Introduction: Jane Lehr

Morn! My name is Jane Lehr, and I am the cultural advisor for the ICEX 2010 trip. This spring, we are traveling to the Sletvik Field Station of the Norwegian University of Science and Technology as part of the NORUS Project, an educational and research collaboration between partners in North America and Norway that is focused on technology development for marine monitoring and ocean observation.

I am an Assistant Professor in the Departments of Ethnic Studies and Women's & Gender Studies at Cal Poly. I received my PhD (2006) and MS (2002) in Science & Technology Studies from Virginia Tech, with concentrations in the social, cultural, and political studies of science and technology, and Women's Studies. In 2005-06, I had the opportunity to work as a Post-Doctoral Research Officer in the NSF-funded Center for Informal Learning and Schools (CILS) in the Department of Education and Professional Studies at King's College London.

My research and teaching primarily explore the relationships between science and engineering education, scientific and technical literacies, practices of personal and public decision-making, and issues of social justice and social responsibility. While at Virginia Tech, I was privileged to work directly with Dr. Gary Downey, a leader in the growing field of Engineering Studies. Scholarship in Engineering Studies focuses on the comparative study of engineers and engineering in different historic and contemporary national contexts.

I am very excited to work with the ICEX team this year for a number of reasons. Primarily, I want to support the students’ efforts to gain experiences working as global engineers by facilitating their explorations of the ways in which social, cultural, political, and economic factors can matter in defining and shaping engineering education and practice. Secondly, I am exploring the possibility of developing a course at Cal Poly that would focus on the meanings, challenges, and strengths of engineering in an increasingly diverse and globalized workplace and world and in the context of significant contemporary societal challenges and transformations. Working with the ICEX students this year will help shape that project. I also am excited to learn more about and visit Norway!