IGL Explores Collaboration with Addis Ababa University

NEXUS | The IGL Newsletter | Fall 2008

In October, as part of a developing collaboration with Addis Ababa University (AAU) in Ethiopia and Hybricore in Chicago, the IGL hosted two senior members of the Faculty of Technology from AAU courtesy of Gregg Steinberg, the founder of Hybricore.

Dr. Abebe Dinku and Dr. Heyaw Tereffe spent a week at the IGL, learning about the Institute and Tufts University, lecturing in the EPIIC class on “Global Cities” and several engineering classes, and meeting with officials, professors and students at Tufts. Dr. Abebe is the Dean of the Faculty of Technology and a Professor of Civil Engineering at AAU, where he is also engaged in the university’s infrastructure development and in a variety of other engineering and building projects in Addis Ababa. He is the author of more than 30 scientific publications. Dr. Heyaw is the Associate Dean of the Faculty of Technology on the Southern Campus and has served as the Head of the Department of Architecture and Urban Planning. He is an architect by training and he has chaired the assessment of several designs for public and private buildings in Addis Ababa and major regional cities.

While here, they met with Vincent Manno, Associate Provost and Professor of Mechanical Engineering; Charlie Heap, Director of the Stockholm Environment Institute's U.S. Center and a senior scientist in SEI's Climate and Energy Program; Christopher Swan
Associate Professor, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering; Anna Hardman, Lecturer, Economics Department; Peter Walker, Director of the Feinstein International Center and Rosenberg Professor of Nutrition and Human Security; Lewis Edgers, Associate Engineering Dean for Undergraduate Curriculum Development; Rob Hanneman, Director of Tufts Gordon Institute; Shafiqul Islam, Associate Dean of Engineering for Research; and members of Tufts’ Chapter of Engineers without Borders.

They also gave a public lecture on “Urbanization And Construction In Ethiopia: Challenges Facing The World’s Least Urbanized Country.”

The Institute, with the support of Steinberg, is planning to send several Tufts students – a mix of liberal arts and engineering majors -- to Addis Ababa during winter break to begin research on the challenges the country is facing in terms of urbanization, with an emphasis on housing. Ethiopia is the least urbanized country in the world. The Tufts students would be paired with Ethiopian students while there, and then the Ethiopian students would come to Tufts for the EPIIC symposium on Global Cities.