On March 10, 2022, the Mortenson Center hosted held its Fourth 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 fourth Global Engineering Awards are listed below:
Nitish Ranjan Sarker
Global Engineering Outstanding Student Award
Nitish Ranjan Sarker is a doctoral candidate and a course instructor at the University of Toronto’s Centre for Global Engineering. Additionally, he volunteers as the Program Director of the International Water Association Young Waters Professionals in Canada. Nitish earned a B.Sc. in Mechanical Engineering from the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology and received a M.Sc. from the University of Alberta. His research focuses on technological and systemic innovation of water and clean-energy systems and their appropriate customization for the needs and constraints of the target community. Currently, Nitish is also working toward developing an entrepreneurial platform for academics and young professionals to design adaptive and appropriate technologies for global development.
Thomas Zearley
Global Engineering Outstanding Professional Award
Thomas Zearley is an Engineering Foreign Service Officer at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). His career with USAID began in 2013 as an American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Science and Technology Policy Fellow. Through USAID, Thomas has contributed to projects in Nepal leading USAID's housing reconstruction program after the earthquake in 2015. In Ethiopia he led monitoring and evaluation work for the entire mission, and in Washington, DC he led IT programs to help increase USAID’s collaborations with higher education institutions. He currently resides in Pretoria, South Africa, providing engineering services to 14 Southern Africa countries. Thomas received his Ph.D. in Environmental Engineering from the University of Colorado Boulder.
Avery Bang
Global Engineering Humanitarian Award
Avery Bang is the Vice President of Strategy at Gracon, an industrial construction company offering construction and rehabilitation services to industrial markets. Avery was the President and CEO of Bridges to Prosperity (B2P) for 15 years prior to joining Gracon. Under her leadership, B2P physically connected more than 1.3 million people to essential health care, education and economic opportunities by building footbridges that connect the "rural last mile". She holds a BSc. in Civil Engineering and a BA in Studio Art from the University of Iowa and an MSc. in Geotechnical Engineering from the University of Colorado Boulder. Avery completed an MBA at Säid Business School at the University of Oxford, where she was selected as the Managing Director of the Oxford Seed Fund. She was featured in the film Dream Big: Engineering Our World, awarded the coveted President’s Medal by the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) in 2017, and was named one of the Top 25 Newsmakers by Engineering News Record (ENR) in 2012. Avery is an experienced public speaker, having addressed audiences through platforms including the United Nations and TED Talks.