Humanitarian engineering may be defined as 'research and design under constraints to directly improve the wellbeing of marginalized communities'. What is most distinctive about this type of engineering is its targeted audience - those that might be classified as 'marginalized, or under-served'. Humanitarian engineering places strong emphasis on the cultural context of engaging in engineering activities which impact the poor, the marginalized, the disenfranchised, and those that lack the means to address pressing problems. As such, training for one who participates in humanitarian engineering incorporates history, politics, economics, sociology, language, as well as rigorous engineering basics. Several universities in the United States focus efforts on Humanitarian Engineering: Penn State University integrates engineering design and research with a strong social entrepreneurship thrust [1]. Colorado School of Mines offers a minor in Humanitarian Engineering. Arizona State University offers a 3-course humanitarian engineering/entrepreneurship capstone as a part of the GlobalResolve program.
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