Department of Food, Agricultural and Biological Engineering (FABE) faculty Patrick Sours has earned the Humanitarian Engineering Program a $50,000 grant, making it the largest grant in program history. Sours submitted his 2025 proposal earlier this year and was just granted approval in the fall after a thorough decision from the committee. The grant comes from the Office of Academic Affairs (OAA) and Ohio State Energy Partners (OSEP), who contribute $810,000 annually to the university or other philanthropic endeavors for similar proposals.
Sours is an Assistant Professor of Professional Practice in Engineering for Sustainable Development and Faculty Lead of the Humanitarian Engineering Program in FABE.
Sours’ proposal was based on increasing student engagement in a global sustainable learning ecosystem by developing new educational lab materials and creating opportunities for student/community engagement to foster sustainable development for global impact. “This funding will enable the Impact Lab to expand its capacity to deliver impactful solutions,” said Sours. “The project objectives will help expand the impact of this work by cultivating students’ understanding of best practices for sustainable community development, increasing access to experiential learning opportunities and improved pedagogical tools, and fostering productive partnerships for future iterations of experiential learning opportunities related to safe water, agriculture, and healthy communities.”
Sours envisions this grant creating more opportunities for rising scientists and engineers to gain valuable insights and experiences that will advance their careers, the university and scientific research around the world. He found that cost and opportunity were the biggest barriers for allowing students to have these highly valued experiences. “Even with the growth and success of these Humanitarian Engineering-related programs, it remains a challenge for students to weave meaningful, sustainability-centered learning experiences into their educational plans,” said Sours. “We aim to develop engaging, multi-purpose resources and make sociotechnical learning experiences more accessible to students from a variety of disciplines.” Sours stated the three main objectives of the project to be educational experiences, student engagement and community engagement.”
More news about the plans of the Humanitarian Engineering Program will be shared further into the coming year.