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Oregon State University now has a minor in humanitarian engineering to serve students who want to make positive societal impacts through their work.

Kendra Sharp, who directs the program, said electives as well as engineering courses can be used to fulfill the 27 credits required for the minor.

鈥淲e are really emphasizing the social and cultural context of work we do in engineering,鈥� she said.

For example, a required class could be one covering anthropology in international development. More details are available at .

鈥淎 portion will be fulfilled by core classes in humanitarian engineering and technical engineering for global health solutions,鈥� Sharp said. 鈥淎nd then they can count electives that are taken from general education requirements, so you can take courses in public health and social justice.鈥�

Sharp was chosen to head the humanitarian program through an endowed chair created with a $1.5 million gift from OSU alumni Richard and Gretchen Evans. The couple also made contributions two years earlier to help launch the program. It was sanctioned officially in September.

Sharp, a mechanical engineer, has worked for the past several years to in Pakistan. She said the new humanitarian engineering minor is attracting a more diverse student population, including more women, than is typical for engineering.

Grace Burleson, a senior pursing a mechanical engineering degree, said she sees a minor in humanitarian engineering as a way to further her interest in helping developing countries. Burleson is now serving an internship in Uganda developing a sustainable business plan for the manufacture and distribution of biosand water filters.