A Grand Challenge-based Framework for Contextual Learning in Engineer- ing

Dr. David Schaad has over seventeen years of design and engineering experience as a consulting engineer working for various firms including: Parsons Engineering Science, Appian Consulting Engineers and Marshall Miller and Associates. As part of his experience, Dr. Schaad has: designed waste water treatment systems to address industrial and domestic waste streams; developed designs of storm water control structures and strategies to address water quality and quantity; designed fluid transport systems to replace water supplies impacted by anthropogenic sources; designed fuel transport and delivery systems; developed designs for commercial and residential development; prepared land use plans; developed designs to protect against potential flood hazards; designed and developed plans and specifications for fluid handling systems, waste mitigation alternatives and remedial actions for RCRA and CERCLA sites including active industrial facilities and inactive disposal sites (including NPL sites); conducted feasibility studies by evaluating and analyzing the economic and engineering considerations of multiple design alternatives; obtained extensive experience with innovative remedial techniques (including groundwater extraction and treatment, air sparging, soil vapor extraction, and bioventing). Current research focuses on sustainable engineering, community development, water and wastewater treatment design, stormwater retention/detention and treatment design, urban hydrology, constructed wetland and stream restoration design, ecological stabilization, sustainable engineering in land development, water resources, water and wastewater treatment. He is also the faculty advisor for Duke Engineers for International Development and the Duke Chapter of Engineers Without Borders and has led DukeEngage experiences every year since the inception of the program. He has facilitated and/or led trips to Indonesia, Uganda, Kenya, Honduras, El Salvador, Bolivia, and Peru. Representative projects he has worked on include: building a 4800sf Infant and Maternal Health Clinic, constructing a 100ft long vehicular bridge over a seasonally flooded river, and installing a 3km long waterline. He was an inaugural member of the Faculty Leadership Council (FLC) of EWB and is a registered professional engineer in 21 states.