January 2018 – Hunt Institute for Engineering & Humanity

January 29, 2018March 7, 2022

Xiaochen Zhang, Hunt Institute Fellow

Xiaochen Zhang is the President of FinTech4Good and World Digital Economy Council. He leads the design and implementation of FinTech4Goods’s strategy which aims to introduce impactful fintech and blockchain solutions to frontier markets through incubation, acceleration and investment. He brings more than 16 years of thought leadership and global experience to build impactful solutions and scale up innovative ideas in North America, Africa, Latin America, Europe and Asia. He serves on the Board of Directors and Board of Advisors for many innovative policy, technology and finance initiatives. Prior to FinTech4Good, Xiaochen advised government agencies and multinational organizations on innovation, emerging technologies, and investment in positions at the World Bank, United Nations, and other international partnership platforms. He also taught innovation and venture building at leading business schools and served as mentors for many innovative businesses. He hosts the World Responsible Leaders Dialogue show.

To read more about the Hunt Institute’s work to develop future-focused solutions to some of the world’s biggest problems, please click here. For the latest news on the Hunt Institute, follow our social media accounts on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. We invite you to listen to our Podcast called Sages & Seekers. If you are considering engaging with the institute, you can donate, or sign-up for our newsletter by emailing huntinstitute@smu.edu.

January 29, 2018March 7, 2022

Dr. Ahmet Can Sabuncu, Hunt Institute Fellow

Ahmet Can Sabuncu, Hunt Institute Fellow, teaches Mechanical Engineering at Worcester Polytechnic Institute. His teaching interest is on mechanical engineering design and thermal-fluids engineering. Dr. Sabuncu is eager to bring real-world experiences to his students using collaborations with industry, start-up companies, or using an idea that involves the pain points of stakeholders. His research and professional interests are on engineering education research on laboratory-oriented courses, renewable energy, and the development of biomedical devices from idea to market. Dr. Sabuncu is eager to discover next-generation workforce skills and to educate the next generation of engineers who will carry industry 4.0 forward considering the needs of the global world.

In Toys with Wings: Creating Value through Collaborative Entrepreneurial Mindset Learning (EML), Dr. Sabuncu and his team use EML to, “…students develop entrepreneurial thinking and empathy by intentionally seeking to create an educational toy with a potential societal value.” Their findings are students discover opportunities and insight with these hands-on problem-solving exercises.

His most recent research focuses on the development of bioelectric sensors for tissue and cell diagnostics. The sensor uses bioimpedance measurements in the broadband frequency range to obtain a dielectric data of superficial tissues. These sensors can be effective in determining the locations and severity of lesions. Currently, he is testing this technology on intestinal tumor tissues in collaboration with the Massachusetts General Hospital. He is also working on linking cell and tissue impedance spectra to cellular function and structure. In addition to these, he has developed metallic electrodes with fractal topology to enhance dielectrophoresis, whose applications include biological cell separation and nanoparticle manipulation.

When asked what motivates him to do impact work, Dr. Sabuncu answered, “I want to create value for the developing world with my research.”

Preciously, he instructed senior design and biomedical engineering-related courses at Lyle School of Engineering. Dr. Sabuncu is working on low-cost and energy-efficient urban farming technologies in collaboration with the Hunt Institute. His research expertise includes the use of microfluidics and micro&nano sensors for biomedical applications such as single-cell manipulation and cancer diagnosis. The techniques he uses are bioimpedance spectroscopy, dielectrophoresis, microfabrication, micro-particle image velocimetry, finite element, and Monte Carlo simulations.

Dr. Sabuncu holds a Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering from Old Dominion University, a Master of Science in Aerospace, Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering from Istanbul Technical University, and a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Yildiz Technical University.

To read more about the Hunt Institute’s work to develop future-focused solutions to some of the world’s biggest problems, please click here. For the latest news on the Hunt Institute, follow our social media accounts on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram. We invite you to listen to our Podcast called Sages & Seekers. If you are considering engaging with the institute, you can donate, or sign-up for our newsletter by emailing huntinstitute@smu.edu.

January 29, 2018March 7, 2022

Regina Montoya, Hunt Institute Distinguished Fellow

Regina Montoya is the Secretary of the Board of Directors of the Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport and is the Chair of Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings’ Task Force on Poverty. Ms. Montoya is the Chief Strategist of the JMC Strategy Group, and she is currently writing a book about the importance of incorporating Latinos into the economic, political and social fabric of America. In addition, she is a frequent public speaker on a wide range of issues including health care, poverty, diversity and children.

