Student Activities

In addition to the research experience, the site includes an array of enrichment activities that will enable the students to better understand their work in its broader societal and political context and provide them with a rich urban experience.

I. Ethics Component: Engineering Ethics, Sustainable Development and Envi-ronmental Justice

II. Seminar Series on Urbanism and Engineering - The program will include a bi-weekly seminar on urbanism that will also be open to the members of the university and local community. The seminar will include presentations on a broad array of issues pertinent to engineering cities including urban design and planning, managing the urban infrastructure, underground construction, urban development and financing, and rehabilitating neighborhoods.

III. Meetings and Field Trips - Capitalizing on Philadelphia's proximity to New York and Washington D.C., the program will include visits to each of these cities.

Washington: Urban Policy - We have coordinated a visit to the District with the Government Relations office of ASCE. The trip will include a meeting with the ASCE congressional fellow or office staff member who will discuss: (i) the means by which cities and states obtain federal funding for urban initiat, (ii) legislation related to urban policy, (iii) the impact of ASCE's Infrastructure Report Card on funding and policymaking, and (iv) civic engagement of the civil engineering profession in matters related to urban policy. Additionally, it is expected that the trip will include meetings with representatives of one or more agencies serving urban regions, such as the U.S Departments of Housing and Urban Development, Homeland Security, and/or the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

New York: Engineering a Megacity - Representatives from governmental agencies will provide tours of New York's infrastructure and meet with the participants to discuss engineering and managing the infrastructure of a megacity.

IV. Book Discussion Group - Prior to arriving at Drexel, students and faculty mentors in the REU program will be asked to read the highly acclaimed book A Prayer for the City by the Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Buzz Bissinger. The book chronicles the efforts of two-term Philadelphia Mayor Edward Rendell to stem the city's business and population losses to the surrounding suburbs while addressing a host of urban ills. The book provides unparalleled insight into how cities are run and the way that complex decisions are made. Students and faculty mentors will be asked to informally discuss the book and the complex issues it raises over a series of weekly lunch outings held throughout the program.

V. Group Interactions and Networking – Group interactions are an important part of the learning process and the overall development of an individual. The student, graduate research assistants, and faculty participants will be given opportunities to informally network and experience the city of Philadelphia through a series of evening group cultural outings.