Seminar Series: Research in Global Design

This E4C Seminar Series webinar focused on the mission of the Engineering for Global Design Laboratory at the University of Michigan and the mission of the Engineering for Global Development Research Committee. The role of the EGD Seminar Series and its purpose is to intellectually develop the field. This specific seminar went over the current state of the field and a proposed roadmap for moving forward. Our presenter spoke about improving and developing design processes as well as supporting design teams that work at a high systems-level and are multi-disciplinary. Learn more about the Global Design Laboratory here.

E4C’s Seminar Series features academic laboratories researching solutions to meet the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals. The world’s cutting edge research deserves a platform with a global audience. Join us for presentations of new findings from investigative teams around the globe each month. And researchers, we welcome your applications to take part in the series. Please send an email to research@engineeringforchange.org.

The Panelist

Jesse Austin-Breneman is an Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Michigan. He earned his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering in 2014 from MIT. He also holds a S.M. in Mechanical Engineering from MIT and a B.S. in Ocean Engineering also from MIT. Previous to his academic career, he worked as a development engineer in Peru, working with rural communities on alternative business opportunities and with local doctors’ groups on medical device development. He also spent two years as a high school mathematics teacher in Boston, MA.

He currently is the director of the Global Design Laboratory. The group focuses on developing design processes and support tools to help multi-disciplinary design teams think at a systems-level when performing complex system design tasks. This includes investigating the best way to incorporate system-level interactions between stakeholders in emerging markets into the design decision-making process.