CU-initiated engineering nonprofit sets sights on conference

Hundreds of engineers, entrepreneurs, industry leaders and educators will gather at Stanford University from Sept. 30 to Oct. 2 for the conference "Solutions for a Shrinking Planet," which aims to build networks to address global poverty and sustainability. Coordinated by the Cornell-initiated nonprofit organization Engineers for a Sustainable World (ESW), the gathering is the organization's second annual conference; the flagship chapter at Cornell hosted the first a year ago.

Dale Meck '04, right, designed gravity-fed water supply systems in Honduras this summer through Engineers for a Sustainable World. Here, he works with a local technician on one of the tanks.

Among the many Cornell-affiliated speakers at the conference will be A.D. White Professor-at-Large William McDonough, pioneer green architect and recipient of the Presidential Award for Sustainable Development. He will present the keynote address Thursday, Sept. 30, at 7:30 p.m. Cornell students also will share their experiences as leaders of their campus chapter and as participants in engineering service projects through an ESW course in the College of Engineering at Cornell.

Other speakers at the three-day conference who are linked to Cornell include Stuart Hart, the S.C. Johnson Professor of Sustainable Global Enterprise at Cornell's Johnson Graduate School of Management and a leading scholar in the field of sustainability, whose topic is "Creating Sustainable Value"; Monroe Weber-Shirk, a lecturer in civil and environmental engineering and a project supervisor for the innovative ESW Cornell course that engages students in engineering service projects throughout the world; and Scott Donnelly, vice president of GE Global Research, who serves on the engineering advisory committees at Cornell and Stanford University.

In addition, many Cornell alumni will make presentations, including Dale Meck '04, who will share his experiences as an overseas ESW volunteer. Working in partnership with a local nongovernmental organization, Meck spent this past summer designing water distribution systems in Honduras. Also speaking are Dan Kammen '84, founding director of the Renewable and Appropriate Energy Lab (RAEL) and professor of energy, resources and public policy at the University of California-Berkeley; Felix Kramer '70, founder of the California Cars Initiative, whose mission is to bring hybrid cars to the public; and Martin Fisher '79, founder of ApproTEC, who will present the closing keynote presentation.

The conference includes over 75 speakers, hands-on workshops on appropriate technologies, a project and career fair and film series. More than 400 participants are expected to attend this year's event from across the country.

For information about Engineers for a Sustainable World and Solutions for a Shrinking Planet, see the Web site http://www.esustainableworld.org.