On March 11, 2021, the Mortenson Center hosted the third annual Global Engineering Awards, recognizing two professionals and one student whose work aligns with the Mortenson Center’s mission and vision. These awards seek to highlight the work of individuals who contribute to the field of global engineering. This encompasses not only those students and professionals in traditional engineering disciplines, with a focus on positive impact in low- and middle-income countries, but also those who are in related disciplines that take a solutions-oriented approach to the same challenges - water, sanitation, energy, food, shelter, and infrastructure. These related disciplines include global health, environmental science, atmospheric science, agricultural science, geography, governance, policy and community advocacy. The winners of the third Global Engineering Awards are listed below:
Allie Davis
Global Engineering Student Award
Allie Davis is a Foreign Affairs Officer and a AAAS Science & Technology Policy Fellow in the Office of Conservation and Water at the U.S. Department of State. Allie coordinates U.S. policy to promote global water security and natural resources management. She completed her PhD in civil systems at the University of Colorado Boulder, where she also completed a certificate in Engineering in Developing Communities from the The Mortenson Center in Global Engineering & Resilience. For her doctoral research, she studied the causes of success and failure of small sanitation systems in southern India. She has longstanding interests in infrastructure sustainability in resource-limited contexts and in foreign policy.
Eugene Dusingizumuremyi
Global Engineering Professional Award
Eugene Dusingizumuremyi is an experienced engineer working with Water For People in Rwanda since 2012. After successfully managing The Rulindo Challenge Program, he was promoted to the position of Country Program Manager to support other WASH projects in four other Everyone Forever (EF) Districts and supporting other districts when necessary. Before joining Water For People, Eugene served two years in the Rwanda Ministry of Infrastructure (MININFRA) as the Water Supply Implementation Officer. He was responsible for planning, budgeting, monitoring and reporting the implementation of national water supply projects funded by the Government of Rwanda and various donors. He also contributed actively to the revision and elaboration of the national policy and strategy for water and sanitation in Rwanda.
Eugene began his career with teaching at the university level, at The Kigali Institute of Science and Technology (KIST), where he was teaching water, sanitation and environment related courses starting in 2004. He led community-based research projects aimed at improving health conditions of marginalized people. In addition, he initiated the ceramic water filter project in Rwanda, which impacted the lives of local potters that were trained to make ceramic water filters in addition to their traditional pots. Over the past 16 years, Eugene’s work has focused upon research, design and implementation of WASH Programs, and development of WASH Plans for different districts in Rwanda to ensure sustainable and resilient WASH systems in Rwanda.
Sarim Al-Zubaidy
Global Engineering Humanitarian Award
Dr. Sarim Al-Zubaidy is an engineer, with over thirty years’ experience in executive, administrative and academic positions in a variety of higher education institutions around the world. His expertise ranges from public to private universities and from traditional to newly formed universities to those in transition from colleges. He introduced many educational innovations including the “Make Space” lab, a cost-effective and integrated environment that is capable of supporting every project-based and problem-based learning for all stages of every engineering program. This innovation was recognized by the UK Professional Engineering Institutions in 2015 as a significant contribution to enhancing global engineering education and an excellent tool in encouraging active learner engagement and critical thinking. Al-Zubaidy is a registered Professional Engineer and Chartered Environmentalist. He is a consultant, who has spent several years advising higher education institutions and industry.