Ms. Montoya is a Harvard-trained attorney who has been nationally recognized as one of the top lawyers in the country, and she is a former award-winning television commentator. She was one of the first Latinas to earn partnership in a major corporate law firm in the United States. In 2014, Ms. Montoya received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Texas Minority Counsel Program of the State Bar of Texas. In addition, Ms. Montoya was awarded the Latina Lawyer of the Year by the Hispanic National Bar Association, the Women’s Advocacy Award from Legal Aid of NorthWest Texas, the La Luz Achievement Award from the Dallas Hispanic Bar Association, and the Pioneer for Justice Award from the Los Angeles-based Mexican American Bar Foundation.

In 1993, Ms. Montoya served in the White House as an Assistant to the President and Director of the Office of Intergovernmental Affairs. In 1998, she was nominated by the President to serve as a U.S. Representative to the 53^rd Session of the General Assembly of the United Nations.

Previously, Ms. Montoya served as the Senior Vice President, External Relations and General Counsel at Children’s Medical Center of Dallas, the seventh-largest pediatric health care provider in the nation. In addition, she was the chief executive officer of the New America Alliance, a national nonprofit organization whose mission is to promote the economic advancement of the American Latino community.

A leader in the nonprofit community, Ms. Montoya is the Chair of the Board of the Mexican American Legal Defense & Educational Fund (MALDEF). She is a member of the Board of Directors of Girls Inc. (National Board), the Texas Book Festival, the Center for Public Policy Priorities, the Harvard Club of Dallas, ChildCareGroup, and the SMU Tate Lecture Series, and she serves on the Texas Lyceum Advisory Council.

Ms. Montoya has received numerous awards for her corporate, philanthropic and nonprofit accomplishments. Among her awards, she has received the Harvard Alumni Association Award, the Susan B. Anthony Award from the League of Women Voters of Dallas, the “Can Do!” Award from the Wilkinson Center and the Girl Scouts of Northeast Texas Real Woman Award. Ms. Montoya has been recognized by numerous publications for her achievements, including Hispanic Executive Magazine, which featured her on the cover of its July/August/September 2014 edition and Hispanic Business magazine, which twice named her one of the 100 most influential Hispanics in the US.

Ms. Montoya earned her B.A. from Wellesley College, where she is a Trustee Emerita, and her J.D. from Harvard Law School. She also has served as vice president and elected director of the Harvard University Alumni Association.

January 29, 2018March 7, 2022

Anna Clark, Hunt Institute Fellow

Anna M. Clark is a fellow of the Hunt Institute for Engineering and Humanity at Southern Methodist University and the co-founder of the Inclusive Economy Consortium

Anna M. Clark is a fellow of the Hunt Institute for Engineering & Humanity at Southern Methodist University and the co-founder of the Inclusive Economy Consortium. In partnership with the Hunt Institute, Anna researches the intersection of corporate social responsibility (CSR), social enterprise, and inclusive business. She was also a key organizer of the Institute’s Climate Extremes conference, the largest event on the issue ever to be held in Dallas.

Anna began her career as a management consultant with PwC Consulting and IBM. In 2005, she founded EarthPeople Media, a sustainability communication consultancy. In 2017, she joined Hill+Knowlton Strategies as a principal, providing senior counsel in corporate affairs and CSR to industry leaders. Presently she works as a senior strategist at Zen Media and advises her creative team at Heirloom Digital, a heritage storytelling company she launched in 2019.

When asked why she was drawn to work with the Hunt Institute she replied, “The first expression of my desire to use business as a vehicle for creating social impact came in sustainability consulting—helping companies ‘go green’ and implementing corporate social responsibility initiatives.

Serving as a fellow at the Hunt Institute has increased my understanding of how to apply market-based solutions to address social needs. I’m excited to use these learnings in my new company to create positive change as a social entrepreneur. The network we’re creating with the Inclusive Economy Consortium is another powerful source of thinking for successful social innovation. It’s inspiring to learn from others who are also dedicated to using their work to help create an economy that respects nature and works for all.”

Over the course of her sustainability career, Anna has advised startups, global corporations, universities such as SMU and Hamdan Bin Mohammed Smart University in Dubai, and international organizations such as International Finance Corporation, the private sector arm of The World Bank.

A published author, Anna has written the Eco-Leadership column for Greenbiz.com since 2009 and has contributed to The Guardian, Al Jazeera English, HuffPost, The Christian Science Monitor, and The Dallas Morning News. She is a Public Voices Fellow at the OpEd Project and a Fellow at the Hunt Institute for Engineering & Humanity at SMU. She also serves on the boards of the American Women’s Financial Education Foundation, the Little Things Matter Foundation, and Green Source DFW, which awarded her a Sustainable Leadership Award in 2016.

