IRES Track III: International Research Experience and Professional Development in Built Environment Sustainability

Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge LA

Investigators

Abstract

In this project, Louisiana State University (LSU) works with the American Society of Thermal and Fluids Engineers (ASTFE) and Hong Kong Polytechnic University (HKPU) to establish the US-Hong Kong Center of Leadership Development in Built Environment Sustainability. This center jointly conducts international research and professional training activities for US graduate students. Built environment sustainability as a global challenge affects the well-being of hundreds of millions of people, their communities, and the future of their lives. Hong Kong's unique sustainable urban development challenges and solutions can offer US students exceptional international research experiences on this topic. This project prepares US graduate students to deal with this global challenge and develops a diverse, globally competitive science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) workforce. Drs. Yimin Zhu, Tracey Rizzuto, and Tyree Mitchell at LSU, Dr. Yong Tao at ASTFE, and Dr. Geoffrey Shen at HKPU are key members of the project. The Center utilizes the US universities' strengths in research and leadership training, the ASTFE?s vast professional networks, and an NSF-funded research network (i.e., RCN-SEES-SHBE) to develop the Center's infrastructure. Faculty at the Research Institute of Sustainable Urban Development (RISUD) at HKPU form an initial pool of multidisciplinary experts in architecture, engineering, construction, computer science, and social sciences to provide mentorship for US students in Hong Kong. The broad network established by the collaboration among ASTFE, professional societies, and academic communities enables the PIs to recruit graduate students from underrepresented groups throughout the nation. This project serves as a prototype for providing international research experiences for graduate students in an immersive environment beyond the typical academic circles. The Center pilots three annual programs involving a total of 19 US graduate students. Each annual program lasts for nine months including a pre-visit virtual training camp, an eight-week visit to Hong Kong by US students, and an eight-week post-visit program. The pre-visit virtual training camp provides self-paced online learning programs on leadership development and built environment sustainability, information of program logistics, and virtual teaming opportunities for US and Hong Kong students and mentors. The eight-week visit to Hong Kong engages the students with an innovation lab and culturally immersed research and professional development activities in Hong Kong. The post-visit program highlights US students and mentors hosting Hong Kong peers in the US, continued collaboration between US students and Hong Kong peers. An annual event is held at the end of the nine-month program. Throughout the program, US students with their Hong Kong peers conduct research in areas of built environment sustainability. The program also organizes student-led activities such as developing student chapters and activities, poster sessions, and webinars for students to practice leadership skills and develop professional networks. It is an objective of the project for the PIs to explore a model focusing on scalability and reciprocity to ensure the best chance of maximizing benefits for all stakeholders, increase the partnership among academia, industries, and professional societies domestically and internationally, and sustain the project beyond its proposed duration. In Years 2 and 3, the PIs seek to include additional universities in Hong Kong that are interested in participating with their own funding. The Center plans to work with other professional societies to explore the extension of this model to other disciplines. In addition to publishing research results, the project team utilizes ASTFE's media and outreach programs, a website of the Center, and social media to publicize student activities. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.