The Faculty of Sustainable Design Engineering is interviewing two candidates for a tenure-track position in Engineering Design. Each candidate is invited to provide a public presentation, and everyone is welcome to attend. Dr. Scott Flemming will present on August 11, 2022, at 9:30 am, and Dr. Stephanie Roth on August 12, at 10 am, both in FSDE 205.

Below is information regarding their respective presentations:

Dr. Scott Flemming (9:30 am August 11, 2022, FSDE 205)

A robust problem definition is crucial to creating sustainable engineering designs. Poorly defined projects, of course, often result in a significant waste of many kinds of resources. In addition, stakeholder and client needs must be well considered when defining a problem: poor attention to these requirements often results in solutions that simply do not work for clients, and even solutions that work against client needs and desires.  While the literature suggests problem definition is extremely important, it is also evident that there are too few supports to help designers and design teams define problems well.  In this talk, Dr. Flemming discusses ways of describing problems in general (in terms of goals, constraints, variables, and strategies), tools that can be used to explore problem spaces and client needs, and a method of categorizing design spaces that can aid problem recognition (The Universe of Problems Approach). The author argues that if such supports are used, engineers will design more sustainable solutions in terms of both resource waste and the fulfilling of stakeholder needs. This talk will include the description of a study which was designed to assess the efficacy of the Universe of Problems Approach.  Results of this study suggest that when novices (second-year students) are presented with opportunities to explore key problems in their field, their problem definition ability is comparable to that of the more senior years (fourth- and fifth-year students). Without exploration of these key models, novices perform statistically worse in a problem definition task than their upper-year counterparts.

Dr. Stephanie Roth (10:00 am August 12, 2022, FSDE 205)

Engineering design and development of a gaseous pollution control device (GPCD); with emphasis on sustainability and human health implications.

Ambient air pollution is a worldwide problem on a scale such that air pollution is now a leading cause of human morbidity and mortality. Pollution is not limited to the outdoor environment, but infiltrates inside impacting the air where people live and work.

One gaseous pollutant, nitrogen oxides (NOx), is selected as a focal point. To establish its merit, research examined NOx’s influence on sustainability and human health. Findings establish NOx as an encompassing indicator for global sustainability and a metric for gauging progress towards decarbonization. Additionally, a review of health literature indicated an astounding number and variety of negative health impacts resulting from ambient NOx exposure, with risks of mental health effects exceeding physical impacts. The identification of sustainability and human health implications of ambient NOx clearly establishes a need to reduce ambient levels worldwide. 

Indoor air quality can be improved through numerous avenues, but no current methods or technologies are capable of removing ambient NOx in a safe, sustainable fashion. Photocatalytic removal is potentially effective in removing NOx, and a patented photocatalyst offers solutions to the barriers that have prevented effective NOx removal with existing technologies. Engineering design was undertaken to develop a Gaseous Pollution Control Device (GPCD) prototype, including the importance of sustainability considerations throughout the design process. The final prototype design has been patented and rigorously tested in the lab. Commercial versions of the GPCD units were professionally manufactured. These units were then validated in industrial pilot tests that confirmed the real-world efficacy of the GPCD in removing ambient NOx, and other gaseous pollutants. Implementing the GPCD for indoor ambient air purification will safely and effectively reduce indoor pollutant concentrations and enhance health for individuals in the local environment.