Spring 2016 EEMI Faculty Activities

May 2, 2016
EEMI staff meet with Dr. Jehan El-Bayoumi Director, Rodham Institute.

EEMI staff meet with Dr. Jehan El-Bayoumi Director, Rodham Institute.

EEMI Prof. Ekundayo Shittu published a paper entitled “Reorganizing Nigeria's Vaccine Supply Chain Reduces Need for Additional Storage Facilities, But More Storage Is Required,” in the journal Health Affairs in the Spring 2016 semester. The citation is Vol.35, No.2 (2016):293-300. DOI: 10.1377/hlthaff.2015.1328.

EEMI co-Director Prof. Jonathan Deason recently published an article entitled “Permitting and Endangered Species” in The Military Engineer, Vol. 108, No. 700, March-April 2016, pp. 51-52.

During the Spring semester, EEMI faculty and students held a series of meetings with the faculty and staff of GW’s Rodham Institute with a view towards establishing a research partnership in the nexus between environmental conditions and public health. The Rodham Institute was established in 2013 by Dr. Jehan (Gigi) El-Bayoumi in honor of the late Mrs. Dorothy Rodham, mother of Presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton. Dr. El-Bayoumi, who previously was the personal physician to Mrs. Rodham, also has served as the personal physician to Mrs. Clinton and her daughter Chelsea Clinton. Professors Joe Casio, Jonathan Deason and Doctoral Student Ireen Cleaton-Jones have been involved in the meetings, with Ireen attending the May 17-19, 2016 CleanMed Conference in Dallas (http://cleanmed.org) to move ahead with research concepts explored with Rodham Institute colleagues.

EEMI Professor Rachael Jonassen provided a presentation at a meeting sponsored by the White House Council on Environmental Quality on February 23, 2016. The title of her talk was “The Business Case for Reducing Supply Chain Emissions.”

On April 8, 2016, EEMI Adjunct Professor Scott Sklar made a presentation at the National Capital Region Water Resources Symposium on Rethinking the Value of Water: Innovations in Research, Technology, Policy and Management. This symposium brought together experts from governmental agencies, academia, the private sector, and non-profits to discuss challenges and opportunities for sustainable management of water resources and infrastructure in the region, as well as nationally and internationally. Additional information on the symposium can be seen at http://www.awrancrs.org/events/62-2016-symposium.html

EEMI Professor Ekundayo Shittu published a paper entitled “Envelope Modeling of Renewable Resource Variability and Capacity” in Computers and Operations Research. The citation is Vol. 66, February 2016, pp. 272-283. doi:10.1016/j.cor.2015.07.020. February 29, 2016.

Prof. Ekundayo Shittu also published a journal article on “Competition, Regulatory Policy, and Firms’ Resource Investments: The Case of Renewable Energy Technologies” in the Academy of Management Journal. The citation is Vol. 59, No. 2 (April 1, 2016): pp. 678-704. DOI: doi:10.5465/amj.2013.0661.

EEMI Professor Royce Francis made a presentation at the symposium “The Color of Water: A Teach-in on Flint, MI.” The program was organized by the Africana Studies Program, The Sustainability Collaborative and The American Studies Program at GW. More information on the event can be seen at https://library.gwu.edu/news-events/events/color-water-teach-flint-michigan

EEMI Professor Joe Cascio and EEM graduate Tian Peng participated in the annual meeting of the International Fund for China’s Environment on February 11, 2016. Other notable participants included Terry Yosie, President of the World Environment Center and former Director of the EPA Science Advisory Board.

On March 28, 2016, the Environmental and Energy Management Institute (EEMI) hosted a visit by ISO Director of Research and Education, Dr. Daniele Gerundino. Dr. Gerundino was travelling to the U.S. from Geneva, Switzerland to coordinate standardization activities with officials at the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and at the National Institutes of Standards and Technology (NIST). He is a valued external affiliate of EEMI and agreed to provide us with an update on the current status of international standardization as seen from the perspective of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO).

ISO, a non-governmental association of member bodies from some 160 countries creates standards for the world in all categories except for those in the electronics and telecommunications areas.

Dr. Gerundino started with some anecdotal examples of standards to point out and to remind us of the historical roots of standards going back to the Egyptians, Greeks and Romans; and of their usefulness for technological progress that depends on interconnectivity and interoperability of parts and components that allow systems to function, to be replicated, and to be mass-produced.

Dr. Gerundino pointed out that until the mid-eighties, ISO standards were exclusively technical and scientific dealing primarily with mechanical issues and with standards for measurement and calibration. Starting in 1986, standardization took an additional course with many of the new standards addressing product quality and other management challenges including environmental performance, security, food processing, occupational safety, sustainability, and social responsibility, among others. This has resulted in some standards that in many ways resemble and address public policy issues, a category that ISO had traditionally stayed away from and that even now is ambivalent about and considers to be beyond its stated mission. Nonetheless, management system standards are proving to be useful in many countries and the demand for them is still on an upswing.

Dr. Gerundino was a highlight for those of us lucky enough to attend and hear his remarks. He was entertaining and very informative and we benefited from his wisdom as one of the world’s eminent experts on international standards and standardization.