Humanitarian Engineering

At home and abroad, Buckeye engineers are creating solutions to help people in need and empower sustainable development. Those efforts—ranging from providing access to clean water, food and energy to improving technology capacity for impoverished communities—got a boost in 2014 with the launch of the College of Engineering’s new Humanitarian Engineering Center.

Led by Kevin Passino, professor of electrical and computer engineering, the center aims to educate global humanitarian engineers who can team with communities to create innovative and cost-effective technical solutions to worldwide problems. It coordinates multiple initiatives, including courses, service projects, the humanitarian engineering minor, the Humanitarian Engineering Scholars program, and study abroad experiences, as well as provide oversight to student humanitarian engineering organizations.

Members also conduct advanced research to develop novel, needs-driven solutions and disseminate those research results widely.

While the center is new, its focus area is not. Humanitarian engineering at Ohio State dates back at least 35 years, when Professor Emeritus Herman Weed involved students in his work to provide engineering and technical support for Project Hope.

For more information: https://osuhe.engineering.osu.edu/