Dr. Guru Madhavan, Engineering Our Wicked Problems: Some Insights from Ed Link and Upstate New York

Please join us on Tuesday, March 19^th at 1:30pm in Bird Library Room 114 for a guest lecture by Guru Madhavan from the National Academy of Engineering.

Madhavan’s talk is titled “Engineering Our Wicked Problems: Some Insights from Ed Link and Upstate New York.” He will present examples connected to engineer Edwin Link and the rich industrial and communal history of upstate New York to inform a model mindset for engaging with complex problems. Edwin Link revolutionized aviation with his flight trainer and is well known to many in the Syracuse University community. Link Hall is named in recognition of his support of the University.

Guru Madhavan is the Norman R. Augustine Senior Scholar and senior director of programs of the National Academy of Engineering. He has worked in the medical device industry and has served as a technical advisor to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the European Commission. A systems engineer by background, he received his M.S. in biomedical engineering from Stony Brook University and a M.B.A as well as a Ph.D. in biomedical engineering from Binghamton University that awarded him the Edward Weisband Distinguished Alumni Award for Public Service or Contribution to Public Affairs. His recent awards include the ASME Henry Laurence Gantt Medal for business leadership, AAMI Laufman-Greatbatch Award for contributions to health technology, IEEE Norbert Wiener Award for Social and Professional Responsibility, IEEE Alfred Goldsmith Award for Outstanding Achievement in Engineering Communication, and IEEE-USA Award for Distinguished Literary Contributions Furthering Public Understanding and the Advancement of the Engineering Profession and the George F. McClure Citation of Honor for engineering leadership. He is an elected fellow of the Institution of Engineering and Technology (UK), the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering, and the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. His books include “Applied Minds: How Engineers Think” and the most recent “Wicked Problems: How to Engineer a Better World,” from W.W. Norton.