Dr. Bernard Amadei, distinguished founding president of Engineers Without Borders–USA and co-founder of Engineers Without Borders–International, will be honored as the Drexel University College of Engineering’s 2008 Engineer of the Year, announced Dr. Selcuk Guceri, dean of the College.Amadei, professor of civil engineering at the University of Colorado at Boulder, will be recognized at a ceremony Feb. 22 that will conclude Drexel’s observance of Engineers Week, which promotes public awareness of the field and celebrates contributions of engineers.Engineers Without Borders–USA was founded in 2000, and Engineers Without Borders–International, 2002. Engineers Without Borders–USA’s 250 chapters comprise 9,000 students and professors. The organizations partner with disadvantaged communities to improve quality of life through sustainable engineering projects. The organizations also train engineering professionals and students.At the University of Colorado at Boulder, Amadei directs the new Engineering for Developing Communities (EDC) program and teaches sustainability and international development. EDC educates engineering students and professionals who can offer sustainable solutions to the endemic problems developing communities worldwide face.Amadei has published papers in scientific journals and co-authored two books and 150 technical papers. He has also provided consulting services to engineering companies and organizations worldwide.He received a master’s degree in civil engineering from the University of Toronto in 1979 and a doctoral degree in civil engineering from the University of California at Berkeley in 1982.Amadei is the recipient of several awards, including the 2006 General Palmer Award from the American Council of Engineering Companies of Colorado and 2006 Ralph Coats Roe Medal from the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. He is a co-recipient of the 2007 Heinz Foundation Award for the Environment.Past Drexel Engineer of the Year recipients include Dean Kamen, president of KEKA Research and Development Corp. and founder of FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology); Dr. Robert Koerner, Drexel emeritus professor and former H.L. Bowman Professor of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering and director of Geosynthetic Research Institute at the University; and Dr. Mark Adler, the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory’s Mars Exploration Program architect and Rover Mission manager.For more information about Drexel’s 2008 Engineers Week, visit www.drexel.edu/coe, and about Amadei and EWB, www.edc-cu.org/profileamadei.htm and www.ewb-usa.org/.News media contact: Brian Rossiter, Drexel News Bureau 215-895-2705, 267-228-5599 (cell) or brian.rossiter@drexel.edu
