Provost’s Seminar Series Continues Feb. 23 Bernard Amadei to Discuss the Role of Engineers in Poverty Reduction

SAN LUIS OBISPO – Cal Poly will host a lecture by Bernard Amadei, professor of civil engineering at the University of Colorado, Boulder and founder of Engineers Without Borders, as part of the Provost’s Seminar Series on Civic Engagement. The event, scheduled for Friday, Feb. 23, from 11 a.m. to noon in the Business Building, Room 213, is free and open to the public.

During his lecture “The Role of Engineers in Poverty Reduction: Challenges and Opportunities,” Amadei will discuss the challenges and opportunities associated with practicing engineering in the developing world and the education of engineers through organizations such as Engineers Without Borders. He will also discuss the importance of integrating engineering with non-engineering disciplines when addressing the needs of developing communities.

In the next two decades, the Earth’s population is expected to grow by nearly two billion additional people, 95 percent of them in developing or underdeveloped countries. This growth will create unprecedented demands for energy, food, land, water, transportation, materials, waste disposal, earth moving, health care, environmental cleanup, telecommunication, and infrastructure.

“The role of engineers will be critical in fulfilling those demands at various scales, ranging from remote small communities to large urban areas, and mostly in the developing world,” says Amadei. “As we enter the first half of the 21st century, the engineering profession must embrace a new mission statement—to contribute to the building of a more sustainable, stable, and equitable world.”

The event is sponsored by the Office of the Provost and supported by the university Honors Program, Empower Poly Coalition, EdGE, and CSinE.

For more information, contact Sema Alptekin at 756-7029 or salptekin@calpoly.edu.

###