Video: Dean’s Distinguished Speaker Rebecca Richards-Kortum on Engineering Sustainable Solutions

On February 19, College of Engineering Dean’s Distinguished Speaker Rebecca Richards-Kortum presented her talk, “How Can Engineering Address Needs in Low-Resource Settings? Sustainable Solutions for Maternal Newborn and Child Health,” to a crowd of faculty, staff and students at the UC Davis Walter A. Buehler Alumni Center. 

Richards-Kortum is the Malcolm Gillis University Professor of Bioengineering and co-director of Rice 360 Institute for Global Health at Rice University. Her research has been instrumental in improving the early detection of cancers and developing and scaling affordable, high-performing technologies for under-resourced communities where infant conditions are the leading cause of death. 

“Rebecca epitomizes the ‘Engineering for All’ ethos that we are so committed to in our College of Engineering and which is central to our strategic vision to develop socially responsible engineering solutions and accessible technologies that make a positive difference for the planet and improve quality of life for all people,” said Dean Richard L. Corsi. 

In her presentation, Richards-Kortum discussed her work in Africa, the value of systems-based engineering approaches and the importance of responsibility, persistence and equal access for engineers. 

Photos of the event are available on the college’s Flickr.