Engineering for Human Rights Initiative

Engineering for Human Rights is defined as a paradigm that draws on a universal set of principles to shape ethical obligations and the norms of the engineering profession to mitigate risk, enhance access to the benefits of technology, and redress harms resulting from engineered products or processes, based on five fundamental principles of distributive justice, Participation, consideration of duty-bearers, accountability, and indivisibility of rights (Chacon-Hurtado et al., 2024).

The Engineering for Human Rights Initiative (ENG-HR) is a collaborative venture between UConn’s College of Engineering (CoE) and the Gladstein Family Human Rights Institute (HRI) that addresses human rights implications of the most significant challenges in engineering and technology.

The Initiative involves 60+ faculty affiliates across departments within the CoE and in UConn’s School of Medicine, School of Social Work, Law School, School of Business, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences, and College of Agriculture, Health & Natural Resources. Globally recognized for our efforts at mainstreaming human rights into engineering education and research, we train undergraduate and graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and industry partners through courses and research collaboration with UConn colleagues and international partners.

The EHRI has six key research areas: 1) Water, Health & Food Security; 2) Product Design, Manufacturing, and Supply Chain Management; 3) Community Planning, Resilience, and Justice for a Changing Environment; 4) Engineering Education and Accessibility Rights; 5) Engineering Substances and Process Sustainability; and 6) Cybersecurity, Privacy and Human Vulnerability.

April 24th- Moving from Engineering to Societal Metrics: Modeling the Impact of Transportation Infrastructure Disruption

The Dodd Center for Human Rights, Conference Room 162

Abstract: Traditional engineering metrics focus on the performance of infrastructure while neglecting the societal implications of failure, disruption, or deterioration. This disconnect impedes mitigation. Successful mitigation relies on an accurate prediction or model of the relevant impact. To overcome this gap, this talk introduces methods for modeling and assessing the societal impacts of transportation infrastructure failure. Two different scenarios are considered: hazard and non-hazard. Network simulation, risk analysis, and digital twinning methods are used to model the transportation infrastructure and surrounding community. The hazard scenario examines small scale infrastructure failure (i.e., culverts) during flooding events. The impact on hospital connectivity in a rural community is examined. The non-hazard scenario examines pavement condition and its effect on work travel. Both case studies are developed using real Massachusetts communities and infrastructure to demonstrate applicability. Methods are presented which allow for the identification of vulnerable populations, an assessment of the disproportionate impact, and mitigation suggestions.

Register Here: https://humanrights.uconn.edu/events-calendar/

Engineering touches every aspect of human life, and as a result, engineers have the power to help alleviate or exacerbate societal harm. On November 18-19, join the National Academy of Engineering’s Cultural, Ethical, Social, and Environmental Responsibility in Engineering Program and the Committee on Human Rights of the NAS, NAE, and NAM for a series of discussions on how engineers can promote the realization of human rights and how human rights can provide a valuable framework for addressing engineering challenges.
On both afternoons, attendees were invited to participate in hands-on activity sessions designed to demonstrate the connections between human rights and engineering in practice.

Event organized by El Instituto (Institute of Latina/o, Caribbean and Latin American Studies).

El Instituto awarded small seed grants to support faculty-led workshops, reading groups, or other research on any theme of relevance to Latine, Latin American, or Caribbean studies in the academic year 2023. Please join us this fall semester in this 4-part series of events to hear about their research accomplishments in October and November.

 Join us in our upcoming seed grant presentations with Dr. Mayra I. Rodríguez and Dr. Robin Adéle Greeley this month.

Dr. Mayra I. Rodríguez on Tuesday, Oct 15, from 12 pm - 1:30 pm

“Narrativas de Cambio: Latino Stories for Climate and Environmental Justice.”

II.

Dr. Robin Adéle Greeley on Tuesday, Oct 29, from 3:30 pm - 5:00 pm

“Humility in Practices of Transitional Justice: the case of Campo Algodonero, Mexico.”

Light refreshments were served.

