Tag: Lyle School of Engineering

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Bruce Gnade, Ph.D.

Bruce Gnade, Ph.D. Executive Director of the Hart Center for Engineering Leadership

Bruce Gnade, Ph.D. is a Clinical Professor and Affiliated Faculty in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the Lyle School of Engineering as well as the Executive Director of the Hart Center for Engineering Leadership. He was influential in bringing the Grand Challenge Scholars Program to Lyle. The Grand Challenge Scholars Program focuses on the NAE Grand Challenges for Engineering. Dr. Gnade’s research at SMU is focused on flexible electronics with applications ranging from radiation sensors to microelectronic arrays for cellular recording.

Dr. Gnade previously held leadership positions in industry and public service, including Texas Instruments, PixTech, Inc., and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), where he served as a program manager overseeing influential technology research projects for the Department of Defense.

Gnade has authored or co-authored more than 195 refereed journal articles and holds 77 U.S. patents and 55 foreign patents. He is a Fellow of the American Physical Society, a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, and a Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors, as well as a member of the Materials Research Society and the Society for Information Displays.

Dr. Gnade says his motivation is, “…the ability to work with the students that are interested in doing research in areas that can impact the betterment of society.”

His academic career includes faculty appointments at the University of Maryland, the University of North Texas, and the University of Texas at Dallas (UTD).  As the Distinguished Chair in Microelectronics and Vice President of Research at UTD, Gnade helped grow university research expenditures from $45M to $100M over a nine-year period. He holds a B.A. in chemistry from St. Louis University and a Ph.D. in nuclear chemistry from the Georgia Institute of Technology.

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.

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A Food System in Crisis

Sustainable farming and best practices for a better food system

Fighting climate change and food insecurity are two core issues addressed by Dr. Eva Csaky, Executive Director of the Hunt Institute, co-founder of the Inclusive Economy Consortium (IEC), and creator of the Texas Sustainable & Inclusive Food System Coalition. These organizations are working together to address a food system that is in crisis. Social entrepreneurs working locally, like Dr. Owen Lynch founder of Restorative Farms, are also paramount in addressing these issues as we adjust to the disruption in our global supply chain by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Two weeks ago, The Guardian published an article by Tom Philpott with the alarming headline, “Unless we change course, the US agricultural system could collapse.”

Philpott explains that California is responsible for growing a significant portion of the country’s vegetables. In fact, according to the USDA 2017 Census of Agriculture, California comprised 42% of total U.S. vegetable sales. Moreover, California had 1.2 million harvested vegetable acres in 2017. The problem is, with global warming, that supply has been and continues to decline. In years when there is little precipitation, farmers tap aquifers to fulfill their irrigation needs. Unfortunately, this process causes the ground to gradually sink, a phenomenon called subsidence. Subsidence, in turn, damages the canals that carry the melted snow of the Sierra Nevada to farms in the area. And thus, we have a vicious cycle that continues to negatively affect the water supply available to California’s farmers.

The state of Iowa comprises 7% of US agriculture sales, according to the USDA 2017 Census of Agriculture State Profile. With its fertile topsoil, called mollisol, Iowa is a great place for farming. However, again due to climate change, more intense weather patterns have put extra pressure on the soil. Also contributing to the loss of mollisol is the fact that Iowa primarily grows only two crops – corn and soybeans. The article cites the soil scientist Rick Cruse, who found that “Iowa is losing soil at a rate 16 times the pace of natural replenishment.”

There is not a simple solution to the food system in crisis. Complex issues require complex solutions. Philpott proposes that other areas of the US should increase their fruit and vegetable production, and Iowa farmers could diversify their crops rather than accepting payment to overproduce corn and soybeans. Others theorize that technology-based growing systems like hydroponics that enable vertical farms would significantly reduce the agricultural footprint. The implementation of these solutions should be collaborative and sustainable in practice.

Fighting climate change and food insecurity go hand in hand. At the Hunt Institute, we are working toward finding solutions in collaboration with farmers. Through collaboration, the IEC, Hunt Institute, scientists, agriculturalists, and farmers can come together to share knowledge and experiences in order to create sustainable solutions that achieve climate and food justice. Read more about the Texas Sustainable & Inclusive Food System Coalition and their founding members to find out how you can engage.

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.

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Why We Do What We Do: Part 1

How can we help repair our world after COVID-19?

Sitting in her office on another Zoom call, the Assistant Director, Corrie Harris, works to motivate team members given the current state of affairs: an ever-changing landscape that greatly affects their ability to collaborate with in-country partners and affiliates. A series of delays, losses, and obstacles have flown in their path, yet they continue to press on.

