Dr. Shu Tao (Peking University), a recent speaker in the GLEAN Speaker Series, discusses how better energy-use data can improve environmental health outcomes in China.
Published November 28, 2017 under Education News
Two graduate students from the Duke Global Health Institute (DGHI) recently were awarded Duke Support for Interdisciplinary Graduate Networks (D-SIGN) grants. The D-SIGN program, under the Office of Interdisciplinary Studies, encourages graduate students to explore beyond disciplinary lines, both in research and coursework. The goal is to enable graduate students to build or extend their networks and to integrate collaborative, cross-school experiences into their programs, reflecting Duke’s commitment to interdisciplinarity and knowledge in the service of society.
THE GLOBAL ENERGY ACCESS NETWORK
Faraz Usmani, a PhD candidate in environmental economics and DGHI doctoral scholar, received a renewal of D-SIGN funding for the Global Energy Access Network (GLEAN). He started GLEAN last year along with Rob Fetter and Hannah Girardeau from the Nicholas School of the Environment (NSoE). Now Usmani coordinates GLEAN activities along with Yating Li, Muye Ru, both in NSoE, and Heidi Vreeland from the Pratt School of Engineering. The team recognized that despite energy access targets in the Sustainable Development Goals, the concept of “energy access” remains ambiguous. “No clear scholarly or policy consensus has emerged to define who has access, who does not, or how that ultimately impacts wellbeing,” said Usmani. “GLEAN seeks to answer these questions.”
GLEAN is leading an exploration of energy access by working toward three goals:
- Elevate the prominence of the global energy access challenge on campus
- Foster an active, interdisciplinary community of graduate, professional and undergraduate students who want to engage with this challenge
- Offer direct opportunities to this community to be able to do so
Speakers, Publishing and Research in GLEAN’s First Year
In GLEAN’s first year, the group hosted speakers, published case studies and conducted research toward establishing an energy access index.
The GLEAN Speaker Series coordinated with several other campus groups to host a series of lectures on energy, environment and development. “The lectures served as a hub for Duke students to connect to the global conversation on energy access,” said Usmani.
Additionally, GLEAN published Energy & Development, an edited volume of energy access case studies written by GLEAN members about their field experiences. The case studies span five countries and address a variety of technology and policy solutions for both urban and rural areas.
Finally, GLEAN employed two research assistants to compile an annotated bibliography of sources that could be used to develop an energy access index similar to the Human Development Index. The team has begun strategizing about how to best develop a measurement method for energy development.
Continuing and Expanding GLEAN Projects
This year, GLEAN is continuing their speaker series and hosting an “Imagine Energy” photo contest to draw attention to energy access through a visual medium. In addition to these efforts, the group plans to expand Energy & Development. They are currently accepting proposals for case studies to include.
Usmani’s involvement with GLEAN has opened the door to new collaborations. “My work with GLEAN has helped me appreciate and tap into the vast cross-disciplinary student expertise on energy access at Duke,” he said, “from environmental scientists and engineers working to develop new technologies, to other social scientists who study the conditions under which these innovations are adopted and used over the long term.”
MODELING HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENT
Another D-SIGN grant was awarded to Master of Science in Global Health student Shashika Bandara to establish a new undergraduate course on system dynamics modeling for health and the environment.
Bandara and Varun Mallampalli, a PhD candidate in the Pratt School of Engineering, recognized an opportunity to bring together their expertise in health and environmental system dynamics modeling and established the Modeling Health and Environment Graduate Working Group. The group’s goal is to develop a class for undergraduates to learn about modeling as a way to envision solutions that will impact policy.
The grant will fund a team of graduate students that will begin by learning system dynamics modeling through a series of working group sessions. The group will then use these sessions to formulate course material for an undergraduate class targeted toward students in engineering, environmental science, policy studies and health sciences. Concurrent to this process, the work group will host a guest lecture series to discuss the importance of modeling from an interdisciplinary approach.
Bandara and Mallampalli are planning for the class to be an introduction to system dynamics modeling that will be open to students across disciplines, with or without a mathematics background. The course will be taught using STELLA, a software package that takes an intuitive, graphics-based approach to modeling useful, complex systems. They plan to record the guest lecture series and integrate these talks into the curriculum to help students contextualize what they’re learning. They also hope to make the material available on an online platform.
Bandara plans to use what he learns from the working group to strengthen his thesis. “I believe many global health issues require modeling to envision solutions, so it’s a great skill to have,” he said. “My current research focuses on access to medicine, which really can benefit from relevant models. I hope to build a model to complement the recommendations of my thesis project.”
