• Course Development and Instruction:
  • Developed the course ECE 481 Professional Aspects of Electrical and Computer Engineering which covers: (i) Professionalism and ethical decision making, (ii) engineering as social experimentation, (iii) safety and risk, (iv) case studies in design and workplace professionalism/organizational issues, (v) global issues (e.g., sustainability, appropriate technology), and (vi) foundations for engineering volunteerism. Taught this at OSU course annually since Fall 1991. Annual enrollment varies, but in Autumn 2004 it was >200, and it was >190 Autumn 2005.
  • Technical resource/help for College service learning course to prepare students for the service trip to Montana de Luz in Honduras (run by J. Merrill and E. Galloway, Winter 2006, 2007).

• Student Organization, Engineers for Community Service:
  • Founding faculty advisor for the OSU College of Engineering student organization, Engineers for Community Service (ECOS). In Autumn 2003, worked with students from my class ECE 481 to form this group.
  • Active in a range of ECOS activities, local and international projects, especially in "building bridges over the digital divide" for children at orphanages (see ECOS web site), which has so-far meant installation of computer laboratories and educating kids about computers, and for the projects listed below that focus on involving graduate students (see below).
  • Engineers for Community Service (ECOS) was the recipient of the 2005 and 2007 "Spirit of Ohio State" Award for its activities.

• Work Toward Goal of Integrating Scholarship and Service:
  • Faculty-career-bound PhD student service-learning program (click to get program outline): Evaluating international sites (e.g., Costa Rica, Chile, Honduras). This trip would have three components: (i) PhD service-learning program, (ii) low-cost lab development program (next bullet), and (iii) service to a local orphanage (depending on needs) such as we have done in Colombia or Honduras (see ECOS activities).
  • International higher education development via International Educational Laboratory Development for Feedback Control Engineering and Automation Project and travel to do short courses at foreign universities, especially Latin America (including with my graduate students to enhance their educational experience, especially for faculty-career bound PhD students). Development of laboratory experiments presents research challenges and research opportunities using experimental testbeds.
  • Research/Education: Interested in undergraduate research projects on low-cost personal lighting and electrical power sources (give mini-projects on these topics in ECE481) and electronic components of certain water purification systems, especially ones appropriate for developing countries. I have a special interest in working to establish the underlying educational/motivational frameworks at undergraduate and graduate levels based on topics such as engineering ethics, science-technology-society, and principles of social justice.

• Publications, Presentations, and Conference Activities:
  • "Teaching Professional and Ethical Aspects of Electrical Engineering to a Large Class," IEEE Trans. on Education, Vol. 41, No. 4, pp. 273-281, Nov. 1998.
  • Andrews C., Passino K.M., Co-Guest Editor's Editorial, “Social Implications of Systems Concepts,” IEEE Technology and Society Magazine, Special Issue on the Social Implications of Systems Concepts, Vol. 19, No. 4, p. 9, Winter 2000/2001.
  • "Educating the Volunteer Engineer", Current version: Sept. 25, 2006. To appear in the journal, Science and Engineering Ethics, 2007.
  • A presentation on Engineering Volunteerism Sept. 2006 version (given at Cornell U., U. Dayton, Western. Mich. U.).
  • A presentation entitled "Making the Soft Side of Engineering Harder," Dec. 14, 2006 version (given at Univ. Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Nov. 28, 2006).
  • Lead organizer, for round-table discussion event on “Teaching Engineering Ethics: Strategies for Educating the Educators” (organizers, K. Passino, B. Schrag (IU), and M. Kalichman (UCSD)), Assoc. for Practical and Professional Ethics (APPE) Annual Meeting, Cincinnati, OH, Feb. 24, 2007.
  • Panel Member, for Panel discussion at Mini Conference: “Underserved Areas for Resources in Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) Education”, representing engineers and social responsibility, talk "Educating Socially Responsible Engineers," Assoc. for Practical and Professional Ethics (APPE) Annual Meeting, Cincinnati, OH, Feb. 24-25, 2007.
  • General Chair, Conference on Engineers for Community Service, April 14, 2007.
  • K.M. Passino, Guest Editor for Special Issue on Engineering Volunteerism, IEEE Technology and Society Magazine, 2009.

• Funding/Development Activities:
  • Battelle Endowment for Technology and Human Affairs (BETHA), "Engineers for Community Service: Model Programs for the Develoment of a Profession" (K. Passino, PI, co-PIs are H. Walker, J. Merrill, and B. Lilly), 2005-2007. We seek to educate future engineering leaders to become more sensitive to social needs, and to illuminate the path toward life-long professionalism via ethical technological leadership. Model community service programs for engineering education are being established. Each model program provides concrete examples of societal impacts, demands for appropriate technology and sustainable development, cultural interchange, and globalization challenges. Nation-wide impact will be achieved via publication of the model service programs and proceedings of a proposed conference. Many activities under this program are done with the student group Engineers for Community Service (ECOS).
  • Co-Principal Investigator (PI, H. Walker, co-PI, J. Merrill), US Environmental Protection Agency (P3 Award: A National Student Design Competition for Sustainability Focusing on People Prosperity and the Planet), "Development of a Sustainable and Appropriate Drinking Water System for Montana de Luz and Nueva Esperanza, Honduras", July 1, 2006-June 30, 2007
  • Co-Principal Investigator (Mark Walter, ME, PI, L. Tilder, G. McKenzie, J. Box, S. Korpela, H. Walker also co-PIs), National Renewable Energy Lab, US Dept. of Energy, "Health and Harmony: Solar Decathlon Competition", Feb. 1, 2008-Jan. 31, 2009

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