When the shelter-in-place order was given in March 2020, the team members in the Institute quickly adjusted to remote work. The transition was seamless, as the Institute was already structured to accommodate full-time college students’ schedules by leveraging online project management and communication platforms. When other programs came to a screeching halt, the Institute persevered, taking steps to preserve the connectedness often lost with remote work. Now, given the opening of the SMU campus for the fall semester, they have a consistent system allowing for a hybrid workspace of both remote and in-person collaboration.

The question was asked, “What keeps the team going with all this uncertainty?” Harris responded, “Since I was a little girl, I have always been drawn to helping others. I am not alone. All the student workers, affiliates, and leadership at the Institute have their own version of this statement. It is why we do what we do. It is what keeps us motivated. Now with the consequences of the global pandemic at the forefront, institutes like ours need to be at the ready. Everyone here at the Institute feels it, and we keep pushing to find solutions.”

For the past two years, the Hunt Institute’s Global Development Lab (GDL) has evolved from the pilot stage to a mature program. With over sixty affiliates, an average of twenty to twenty-five student workers, and an extensive network of industry partners, the Institute has become a hub for fostering collaborative, innovative solutions. “There is something inside of us that is hard to explain, something that draws us to make the world a better place beyond what some may think is possible. Utopia may be a fantasy, but it is worth seeking and reaching for every day. It is in that reaching, seeking, and working that we help improve the lives of others. In so doing, we always improve our own lives.”

This Fall semester, we will highlight various team members as they courageously continue working on their projects in the GDL, overcoming the obstacles and uncertainty brought on by the global pandemic. Stay tuned to the Hunt Institute Digest to get a first-hand account as the story of this semester unfolds.

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

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What does it take to become a social entrepreneur?

Social Entrepreneurs characteristics and how to become a social entrepreneur

What does it take to become a social entrepreneur? Previous blog posts in the Hunt Institute Digest have outlined that a social entrepreneur is someone who seeks to drive positive social or environmental change in their community.

Across a myriad of reputable sources, it is commonly agreed upon that social entrepreneurs identify a problem in society that they are passionate about, develop a creative solution to address that problem, and establish an organization that persistently pursues that mission. There are many other aspects to social entrepreneurs but we will focus on these three in this post.

PASSION: Social entrepreneurs are invested in their organization’s mission. They are determined to see their dream become reality and will take the necessary risks to achieve their goals. Social entrepreneurs care deeply about improving their community.

A Forbes article titled “5 Social Entrepreneurs On How To Turn Your Passion Into A Successful Impact-Driven Business” by MeiMei Fox gives an example of a passionate entrepreneur, founder & CEO of SunPoynt Energy, Kennedy Lamwenya. Growing up in rural Kenya, Lamwenya and those in his community did not have access to reliable electricity. His parents struggled to afford the kerosene the family relied on for light and it often ran out of fuel before Kennedy completed his schoolwork. These challenges inspired Lamwenya to found SunPoynt Energy which brings solar-powered TVs to rural areas in Kenya. The TV systems give Kenyans access to light, cell phone charging ports, news, educational programs, and entertainment.

CREATIVITY: Social entrepreneurs approach problems differently than most. Instead of accepting the way something is, they challenge and question why it can’t be better. They have an ability to look at issues from multiple angles and develop innovative solutions.

A Cause Artist article titled “The 35 Social Entrepreneurs To Watch For In 2019” by Grant Trahant examines Clarence Tan, a creative social entrepreneur and founder & CEO of Boddle Learning, an edtech company. His platform allows elementary school students to learn and practice math skills in an engaging game-based format. Boddle uses a unique, adaptive learning algorithm so that each student receives differentiated questions specific to their learning needs.

PERSISTENCE: Social entrepreneurs face many challenges, especially in the early stages of building their social enterprise. They must persist through these obstacles by learning from mistakes, adapting to make improvements, and connecting with others who can support their mission.

Robin D. Schatz in her Forbes article titled “How A Social Entrepreneur Overcame His ‘Arrogant Failure’ And Won Kudos From Oprah”, describes how Gavin Armstrong demonstrates persistence. Armstrong is the founder and CEO of Lucky Iron Fish whose organization’s mission is to eliminate iron deficiency, which affects almost 3.5 billion people globally. The solution is a fish-shaped cooking tool. Dropping the product into your cooking water for 10 minutes provides 75% of the daily requirement of iron. When the company opened for business in Cambodia, they expected their affordable product to sell well. However, they only sold about one fish per month. Instead of giving up on the idea, what Armstrong realized is that the organization needed to build trust in the community before they can expect citizens to purchase their product. By partnering with established NGOs in the community, Lucky Iron Fish built its credibility and has now helped over 10,000 families in Cambodia with iron deficiencies.