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Design for Freedom: Constructing a Humane Future with Ethical Materials

April 2, 2024 | 3:00 pm - 4:30 pm | The Dodd Center for Human Rights, Konover Auditorium

This event was supported by the Business & Human Rights Initiative, Economic & Social Rights Program, and Engineering for Human Rights Initiative at the Gladstein Family Human Rights Institute, as well as the Grace Farms Foundation.

About this Event: Are our buildings ethically sourced, as well as sustainably designed? This is the question at the core of Design for Freedom, the movement led by Grace Farms to eliminate forced and child labor from the building materials supply chain. As we confront the climate crisis, we must approach sustainable solutions that address the human suffering endured in the making of building materials, as well as the damage being done to the environment in the process.

This event explored ways in which companies and communities can work together to drive human rights-respecting market transformation and address the challenges and opportunities of ethical decarbonization in the construction sector.

Speakers

Sharon Prince is the CEO and Founder of Grace Farms Foundation. Prince commissioned Pritzker Prize-winning SANAA architects Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa to design Grace Farms, which has become widely known as a global humanitarian and cultural center located in New Canaan, Connecticut. (Click here to learn more)

Nora Rizzo is the first Ethical Materials Director of Grace Farms Foundation, focusing on the Design for Freedom movement. She serves as Ethical Material Advisor on Design for Freedom Pilot Projects and led the development of the Design for Freedom Toolkit. (Click here to learn more)

Anna Dyson is the Hines Professor of Architecture, with an appointment in the School of Environment (YSE) at Yale University. She teaches design, technology, and theory at the School of Architecture. At Yale, Anna has also founded a new research entity titled CEA - Center for Ecosystems in Architecture. (Click here to learn more)

Following the event, please join us for a catered reception in the Dodd Lounge

Register Here

Collective Struggles in Defense of the Human Rights of Indigenous Peoples and Populations Attacked by the Bolivian State, 2011-2023

March 26, 2024 | 4:00 pm - 5:30 pm | The Dodd Center for Human Rights, Konover Auditorium

This event is co-sponsored by the Buen Vivir and Collective Healings Initiative, El Institute, the Departments of Anthropology, and Digital Media & Design, Native American and Indigenous Studies, Native American Cultural Programs, as well as the Research Programs on Arts & Human Rights and Global Health & Human Rights at the Gladstein Family Human Rights Institute.

Silvia Rivera Cusicanqui is a prominent Bolivian sociologist, feminist, and activist known for her lifelong dedication and involvement advocating for indigenous rights and social movements. She joins UConn for this major public lecture as the 2024 Gladstein Visiting Professor of Human Rights.

Reception: We welcome you to join us for a catered reception following the event in the Dodd Lounge.

Register Here

Using Public Infrastructure as a Metaphor to Improve Engineering Education

March 6, 2024 | 11:00 am - 12:00 pm | HBL Room 1102

Led by Dr. Walter Lee, Associate Professor of Engineering Education and Director for Research at the Center of Enhancement of Engineering Diversity at Virginia Tech. Organized by the Vergnano Institute for Inclusion.

How do we best support engineering students? Although colleges and universities provide numerous forms of support intended to increase the success of both undergraduate and graduate students, student outcomes and previous research reveal the need for a) more responsive student support and b) more proactive measures to remove barriers. To support this effort, Dr. Lee and collaborators focus on advancing the extent to which the engineering community understands how we support (or fail to support) students from different social groups (e.g., women and students of color). Key to this work is using public infrastructure as a metaphor to highlight opportunities to provide more responsive support systems and structures and to reimagine policies and procedures.

During this talk, Dr. Lee discussed ongoing work as part of two projects funded by the National Science Foundation: one focused on enabling a more responsive support structure at the undergraduate level (Award #1943811) and the other focused on supporting organizational change at the graduate level (Award # 2217640). Reflecting on both projects, he also shared his perspective on the utility of considering many of the challenges in engineering education as infrastructure failures.

