David E. Schaad
· CEE Director of Undergraduate Studies, Professor of the PracticeDuke University · Civil and Environmental Engineering
Active 1992–2022
About
David E. Schaad is a Professor of the Practice of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Duke University, where he also serves as the Director of Undergraduate Studies. His educational background includes a B.A. from Denison University, an M.S. from the University of Colorado, Boulder, and a Ph.D. from Duke University. His research themes focus on environmental health engineering, hydrology, and fluid dynamics, with an emphasis on sustainable design and global development engineering. Schaad is involved in various academic initiatives, including the Certificate in Global Development Engineering and the Grand Challenge Scholars Program. He has contributed to the field through teaching courses related to engineering sustainable design, environmental engineering, and construction management. His work integrates traditional engineering education with service-learning and innovative technology, aiming to address real-world challenges such as natural disasters, water management, and environmental protection. Schaad is a member of several professional societies, including Sigma Xi, Pi Mu Epsilon, and Sigma Pi Sigma, and has been recognized for his contributions to engineering education and research.
Research topics
- Computer Science
- Engineering management
- Engineering
- Psychology
- Mathematics education
- Political Science
- Artificial Intelligence
- Pedagogy
- Public relations
- World Wide Web
- Epistemology
- Cognitive science
- Engineering ethics
Selected publications
Development Engineering · 2022 · 36 citations
- Political Science
- Engineering ethics
- Political Science
Despite decades of global development programming, poverty persists in the low-and-middle-income countries targeted by these efforts. Training approaches to global development must change and the role of engineers in these efforts must evolve to account for structural and systemic barriers to global poverty reduction. Rapid growth in Global Engineering graduate programs in the United States and Canada creates an opportunity to unify efforts between academic institutions and ensure that programs align with the sector's needs as identified by practitioners. To build consensus on how to equip engineering students with the knowledge, skills and attitudes necessary, we convened practitioners, faculty and graduate students for a two-day workshop to establish an agreed-upon Global Engineering body of knowledge. The workshop was informed by a pre-event survey of individual participants and representatives of participating academic institutions with graduate programs in Global Engineering or a related field. Through the workshop breakout sessions and post-event work by the authors, we developed the following priority learning objectives for graduate education in global engineering: Contextual Comprehension and Analysis; Cross-cultural Humility; Global Engineering Ethics; Stakeholder Analysis and Engagement; Complex Systems Analysis; Data Collection and Analysis; Data-driven Decision Making; Applied Engineering Knowledge; Project Design; Project Management; Multidisciplinary Teamwork and Leadership; Communication; Climate Change, Sustainability, and Resilience; Global Health; and Development Economics. Although technical skills are central to preparing the next generation of Global Engineers, transversal and interdisciplinary skills are equally important in equipping students to work across sectors and account for barriers to global development and equity.
Evidence for the Effectiveness of a Grand Challenge-based Framework for Contextual Learning
2020 · 3 citations
- Computer Science
- Computer Science
- Mathematics education
Abstract Evidence for the Effectiveness of a Grand Challenge-based Framework for Contextual LearningStudent motivation – and associated educational outcomes – can be influenced by the degree towhich course material connects to recognizable societal problems. The National Academy forEngineering has established the “Engineering Grand Challenges”, a set of 14 fundamentalproblems whose solution will require integrated contributions from engineers, scientists, andpolicy-makers. The current work builds the Engineering Grand Challenges (EGC) into apedagogical framework integrated into courses in several engineering disciplines, assessingwhether this framework increased student motivation and, if so, what sorts of students benefitfrom this approach.The EGC framework, as implemented here, follows a series of six stages that progress fromstatement of the problem, through exercises that teach a foundational concept using an EGCexample, to reflection on the role of engineering in addressing the problem. The framework wasimplemented in three diverse courses: a computational methods course taken by all first-yearengineering students, an upper-level signal-processing elective in electrical engineering, and adesign course for upper-level students in environmental engineering. Instructors for each of thesecourses implemented the EGC framework in a manner appropriate for their course. For example,students in the signal processing course investigated the EGC of “Reverse-Engineering theBrain”, which included a lecture/discussion led by a neuroscientist who uses signal processing,followed by a project assignment that applied spectral analysis and filter design to publiclyavailable data from a brain-computer interface contest. For all courses, baseline data werecollected from the same classes taught by the same instructors in the previous year.Results from the first year of implementation indicated significant benefits for the EGCframework, as well as differences in effectiveness across settings. Each student provided datathat included self-reported ratings of ABET criteria and standard psychological measures ofmotivation, and those measures were included in structural equation models that predicted inter-student differences in grades. The EGC framework was associated with significantly higher self-reported class effectiveness, as indexed by ABET criteria. Furthermore, in advanced classes theEGC framework enhanced a key measure of student motivation (i.e., situational interest), whichin turn was a positive predictor of student grades. This effect was not present in the introductoryclass examined. No differences between EGC and baseline groups were found in other measuresof self-reported motivation (e.g., perceived competence). Collectively, these results providestrong initial evidence that framing course activities around large-scale, societally relevantchallenges can have salutary effects upon students’ motivation and course performance. Ongoingwork examines these effects across multiple semesters of the same courses as well as acrossadditional courses from throughout engineering curricula.