Early-stage social entrepreneurs are catalytic innovators who produce disruptive innovations, but often face momentous obstacles. The Hunt Institute‘s Social Enterprise program is designed to support high potential social entrepreneurs during the initial phases of development. Do you have what it takes to become a successful social entrepreneur?

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.

 

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Beta COVID-19 Relief Map

Map in Dallas COVID-19 relief map services to help with food, community services, shelter, and more

In Spring of this year, the Hunt Institute’s Map 4 Good project evolved into Map InDallas, an organizational expansion that included the addition of a stakeholder Advisory Committee led by Dr. Eva Csaky and implemented with the guidance of Dr. James Olivier. Weeks later, the then-emerging COVID-19 pandemic shifted the focus to how best to use the existing plans and infrastructure to serve the Dallas community. The beta of the COVID Relief Map was launched by Map InDallas team in the middle of the Summer semester to stay true to the original goal of the project: connecting individuals in need to free service providers in the Dallas area. They continue to refine the data and help improve the categorization.

Various fellows, staff, and students have contributed to this project’s evolution but none have developed the map itself like Liam Lowsley-Williams, an undergraduate student working in web development and programming in the Hunt Institute and as a teacher’s assistant for the computer science department.

Regarding Liam’s motivation for this project, he said, “What drives my motivation is the fact that I can utilize my abilities in software engineering to make a beneficial impact on those who are suffering from COVID-19. We are certainly going through a rough time and I am proud to have the ability to do my part and give back.”

Focusing especially on the resources needed by the victims of the pandemic’s side effects, the aspiring beta COVID Relief Map seeks to helps users identify key service providers located near them like food pantries, community service locations, homeless shelters, and family counseling facilities. As the platform develops, users will be able to utilize a search function to navigate through the available resources or a filter function to limit the visible options to the specific service they are looking for. Once the user has located the service they would like to use, the COVID Relief Map will display an address and phone number to put clients in direct contact with the services they would like to use. It is projected all features of the COVID Relief Map will be functional by the end of the year.

While the map may have shifted slightly from its original conception, the team’s plans for the future remain the same. Aspiring upcoming digital features for the COVID Relief Map include search and sort based on eligibility criteria, turn by turn direction, and contact methods within the map itself. Additionally, the team is working on other mediums of the map to make it more accessible. It is currently available online, but the team hopes to have non-digital copies posted in strategic locations like public libraries and on mobile devices.

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.

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Spotlight on Local Dallas Entrepreneurs: Yulise Waters

Spotlight on Local Dallas Entrepreneurs: Yulise Waters, Deputy Director at Lone Star Justice Alliance

This week, the Hunt Institute would like to spotlight another member of the Inclusive Economy Consortium (IEC) Leadership Council and Hunt Institute Fellow, Yulise Reaves Waters. Ms. Waters is the Deputy Director at Lone Star Justice Alliance (LSJA), a nonprofit legal organization that improves the lives of youth and emerging adults in the justice system. She is responsible for overseeing and developing the Transformative Justice Model operating in Dallas County (SCCIP) and Williamson County (RISE). This multi-disciplinary program for emerging adults (ages 17-24) identifies and addresses the unmet needs which contributed to their involvement in the criminal justice system in order to reduce their likelihood of recidivism. As an executive team member, Waters also helps leads LSJA’s strategy, operations, and development.

Waters states that the most rewarding part of her job is getting to be a part of systemic change in the criminal justice system and collaborating with others who are equally as passionate about this work. One challenge, she points out, is the double-sided nature of innovation and change. “The system, unfortunately, was designed to get the results we are getting. Consequently, the whole thing needs to be overhauled and reimagined. The  process of change and innovation makes this work both attractive and challenging.  Vision casting and implementation is never easy,” Waters explains.

But being an innovator is a part of Waters’ DNA. Her dad, “Smokey” John Reaves, founder of family owned and operated Smokey John’s BBQ, was an entrepreneur, and she has been involved with start-ups for the majority of her life. “There is uncertainty and chaos that comes along with being a social entrepreneur,” Waters shares. Thus, her best advice for future social entrepreneurs is to remain flexible in the pursuit of your mission and always remember your ‘why’. For Waters, the why is her unwavering belief that all human life is valuable. “The number of lives that are marginalized, discounted, and thrown away by our criminal justice system is a travesty,” she expresses, “Everybody deserves an opportunity to be successful.”

