Engineers for a Sustainable World Website
Mission
Engineers for a Sustainable World (ESW) is a national, non-profit network committed to building a world where all people enjoy the basic resources to pursue healthy, productive lives, in harmony with each other, and with our earth.
Through education, training, and practical action, ESW mobilizes the engineering community to establish collaborative partnerships to meet the needs of current and future generations.
For more information about ESW's programs, please visit their official website.
Description of Work
Engineers can be a vital part of the solutions needed to meet global human needs while providing sustainable access to the world's resources for current and future generations. ESW has several initiatives aimed at creating a sustainable future. ESW seeks to raise awareness of sustainability issues within the engineering profession and increase public understanding of engineering contributions to sustainable future.
Students have started ESW collegiate chapters on many campuses including Cornell, Northwestern, Stanford, and The University of Iowa, numbering twenty so far. These chapters help shape engineering education for future generations of students. Through the dedicated efforts of faculty and student members, ESW is integrating sustainability, international awareness, and community development into the engineering curriculum across the country.
The Summer Engineering Experience in Development (SEED) Program provides opportunities for engineering students and professionals to volunteer on sustainable development projects in Latin America, Africa, Eastern Europe, and Asia. SEED volunteers collaborate with on-the-ground agencies and institutions to develop and employ solutions that are both locally defined and appropriate, as well as sustainable beyond ESW's presence.
The Education Resource Center is an online portal developed by ESW and includes directories of sustainable engineering courses, graduate and certificate programs in sustainable engineering, call for papers for academic publications and conferences, and seminars and workshops ESW's National Conference brings together engineering educators from across the country to present models for integrating sustainability into higher education.
Director's Bio
Julie Chow joined ESW as Director in 2008. Prior to joining ESW, Julie Chow served as Managing Director and Co-Founder of Geneva-Cathay Holdings Corp., a real estate investment firm. She also served as Senior Manager for Visteon Corp., a global supplier of automotive systems, leading the product strategy and planning function in North America for a $3 billion global business unit.
Julie holds a B.S. in Industrial Engineering from Columbia University, an MBA from the Harvard Business School, and an M.S. in Real Estate Development from Columbia University's Graduate School of Architecture Planning and Preservation. She served as a Fellow of the Deming Center at the Columbia School of Business, and was named a regional finalist for the 2007-2008 White House Fellowship Program.
In the non-profit sector, Julie has been active in children's issues, her church and Habitat for Humanity. She presently sits on the board of the Alameda Point Collaborative. In her spare time, she enjoys international travel and classical music.
Social Impact
Established in 2002, the ESW network now includes over 4000 individuals who are committed to building a more sustainable world. ESW Collegiate Chapters across the United States are mobilizing their student and faculty members through new educational initiatives, sustainability-oriented design projects, and volunteer activities to foster practical and innovative solutions to address the world's most critical challenges.
During the past five years, ESW has supported the development of sustainability-oriented engineering curriculum and program offerings. Through education-focused sessions at ESW’s National Conference as well as networking support for its Collegiate Chapters throughout the year, the ESW has fostered the dissemination, adaptation, and improvement of sustainability education in engineering. As a result, over 15 sustainable engineering courses and programs have been started by ESW faculty and student members at leading engineering institutions. In addition to establishing new sustainability-focused courses, ESW Collegiate Chapters are now beginning to establish sustainable engineering certificate, minor and masters degree programs at their colleges.
Through ESW's Summer Engineering Experience in Development (SEED) Program, ESW sends technical volunteers to Africa, Asia, and Latin America to work on projects that increase sustainable access to water, sanitation and energy. ESW SEED Volunteers work with local partners, including NGOs, entrepreneurs, and local technical universities, to design sustainable and appropriate solutions to their communities' most pressing challenges. ESW's returned SEED volunteers typically pursue one of three career paths upon their return - 1) they pursue graduate education, focusing on research that improves the quality of life in developing countries; 2) they work as practicing engineers in the U.S. for companies that aim to reduce their environmental footprint; or 3) they work for international development and aid agencies.
ESW's impact is ever-increasing, as more individuals across the globe embrace ESW's mission, and as ESW's existing members enter careers as researchers, professional engineers, and entrepreneurs, working to harness engineering and science for the long-term benefit of society.
To learn more or support ESW's work, please visit their official website