When Bernard Amadei, professor of civil, environmental and architectural engineering, took a group of students to a rural village in Belize to install a water pump in 2001, he had no intention of founding or developing a curriculum for engineering in developing communities at 抖阴旅行射 Boulder.
But the students were so inspired that they began 鈥渉aunting鈥� him upon their return, Amadei said. 鈥淚 am forever grateful for those students who dragged me to it for showing me that there was a role I had to play.鈥�
Amadei was honored for that role, as well as his many other contributions during a 34-year career at 抖阴旅行射, at the Board of Regents meeting yesterday, where he was named a 抖阴旅行射 Distinguished Professor.
The award is the highest honor awarded to faculty across the 抖阴旅行射 system鈥檚 four campuses, and is given to faculty members who demonstrate exemplary performance in research or creative work, a record of excellence in classroom teaching and supervision of individual learning, and outstanding service to the profession, the university and its affiliates.
鈥淚 am certainly honored to be selected,鈥� Amadei said. 鈥淚f it can help promote engineering at 抖阴旅行射 Boulder and allows me to reach out to more people about engineering, I鈥檓 happy to be recognized.鈥�
When he joined the 抖阴旅行射 Boulder faculty in 1982, Amadei鈥檚 research interests were mostly in the field of geologic and geotechnical engineering, a subject he still teaches to undergraduates. But after his first trip to rural Belize, he decided to begin exploring the role of engineering in developing communities (EDC).
鈥淚 asked myself, 鈥榃ho is doing engineering for these communities?鈥欌�� he said. 鈥淓ngineering is engineering, but the implementation is often very different.鈥�
That exploration led him to put together a few courses, which grew into a certificate program. In 2009, that program became an education, research and outreach center called the (MCEDC). Today, MCEDC offers graduate degrees and an undergraduate certificate and minor for 抖阴旅行射 Boulder students, programs that are helping to increase diversity in the College of Engineering and Applied Science.
鈥淲e鈥檝e found one way of recruiting more women in engineering,鈥� he said, noting that MCEDC鈥檚 incoming PhD cohort is 50 percent women.
As he was developing new education programs, Amadei and his students were also building the first chapter of Engineers Without Borders USA (EWB). Since 2002, that organization has grown to more than 300 student and professional chapters and nearly 17,000 members across the U.S.
鈥淓WB and EDC have provided an opportunity for students to do something beyond what is expected of them in the classroom,鈥� Amadei said. 鈥淲hen they graduate, they鈥檙e in a unique position to work in industry because they have that global perspective.鈥�
In addition to continuing to serve as co-director of MCEDC, Amadei is also turning his attention to the role engineering can play in diplomacy, as he explores water and wastewater issues being faced by Israelis and Palestinians.听
鈥淲hen communities have a conflict and have common issues, they tend to rally around common solutions,鈥� he said. 鈥淓ngineering can be a way to bring people together.鈥�
听