Anna holds an M.A. in Communication from Johns Hopkins University and a B.A. in Government from the University of Texas at Austin. She lives with her family in one of the first homes in Dallas to earn a Platinum LEED certification from the U.S. Green Building Council.

To read more about the Hunt Institute’s work to develop future-focused solutions to some of the world’s biggest problems, please click here. For the latest news on the Hunt Institute, follow our social media accounts on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram. We invite you to listen to our Podcast called Sages & Seekers. If you are considering engaging with the institute, you can donate, or sign-up for our newsletter by emailing huntinstitute@smu.edu.

January 29, 2018March 7, 2022

Jamila Thomas, Hunt Institute Fellow

Jamila Thomas Diversity, Equity & Inclusion professional focused on leading with empathy

Jamila Thomas, is a Hunt Institute Fellow, a motivational speaker, author, and entrepreneur. Ms. Thomas is the Senior Vice President for Big Brother Big Sister Lone Star, Founder and President of Women Divine, and the former Director of Racial Equity for the Dallas Independent School District. As a result of her commitment to excellence in all endeavors, Jamila Thomas was named a 2019 Presidential Leadership Scholar appointed by the Presidential Centers of William J. Clinton, George H.W. Bush, George W. Bush and Lyndon B. Johnson.

She has always been emphatically involved in organizations and activities that uplift the world community. She has traveled to West Africa, Germany, Austria, England, Jamaica, Bahamas, and Italy. She spoke in Washington, D.C. on the steps of the United States Capitol on behalf of 400 youth delegates to garner support for the mission and vision of Mother’s Against Drunk Drivers.

In 2009, Ms. Thomas founded a 501c3 organization called Women Divine in Chicago, Illinois. The mission is to effectively impact the lives of young women through academic enhancement, leadership development, financial literacy, and cultural enrichment. The vision is to educate, inspire, and empower young women to strive for excellence in all areas of their lives. In this capacity, she serves as the President of the Board of Directors. As of 2017, Women Divine serves young women currently residing in juvenile detention centers in Dallas, Texas.

In 2018, at the direction of Dallas Independent School District Board of Trustees, Jamila created and established the Racial Equity Office for Dallas ISD. In this capacity, she was responsible for developing culturally responsive policies and programs designed to close the achievement gap and simultaneously build culturally intelligent practices for all faculty and staff. Before serving as the Director of Racial Equity, Ms. Thomas served as Coordinator for Dallas ISD African American Success Initiative for two years. There, she exposed students to a variety of culturally relevant academic-focused opportunities. Prior to her current role with Dallas ISD, she served as the Pastor of Outreach for St. Luke “Community” United Methodist Church, where she was responsible for serving ministries that included social services and prison ministry.

Ms. Thomas has continued her commitment to serving the community in various organizations. She was appointed a Board Member of the Friends of the Dallas Public Library in 2016, and a member of the 2015 Leadership Dallas ISD class. She is also a 2017 Boone Family Foundation Public Voices Fellow, under the auspices of The OpEd Project. In addition, Ms. Thomas was invited to the White House in Washington, D.C. to collaborate with a number of individuals from across the nation to discuss opportunities that engage minority youth in STEM career fields. As a result of her commitment to her community, she won the 2015 Woman of the Year award from the South Central Dallas Business and Professional Women’s Club. In 2019, she was honored with the NAAACP Unsung Hero Award.

Ms. Thomas speaks to her motivation regarding impact work, “I have learned that I am a humanitarian and empathy is what drives me to be a collaborator and consensus builder. Social impact work that focuses on ensuring equitable advances and opportunities for communities that traditionally have been negatively impacted by historical legislative actions is what inspires and motivates me.”

Thomas currently lives in Dallas, Texas with her husband, Brandon, their son Braylon, and daughter Jaidence. She is a native of Dallas, Texas, and a graduate of Florida A&M University, located in Tallahassee, Florida. She received her undergraduate degree in Business Administration and a graduate degree, Masters of Business of Administration (MBA). She also has a Master of Arts degree in Divinity from The University of Chicago Divinity School.

January 29, 2018December 18, 2020

Dr. Jaewook Myung, Hunt Institute Fellow

Jaewook Myung is currently an Assistant Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering of Southern Methodist University (SMU). Prior to joining SMU, he was a postdoctoral research fellow at Pennsylvania State University. He received a B.S. degree in Civil and Environmental Engineering at KAIST in 2011, and an M.S. and a Ph.D. degree in Civil and Environmental Engineering at Stanford University in 2014 and 2016, respectively. Dr. Myung’s interests are in converting water and waste treatment infrastructure that currently consume energy into systems that produce energy and recover resources. In this context, the Myung Group is engaged in multiple projects in the nexus of water, energy, resources, materials, and environmental information.