You can read more about Yulise here and about the important work of the Lone Star Justice Initiative here. Stay tuned to the Hunt Institute Digest for more examples and case studies of social entrepreneurs.

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.

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Youth Up Next!

Over the coming weeks, the Hunt Institute Digest will feature various members of the Inclusive Economy Consortium (IEC) Leadership Council, and the important work they are doing in the Dallas community. This week, we feature Candice Bledsoe, PhD., Executive Director of Action Research Center & Founder of the Collective. This Global Development Lab project focused more specifically on the Action Research Center’s Young Social Innovators & Social Entrepreneurs Program to create a young entrepreneurial toolkit called Youth Up Next. The Young Social Innovators & Social Entrepreneurs program is designed to foster creativity, innovation, and social entrepreneurship in Dallas/Ft Worth Area.  Furthermore, it is to enhance student’s leadership abilities through exposure to and practice with a broad array of leadership tools and concepts that emphasize self and group awareness, interpersonal communication and insightful analysis of resources and systems.

Youth Up Next is a toolkit designed to help student be change agents. Undergraduate Research Assistant Cambria Lewis is the project leader over the toolkit that offers turnkey solutions to the next generation. “The toolkit includes valuable information that is needed to for them to use social entrepreneurship as strategy to make change, “ says Lewis.  The Assistant Director of the Hunt Institute and Portfolio Manager of the Global Development Lab, Corrie Harris  says, “From stories of student entrepreneurs working with  SMU’s Office of Engaged Learning to funding models for social entrepreneurs, the Youth Up Next toolkit is a great resource for young people.”

“Creativity and innovation are a major component of social entrepreneurship. As I continue to support the underrepresented, I believe that students can play major role as change agents. They are very creative, innovative, and smart.  The Youth Up Next toolkit plays a major role in providing resources to help these young social innovators and social entrepreneurs make change in their communities,” says Dr. Candice Bledsoe.

As a Fellow in the Hunt Institute, Dr. Bledsoe helps shape the communication in the Institute’s various initiatives like the Social Enterprise. She teaches, “Storytelling and being a change agent go hand in hand.” As the executive director of the Action Research Center, she believes that it is essential to equip young change agents with tools to be successful.   The center promotes personal development, academic excellence, and social change.  They equip students, parents, teachers, and community leaders with the knowledge and skills to become change agents. Due to COVID-19, Dr. Bledsoe and the Action Research Center had to pivot to reach their students, teachers, and community leaders.  After a decade of having the Cutting Edge Youth Summit conference, this year the Virtual Cutting Edge Youth Summit reached their stakeholders online.

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

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The Importance of Social Enterprises

If social enterprises are on the rise, should corporations address societal issues?

A year ago, the Business Roundtable, an association of CEOs from major American companies, issued a statement redefining the purpose of a corporation as serving all stakeholders and no longer just delivering value to shareholders. Harvard Business Review argued that one reason for this shift was because a profit-maximizing focus does not incentivize businesses to tackle the many challenges facing the world today like climate change, inequality, resource scarcity, and so forth. Even prior to this statement, a 2018 Deloitte study cited a trend towards enterprises increasing their focus on social impact.

Of course, today, the world is faced with an even more pressing challenge, the coronavirus pandemic. “This crisis has only sharpened the need for the work of social enterprises by laying bare the cracks in our systems, from healthcare to employment disparities, to upended education and gutted livelihoods,” says the SKOLL Foundation. Now, in the wake of the pandemic, is the time to solidify this idea that corporations don’t exist solely to serve their shareholders. The World Economic Forum shares that, “We can now explore an entrepreneurial way of life where enterprise can help communities across the globe solve socio-economic problems while being true to market forces. Maybe it is time for individual enterprise and collective purpose to work in harmony.”

Over the course of the last 5 months, we have seen many examples of established corporations as well as smaller-scale social enterprises taking this purpose to heart and doing their part to combat the pandemic. A couple of specific examples…

  • T-Mobile was ranked by JUST Capital and Forbes as 5th out of the 100 largest U.S. corporations for their response. In addition to more paid time off and a relaxed attendance policy for their employees, the company was part of an effort to provide hospitals across the nation with 40,000 phone chargers.
  • In Colombia, Fundación Capital, a nonprofit social enterprise, updated its virtual assistant to provide reliable information about the pandemic and tips for managing personal finances during a time of crisis.