A Grand Challenge-based Framework for Contextual Learning in Engineering
2020 · 8 citations
- Computer Science
- Artificial Intelligence
- Computer Science
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
2015-07-08 · 7 citations
articleOpen accessAbstract A Grand Challenge-based Framework for Contextual Learning in Engineering: Impact on Student Outcomes and MotivationExposure to meaningful, societally relevant applications can increase student motivation andimprove learning outcomes. Here, we describe assessment results that evaluate a pedagogicalframework based on the NAE Grand Challenges, in which specific engineering concepts areembedded in a societal problem (e.g., "reverse-engineering the brain") that requires students todefine problems and apply course content to those problems. Assessment data were acquiredfrom 957 undergraduate engineering students, including students participating in the interventionin an introductory class (N = 564) and advanced classes (N = 56) and control students inintroductory (N = 273) and advanced classes (N = 64). Using a multivariate analysis of variance,we tested the hypotheses that the Engineering Grand Challenge Framework (EGCF) influencedstudents' self-assessments of specific student outcomes (ABET Criterion 3), particularly thoserelated to understanding engineering in a societal/contemporary context. We also evaluatedstudent motivation using well-validated scales drawn from the psychological literature and astructural equation model linking motivation to course outcomes.The initial multivariate analysis revealed a significant effect of intervention upon studentoutcome responses considered as a group [F(11, 943) = 13.302, p < .001], and a significantinteraction with class level [F(11, 943) = 3.240, p < .001]. Significant item-specific interactionswere observed for ABET criteria associated with societal context (ABET h), life-long learning(ABET i), and knowledge of contemporary issues (ABET j; all ps ≤ 0.01); in each case, theinteraction revealed a greater effect of the EGCF on upper-level students' self-assessments onthese criteria. Analysis of student motivation via structural equation modeling revealed apotential role for motivation in shaping course outcomes: for advanced students, the EGCF wasassociated with significant increases in situational interest (a measure of motivation) that in turnpredicted higher course grades.We conclude that EGCF – and, by extension, frameworks that connect engineering content tosocietal issues – holds promise for shaping student engagement with technical content in amanner directly relevant for national goals for engineering education (i.e., ABET criteria).Moreover, educational research can identify the circumstances in which a particular frameworkmay be most effective (e.g., upper-level courses) and thus guide the allocation of instructorpriorities and resources.
The Mathematics Enthusiast · 2014-01-01
article1st authorCorrespondingOn May 9, 2011, the Chilean national government under President Sebastián Piñera approved HidroAysén, a controversial hydroelectric megaproject to be constructed in the Aysén region of southern Chile. With HidroAysén expected to flood 5,900 hectares (15,000 acres) of ecologically unique natural reserves and displace local indigenous and working class people, its development raises major environmental justice concerns among Chileans and the international community. The project stalled in 2012 and was placed on long-term hold due to widespread public protests in which tens of thousands of Chileans took to the streets unified by the motto “Patagonia Sin Represas” (Patagonia Without Dams). I was studying abroad in Chile in the spring of 2012 at the height of these demonstrations and was deeply impressed by the aggressive approach and vibrant history of public protest in Chilean society and youth culture. My research conducted in Spanish and English investigates the environmental justice issues surrounding the HidroAysén project, the various arguments for and against HidroAysén by the major parties bearing a stake in this issue, and the important role and power of mass protest by ordinary citizens who refused to be displaced from their lands and livelihoods for economic development. I highlight the testimonies and perspectives of local people, whose words and voices have been ignored and overridden by national policy. I also draw parallels between HidroAysén and contemporary North American resource development challenges as it is my hope that insights from Chile´s battle for Aysén can inform our own approaches to effective environmental activism.
Environmental Health Perspectives · 2010-07-30
articleOpen access1st authorCorrespondingDesign and routing of storm flows in an urbanized watershed without surface streams
Journal of Hydrology · 2009-06-27 · 9 citations
article1st authorCorresponding2008-01-01
article1st authorCorrespondingDesign and Performance of Multipurpose Constructed Wetland and Flow Equalization Basin
Journal of Environmental Engineering · 2008-01-18 · 10 citations
article1st authorCorrespondingStormwater runoff from a portion of a 273ha(675acres) Midwestern rail yard contacts industrial facilities including fuel storage tanks and fueling and servicing operation areas. Stormwater draining from a smaller 64ha(159acres) sub-basin containing the industrial facilities previously flowed into a retention pond within the rail yard. The retention pond had a surface area of 607m2(0.15acre) and a maximum storage capacity of 1.4millionL(370,000gal). Given the large drainage area of the pond the retention time within the pond was shorter than optimal, limiting its potential effectiveness for improving water quality. To address these issues the pond was redesigned to have a 6.25millionL(1.65milliongal) storage capacity and configured into a constructed wetland to control a 50-year storm event and increase its ability to treat stormwater runoff. A network of riparian plants (5,700) was placed within the stormwater wetland to treat runoff prior to discharge off-site. Evaluating the performance of both the former and current retention basins revealed significant improvements in the retention and treatment ability when comparing the two structures. Mean total suspended solid concentrations and oil and grease concentrations were reduced approximately 45% when comparing pre- and postconstruction flow analysis. This innovative multiuse approach has demonstrated effectiveness in controlling storm flows and treating runoff from the rail yard.
OpenSIUC (Southern Illinois University Carbondale) · 2008-01-01
articleOpen access1st authorCorresponding
Frequent coauthors
- 10 shared
J.C. Nadeau
Duke University
- 9 shared
Lisa Linnenbrink‐Garcia
Michigan State University
- 9 shared
Lisa G. Huettel
Zimmer Biomet (United States)
- 9 shared
Michael Gustafson
Duke University
- 9 shared
Michael M. Barger
University of Georgia
- 6 shared
James M. Halley
Duke University
- 4 shared
W. Chambers
Duke University
- 4 shared
Scott Denson
Amec Foster Wheeler (United States)
Labs
Duke Civil & Environmental EngineeringPI
Awards & honors
- Member. Sigma Xi Scientific Research Society
- Member. Pi Mu Epsilon National Mathematics Honorary Society
- Member. Sigma Pi Sigma National Physics Honorary Society
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