Dr. Gershenson will discuss the Humanitarian Engineering and Social Entrepreneurship Program (HESE) at Penn State University and his work within this program to develop a process to enable 3D printing of medical devices for use in rural hospitals in developing communities. This project, being launched as Kijenzi, creates local manufacturing that replaces long, expensive, or non-existent supply chains. Kijenzi offers hospitals a way to rapidly get what they need, and at a fraction of the cost of typical supply chains.

  4. HDI Seminar: Engineering, Poverty, and Mental Illness

    Jan 14, 2019, 2:00pm - 3:00pm

    Feedback control systems that achieve various levels of autonomy have become a necessity for all people, especially those in dire poverty or poor mental health.  In this talk, two examples of where feedback control is greatly needed are outlined: (i) for individual/community financial advisors to avoid financial tragedy for persons living in poverty; and (ii) for persons with mental illnesses such as emotion/mood regulation deficiencies (e.g., depression).  It will be shown that there are

  5. HDI Seminar: Our Mission to Provide Mobility in Developing Countries

    Nov 28, 2018, 9:00am - 10:00am

    Free Wheelchair Mission (FWM) started in 2001, when we discovered the ugly truth that there were over 70 million people with mobility disabilities – living without wheelchairs.  These people live in developing countries.  At that time, the common solution was to serve these people with conventional wheelchairs (either brand new or refurbished used wheelchairs) intended for use in developed counties.  At that time fewer than 0.2% of these 70 million needs was met. 

  6. Engineers Without Borders - USA Conference

    Nov 8, 2018 through Nov 10, 2018, 7:00am - 6:00pm

    EWB-USA’s ​annual ​conference ​will ​address ​the ​theme ​“Engineers Unlock Potential.” ​Experts, ​practitioners, ​decision-makers, ​young ​professionals ​and ​students ​from ​a ​range ​of ​sectors ​will come to Burlingame, CA to network, exchange ideas, foster new thinking and develop solutions to the world’s most pressing infrastructure ​challenges. 

  7. HDI Seminar: The Niswonger VILLAGE - A Public Health Simulation Lab

    Nov 5, 2018, 9:00am - 10:00am

    The Niswonger VILLAGE (Virtual International Living and Learning Across Global Environments) at the East Tennessee State University Eastman Valleybrook Campus is a public health simulation lab that replicates how people live and work in low-resource settings. Using role playing, case studies, and simulated scenarios, students face real-world challenges, and gain confidence in their ability to make a difference in the lives of other people.

  8. HDI Seminar: Sustainable Asset-based Community Development in Rural Honduras

    Oct 22, 2018, 9:00am - 10:00am

    International development has long been carried out as a top-down process, implemented from the outside in. These externally-imposed paternalistic practices can cause serious long-term problems in small communities. Sustained interventions of this nature slowly disempower populations and create dependence upon outside resources and guidance. In Honduras, a small NGO is working to reverse this effect.

  9. Design Outreach Annual Give Water Gala

    Sep 20, 2018, 6:00pm - 9:00pm

    This year, we celebrate five years of being a nonprofit organization, and the five-year anniversary of our first LifePump installation in Zolomondo, Malawi. We are grateful to be reaching these milestones and would love to have you join us. Our work would not be possible without faithful supporters like you.