As the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres stated, “Now more than ever, as big decisions are made about our future, companies need to address environmental, social and governance risks holistically and move beyond business-as-usual.”

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

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Where Engineering and Chemistry Intersect for Global Impact

During these uncertain times, the Hunt Institute for Engineering and Humanity’s Global Development Lab has been hard at work this summer. Fellows, faculty, and industry professionals collaborate to create meaningful solutions to promote a resilient humanity. While supporting our community the Global Development addresses the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals and challenges. One collaborative interdisciplinary team is lead by two Fellows, Dr. David Son and Dr. Paul Krueger. Their project is a joint chemical and engineering approach to develop a degradable plastic to address the environmental issues of plastic waste.  It is comprised of two lab teams and a team in the Hunt Institute. Featured in the image to the left was the team in the Spring of 2020 semester. Over the Summer semester, Sami Streb joined Dr. Krueger’s lab team and Taylor Grace as the undergraduate project manager.

Currently, many biodegradable products in the market are bio-based, produced from nature (plants, animals, or microorganisms). For example, they may contain products such as polysaccharides, proteins, and lipids. However, this approach faces challenges due to high cost, weaker performance, and overlooked environmental issues. Several degradable plastics have proven to break down faster under specific environmental conditions.  Although, it  may not actually reflect the normal environment, but it may not be effectively degradable under natural conditions. Many biodegradable plastics tend to need particular waste management methods which are not always widely available. These challenges pose a gap in the market due to the composition and degradation abilities.

As a result, Dr. Son and Dr. Krueger plan to investigate various prototype plastics with predictable degradation and mechanical properties, specifically useful in applications for alleviating plastic waste. These characteristics are significant advances to biodegradable products currently leading the market. With the ability to control the plastic’s properties, they can impart certain desirable properties to the material or give predictable properties to the final plastic material.

In order to make the largest impact in the current biodegradable plastic industry, a potential deliverable for their research could be to pursue a single-use PPE similar to what is typically used due to the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020. Specifically, the project is researching the production of a degradable mask frame with adequate seal to the face, as seen in N95 respirator masks. Typically, plastic can take ~ a thousand years to degrade in a landfill where degradable plastic (or PPLs) can degrade in ~ one year. Certain plastics can be designed to begin degrading when introduced to a certain property like salt water. The teams are exploring a variety of options. One area of interest is the inevitable increase of medical waste due to the rise in single-use face coverings and analyzing the shortage of single-use respirator masks in health care facilities due to the direct interactions with infected patients. This is in alignment with the UNSDG Goal 3, “To ensure healthy lives and promote wellbeing for all at all ages.” It will also address Goal 14, “To conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas, and marine resources” due to the degradable nature of the frame. 

Stay tuned to the Hunt Institute Digest to read more about this project and other projects in the Global Development Lab.

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.

 

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Harshada Pednekar

Hershada Pednekar

Hershada PednekarHarshada Pednekar ’21 joined the Hunt Institute to work in GIS mapping and research in environmental engineering with a concentration in waste to energy. Before coming to the United States to pursue a master’s degree in environmental engineering from Lyle School of Engineering, Harshada had a professional career in India, most notably working as a Design Engineer at Indo-French company Mailhem-Ikos Environment Pvt. Ltd. where she designed portable biogas plants and bio-methanation (UASB Reactor) plants, capacity ranging from 1000kg to100 TPD of municipal solid waste. After graduation, Harshada began work at AECOM in Greenville, South Carolina as a Civil Engineer.

When asked why she was drawn to the Hunt Institute, Harshada said, “I was attracted to the Institute when I heard about the “Waste to Energy” Project. Waste is not waste until we waste it. I believe that working at the Institute will support my aspirations for working in this field with a strong industrial interface that will keep me updated with the latest developments. This project is teaching me all the aspects of engineering, management, and finance.”

Harshada now has both a master’s degree in Environmental Engineering from Southern Methodist University’s Lyle School of Engineering and a Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Engineering from KIT’s College of Engineering in Kolhapur, MH, India. In addition to working in the Institute as a Graduate Research Analyst, Pednekar served as a Teaching Assistant in the Field & Lab Methods for Lyle School of Engineering. She was also an active member of the Lyle Senior Design Team that took First Place in the virtual Student Design Competition, sponsored by the Water Environment Association of Texas (WEAT).

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.