Bringing Politics into Engineering Education

October 17, 2023 | 12:00pm - 1:30pm | Dodd Center 162

Led by Desen Özkan, Associate Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering. Organized by the Engineering for Human Rights Initiative.

While engineering has been taught to depict engineering methods as neutral and objective, there is little evidence that engineering exists outside the political sphere. The curriculum is an opportunity to instill sociotechnical ways of thinking such that students can bring their whole selves into the field. Sociotechnical engineering education refers to an engineering paradigm that values the social, political, and economic considerations just as much as the technical (Cech, 2013).

In this talk, Dr Özkan will describe a qualitative research project that examines the experiences of minoritized engineering students enrolled in a sociotechnical curricular revision. She will then describe an engineering project that emphasizes the social, economic, and political contexts into a case of engineering decision-making for an offshore wind project in Connecticut. Ultimately, political engagement in engineering is not new and reflects the changing sociopolitical landscape (Wisnioski, 2012). By depicting the curriculum as sociotechnical, engineering educators can adapt to the changing climate in ways that attract and inspire people who historically have been excluded from engineering.

Register to attend: https://events.uconn.edu/human-rights-institute/event/52905-bringing-politics-into-engineering-education

The Sustainable Clean Energy Summit: Decarbonizing Society and the Grid

October 4, 2023 | 9:00am - 4:00pm | Student Union

Organized by University of Connecticut and Eversource Energy Center.

The summit will bring together academic, utility, industry, municipal and legislative experts to discuss the shifting energy landscape and will feature final presentations from six student-led research teams as part of the Eversource-sponsored Clean Energy and Sustainability Innovation Program (CESIP). See more information from the School of Engineering here.

"We, the Data" Book Talk with Author Wendy Wong

October 3, 2023 | 2:00pm - 3:30pm | Dodd Center 162 (with Zoom modality)

Led by Wendy Wong (University of British Columbia), author of We, the Data: Human Rights in the Digital Age. Organized by the Economic & Social Rights Group (ESRG) with Co-sponsors: HRI Data Hub; UConn Business & Human Rights Initiative; Engineering for Human Rights Initiative; UConn Law; Dept of Computer Science & Engineering.

A rallying call for extending human rights beyond our physical selves—and why we need to reboot rights in our data-intensive world. Our data-intensive world is here to stay, but does that come at the cost of our humanity in terms of autonomy, community, dignity, and equality? In We, the Data, Wendy H. Wong argues that we cannot allow that to happen. Exploring the pervasiveness of data collection and tracking, Wong reminds us that we are all stakeholders in this digital world, who are currently being left out of the most pressing conversations around technology, ethics, and policy. This book clarifies the nature of datafication and calls for an extension of human rights to recognize how data complicate what it means to safeguard and encourage human potential.

Register to attend: https://events.uconn.edu/human-rights-institute/event/51822-we-the-data-a-book-discussion-with-author-wendy

Transportation Challenges and Opportunities for People with Disabilities and Aging Population in Connecticut

February 10, 2021 | Webex

The Engineering for Human Rights Initiative (EHRI) and the Aging Research Interest Group of the Institute for Collaboration on Health, Intervention, and Policy (InCHIP) arranged a February 10 (2021) conversation regarding the transportation challenges faced by people with disabilities and the aging population in the state of Connecticut. In attendance were advocates and stakeholders from aging communities and people with disabilities, state and local government, and researchers from the University of Connecticut. The following is a summary of the main challenges and opportunities identified as well as paths for advocacy and research to evaluate and advance the access to work, recreation, and healthcare among other important daily activities for individuals with disabilities and the aging community.

The conversation at this event was focused on transportation-related social inclusion, and the disproportionate impacts it has on marginalized communities. In particular, the social isolation of seniors and people with disabilities, the lack of access to education facilities, and people with disabilities who are often left behind due to unreliable or disintegrated transit services. Emphasized within this discourse, are the disparities in wealth and economic opportunity across communities in Connecticut. This polarity only worsens these challenges, as it limits access to alternative transportation services such as ride-hailing services and/or travel assistance. The roots of these problems are complex and vary, the following was brought up at the event. The issues addressed can be split into two categories: operational challenges and planning challenges.