January 29, 2018March 7, 2022

Maryann Cairns, PH.D., Hunt Institute Fellow

Maryann Cairns is an Assistant Professor of Anthropology at Southern Methodist University. Dr. Cairns’ research is focused at the intersection of environment, infrastructure, and health. Her work examines socio-ecological interactions in polluted waterscapes, giving specific attention to the sustainability and efficacy of infrastructure development. Dr. Cairns has completed projects within these theme areas in Latin America and the Caribbean, the Western Balkans, and the United States. Her work in Costa Rica focuses on placing ethnographic information at the forefront of mathematical modeling and mixed-methods research poised to understand the impact of wastewater on enviro-social spaces and human health.

In May of 2021, she co-authored an article titled Global Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene Approaches: Anthropological Contributions and Future Directions for Engineering which covers how anthropologists contribute key insights toward a comprehensive understanding of water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) as a multidimensional, multiscalar, and culturally embedded phenomenon. Dr. Cairns’ work informing this article was supported by the U.S. National Science Foundation under Grant Number 1745934.

Before coming to SMU, Dr. Cairns was an American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Science & Technology Policy Fellow hosted at the US Environmental Protection Agency, and was a Postdoctoral scholar at Northeastern University’s Social Science Environmental Health Research Institute. She is a Board member for the American Anthropological Association’s Anthropology & Environment Society (A&E).

When asked what motivates her to do impact work she responded, “For me, sustainability is a focus on what matters. I want the things that matter to all of us –environmentally and otherwise–to be around for a while. I am so thankful for the access to education that have had throughout my life and career. It is a gift to be able to share what I have learned with my students and with the public. Leading truly collaborative research designed to solve environmental problems is everything to me. For me, knowledge should never be a secret.”

To read more about the Hunt Institute’s work to develop future-focused solutions to some of the world’s biggest problems, please click here. For the latest news on the Hunt Institute, follow our social media accounts on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram. We invite you to listen to our Podcast called Sages & Seekers. If you are considering engaging with the institute, you can donate, or sign-up for our newsletter by emailing huntinstitute@smu.edu.

January 29, 2018March 7, 2022

Robert Hunt, Ph.D.

Robert Hunt was born in Dallas, Texas, in 1955. After attending school in Austin and Richardson, he majored in History at the University of Texas in Austin. After completing a Master of Theology at Perkins School of Theology (SMU) he served as associate pastor of the Bethany United Methodist Church in Austin, Texas.

In 1985 he and his wife Lilian moved to Kuala Lumpur, where he taught at the Seminary Theology Malaysia and directed extension education programs. He received a PhD from the University of Malaya in 1993, focusing on Christian relations with Muslims in Southeast Asia. From 1993 to 1997 he taught and directed extension education programs at the Trinity Theological College in Singapore. From 1997 to 2004 he was pastor of the English Speaking United Methodist Church of Vienna, and an adjunct professor in Comparative Religions and International Relations at Webster University in Vienna.

Since 2004 Dr. Hunt has been the Director of Global Theological Education at the Perkins School of Theology, Southern Methodist University. He teaches courses in World Religions, Islam, Interreligious Dialogue, Cultural Intelligence, and Mission Studies. Dr. Hunt is author of several books, including The Gospel Among the Nations, A Documentary History of Inculturation, Islam in Southeast Asia, and Muslim Faith and Values: A Guide for Christians.

A strong advocate for using digital technologies to create effective, accessible theological education Dr. Hunt created and manages the Virtual Visiting Professor™ website (http://virtualvisitingprofessor.com), which makes available the best theological teaching from the 2/3rds world to a global constituency. He also created and hosts the podcast Interfaith Encounters that explores interfaith perspectives on contemporary social issues, as well as a blog, YouTube channel, and Facebook pages by the same name.

Dr. Hunt is a certified Cultural Intelligence trainer, Associate of the Tower Center for Political Science, and Hunt Institute Fellow. He is a member of the Board of Scholars of the Journal of Interreligious Dialogue, as well as the Executive Board of the Association of Professors in Mission, the American Society of Missiology, and is editor of the ASM book series. He serves on the steering committees for the SMU Doctor of Liberal Studies and Master of Liberal Studies programs and teaches in both programs

When asked what motivates his work, he replied, “The focus of my professional life, as a teacher and pastor, has been interpretation: helping people understand one another, their history, different cultures and religions, and themselves. I believe that every person, culture, and society has something valuable to offer to others, and that we discover this through critical and appreciative study, open dialogue, and a willingness to learn.”

