Development Engineering

When Rachel Dzombak and Vivek Rao began planning for the spring 2020 Development Engineering course “Innovation in Disaster Response,” part of their motivation was to get students to think about the use of technology during past disasters. But by early March, it was clear to Dzombak and Rao that the COVID-19 pandemic was increasing the relevancy of their class in ways no one could have predicted.

The Blum Center celebrates the Nobel Prize in Economics winners for pioneering randomized control trials in poverty interventions. Building on these insights, development engineering integrates economics, technology, and social sciences to address global challenges. The center aims to advance this interdisciplinary field by hiring professors in health, energy, and entrepreneurship.

The Development Engineering PhD designated emphasis at UC Berkeley integrates technology, interdisciplinary collaboration, and social impact to address global poverty. Recent graduates’ research includes projects on cookstove efficiency, nitrogen recovery, LED lifecycle management, and fluoride removal. The program trains scholars to create scalable, sustainable solutions for underserved communities worldwide.

Ryan Shelby, a UC Berkeley PhD in Mechanical Engineering, applies co-design methodologies and engineering expertise as a USAID Foreign Service Officer in Haiti. Through the Build Back Safer II program, he’s repaired 4,000 roofs, trained over 2,000 locals in hurricane-resistant construction, and advanced sustainable infrastructure to empower communities and enhance resilience.

By Tamara Straus The goal of the PhD is to do original research in a specific discipline. That means in-depth and often narrow inquiries that build on academic knowledge. But for many STEM and social science graduate students, the great draw of the PhD is developing research that can have wide societal benefit—in clean water … Continue reading “InFEWS Fellows Take on Sustainable Development Goals”

By Nicole Rangel College graduates with interdisciplinary and hands-on skills are in demand in today’s job market. Because they have exposure to more than one discipline and curiosity about the interplay of fields, these graduates are being positioned as necessary to solve societal challenges–from natural disasters and climate change to automation-induced unemployment and epidemics. This … Continue reading “Why Interdisciplinary Project-Based Learning? Assessing the Benefits and Challenges at U.S. Institutions of Higher Education”

Last month, the Blum Center hosted a networking reception for its inaugural cohort of Innovation at the Nexus of Food, Energy and Water Systems (InFEWS) doctoral students.  InFEWS is a prestigious National Science Foundation-funded graduate research program that uses the Development Engineering (DevEng) methodology to create solutions for challenges that span food, energy and water … Continue reading “InFEWS Welcomes New Graduate Cohort”

By Sonia Travaglini