In regards to operational obstacles, Connecticut’s paratransit services are composed of a set of local and decentralized systems that lack coordination. Services like “Dial-A-Ride” are unable to cross different regions and counties, resulting in a fragmented and complicated transportation system for individuals to navigate, especially in rural areas. There is also a lack of communication between transportation networks and older individuals, rendering it difficult for individuals who do not speak English fluently. Privatized transportation resources such as Uber or Lyft often do not adhere to ADA requirements nor do they offer general accessibility for disabled people. Moreover, in many areas such as university campuses, accessibility ramps remain absent, or unusable during inclement weather.

From a planning perspective, a major issue present is the lack of representation of disabled individuals in discussions of equity, inclusion, and general mobility. There is not enough disaggregated detailed data of populations of disabled and aging populations within the State. There are also no maps or quantitative data illustrating transportation and accessibility trends and challenges for these populations within the state. These could be in violation of ADA standards, however, the discussion highlighted the need to go beyond ADA minimum compliance.

In order to address these challenges, there must be an increase in the representation of disabled individuals in discussions on equity, inclusion, and general mobility. In addition, the approach taken should be proactive and go beyond ADA minimum compliance. Services should be accommodation-oriented rather than compliance-oriented. A central priority should be to develop and fund a state-wide interconnected infrastructure transportation network with resources that allow for older and disabled populations to have better access to reliable forms of transportation as well as technology that translates languages for people who do not speak English fluently.

An overarching theme in this discussion was the idea of technology as a tool to help solve these varied problems, rather than a solution in and of itself. Improving technology must go hand in hand with improving infrastructural resources. Examples of such potential synergies include translation software; apps that connect transportation routes throughout the state; maps that demonstrate the geographic dispersion of transportation resources; and the development of a centralized, interconnected communications database. While there is a strong connection between technology and transportation, it is vital to keep in mind that the aging population and people with disabilities do not always have easy access to technology, nor do all members of these populations have an understanding of how to use such services. Therefore, there is a need to understand their perceptions and familiarity with existing and evolving technologies in order to build an approach that serves all people equitably and comprehensively. A key takeaway message from this event was the recognition that the complex and inter-related challenges experienced by elderly people and people with disabilities transcend access to transportation. Their needs are embedded with broader socioeconomic and cultural spheres at the systems level and require comprehensive solutions that cross the varied domains of human rights, representation, technology, engineering, and equity.

For additional information please contact:

davis.chacon@uconn.edu

What is Engineering for Human Rights?

Research Clusters

Upcoming Events

Read about Past ENG-HR Events

Issues at the Intersection of Engineering and Human Rights Symposium: November 18-19

2024 El Instituto Seed Grant Presentations

2024 Sustainable Clean Energy Summit

ENGR-HRTS 2300 “Engineering for Human Rights” Final Project Showcase – Spring 2024

Design for Freedom: Constructing a Humane Future with Ethical Materials

Collective Struggles in Defense of the Human Rights of Indigenous Peoples and Populations Attacked by the Bolivian State, 2011-2023

Using Public Infrastructure as a Metaphor to Improve Engineering Education

Using Public Infrastructure as a Metaphor to Improve Engineering Education

Bringing Politics into Engineering Education

Bringing Politics into Engineering Education

The Sustainable Clean Energy Summit: Decarbonizing Society and the Grid

The Sustainable Clean Energy Summit: Decarbonizing Society and the Grid

“We, the Data” Book Talk with Author Wendy Wong

"We, the Data" Book Talk with Author Wendy Wong

Transportation Challenges and Opportunities for People with Disabilities and Aging Population in Connecticut

Transportation Challenges and Opportunities for People with Disabilities and Aging Population in Connecticut

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Davis Chacon Hurtado, Ph.D.

Shareen Hertel, Ph.D.