He has been married for 37 years to Lilian Wong Hunt, a native of Sarawak, Malaysia and has two grown children. Naomi lives with her husband and daughters in Austria and Elliott lives with his wife in Los Angeles.

He speaks Malay and German.

January 29, 2018March 7, 2022

Doric Earle, Ph.D., Hunt Institute Fellow

Doric Earle, Ph.D., is dedicated to helping communities, social enterprises and entrepreneurs achieve collaborative, engaging, and analytical solutions. Social impact is integrated into all of his work, including his co-founded, community-based real estate platform the Dallas Unity Fund LLC and several nonprofits such as Frazier Revitalization, Bridge Lacrosse, Green Careers Dallas, and Miles of Freedom.

Much of Doric’s recent work centers around Restorative Farms, in year two and expanding, whose objective is to be a self- sustaining nonprofit farm that will not only grow local food, but train and grow local urban farming professionals. Dr. Earle engaged his CCPA students in aiding in the communications efforts of Restorative Farms, especially in crafting strategy and content for the website and social media accounts.

A Ph.D. in Public Affairs with a focus on Urban Planning defined the foundation of his work that uses economic development as a catalyst to unlock potential in low-income communities. This economic development and place-building, focusing on entrepreneurship, is further seen through Doric’s developmental facilitation of an incubator for entrepreneurs in South Dallas (The District).

Discussing his motivation for doing impact work, Dr. Earle said, “Social entrepreneurship attacks a broad range of inequities. My mission is to find solutions and implement them.”

Working as a strategic planner and economic developer with Forward Planning, Doric helps individuals, corporations, and municipalities maximize their innate strengths and achieve long and short-term goals through analysis, project management, and leadership development. Dr. Earle spent thirty years in data analysis and development, (during which he earned his Ph.D.) working as an executive for large corporations, creating small companies, and launching new service concepts.

Dr. Earle understands cultural, social, and economic diversity through his global work while balancing the need for collaborative growth and understanding by working with a series of equally educated and diversely experienced individuals to ensure all development is driven with a well-rounded perspective. As a Fellow and a collaborator with the SMU Hunt Institute, he is working on eradicating poverty through the application of technology and a co-created platform that provides accessible housing to Fair Park (South Dallas) with the Dallas Unity Fund, LLC.

To read more about the Hunt Institute’s work to develop future-focused solutions to some of the world’s biggest problems, please click here. For the latest news on the Hunt Institute, follow our social media accounts on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram. We invite you to listen to our Podcast called Sages & Seekers. If you are considering engaging with the institute, you can donate, or sign-up for our newsletter by emailing huntinstitute@smu.edu.

January 29, 2018March 7, 2022

Dr. Owen Lynch, Hunt Institute Senior Fellow

Dr. Owen Lynch is an Associate Professor in the Meadows School of the Arts at SMU. He is the director of the Organizational Communications track within the Corporate Communication & Public Affairs (CCPA) department. He also works as the director of the CCPA Honors Program & the SMU-in-London Communication Internship Program. Outside of the Communications Department, he holds the positions of Senior Research Fellow and Director of Community Engagement and Projects for the Hunt Institute of Engineering & Humanity within the Lyle School of Engineering at SMU.

He is active in the city of Dallas with regards to healthy, fresh food access and food justice issues. He has served and is a member of several food security committees and city-food interest groups. He also serves as the Director of Get Healthy Dallas, a nonprofit organization he helped form that is dedicated to addressing the lack of healthy food options, adequate education, and economic development opportunities in Dallas with special focus on the South Dallas and the Fair Park area.

His research interests include how organizations and communities are (re) produced through everyday discourse and routines of its members. His research methods focus on qualitative methodology, specifically participatory action research methods and asset-based community development which utilizes existing local assets to address current problems.

Dr. Lynch has mentored numerous undergraduate research projects. In the past five years, over 40 research papers have been competitively selected and presented at regional and national conferences by his students.

His own research has been published in competitive venues including Communication Theory, Management Communication Quarterly, Journal of Organizational Ethnography & the Journal of Applied Communication Research. He is also a co-founder and organizer of the Texas Humor Research Conference.

To read more about the Hunt Institute’s work to develop future-focused solutions to some of the world’s biggest problems, please click here. For the latest news on the Hunt Institute, follow our social media accounts on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram. We invite you to listen to our Podcast called Sages & Seekers. If you are considering engaging with the institute, you can donate, or sign-up for our newsletter by emailing huntinstitute@smu.edu.