Rob Nerenberg

Faculty Exchange Luksic Grants

Associate Professor, Civil and Environmental Engineering and Earth Sciences, University of Notre Dame

I am an associate professor in the department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Earth Sciences at the University of Notre Dame (UND), and had previously taught a course on sustainability and urban infrastructure at UND.

But the course lacked depth in several key aspects of urban infrastructure. In discussing with my colleague at the Catholic University (PUC) of Chile, Prof. Pablo Pasten, who has a leadership role in a Chilean national center for urban sustainability, we felt there was an opportunity to improve the class by recruiting experts from UND and PUC. Then the course could be taught concurrently to students at both universities, providing a more comprehensive and global view.

Our course was offered to students at UND and PUC, in the fall semester of 2017, via Zoom videoconferencing. Based on the positive feedback, we hope to teach again in 2019.”

Thanks to funding from the Luksic grants, we were able to develop the course, called “Global Perspectives on Urban Sustainability.” The funds primarily supported a two-day planning workshop in Chile. The workshop allowed faculty from a range of colleges and departments to learn about resources at each institution, and brainstorm on class content and format. The course was offered to students at UND and PUC, in the fall semester of 2017, via Zoom videoconferencing. Based on the positive feedback, we hope to teach again in 2019.