University Park, Pa. -- Thomas Colledge, assistant professor of engineering design in the College of Engineering, is the recipient of the 2011 W. LaMarr Kopp International Achievement Award.
Established in 1995, the award recognizes faculty and staff members who have contributed significantly to the advancement of the international mission of the University. It is named for the late deputy vice president for international programs.
Colledge is recognized for development of the College of Engineering's Humanitarian Engineering and Social Entrepreneurship (HESE) initiative, which encompasses the integration of teaching, research and entrepreneurial engagement. It has resulted in direct, measurable student learning outcomes as well as improvement of people's lives in marginalized communities in numerous countries around the world.
In the past 12 years, he has established long-term academic linkages and multi-disciplinary collaborations with Don Bosco University in El Salvador, University of Technology in Jamaica, Catholic University in Managua, Nicaragua, and Jomo Kenyatta University and Agricultural Technology and the University of Nairobi, both in Kenya. In each case, he collaborated to develop long-term programs in engineering design and research, which addressed host community problems -- resulting in actual construction and implementation of design solutions.
To facilitate such partnerships, he created and has directed the (Humanitarian) Engineering and Community Engagement certificate program, founded and serves as editor-in-chief of the International Journal for Service Learning in Engineering: Humanitarian Engineering and Social Entrepreneurship, and is the faculty adviser for the Society for Humanitarian Engineers and Social Entrepreneurship student organization.
Colledge holds a doctoral degree in agricultural and biological engineering and a master's degree in civil engineering, both from Penn State.