April 2022 Issue
A monthly forum to share diversity, equity, and inclusion resources.
Welcome to the next installment of Read.Watch.Listen: a monthly forum hosted by the NCSEA SE3 Committee to share and promote conversations on diversity, equity and inclusion within the structural engineering profession. Each month, we will curate a series of articles, audio-visual and digital media to facilitate self-education in matters that affect our professional practice as structural engineers. Whether you choose to read, watch, or listen (or all three!), we hope you will join us in this important conversation.
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In this post, we celebrate National Arab American Heritage Month. The resources below highlight the contributions of Arab Americans to our industry and our society, while also illuminating some of the challenges they face. To overcome these hurdles, organizations like the National Arab American Association of Engineers & Architects (NAAAEA) are working to inspire and engage Arab American engineers and students. The Arab American Institute (AAI), a non-partisan advocacy organization, also aims to ensure the civil rights of Arab Americans across the country.
Share your thoughts and/or recommended resources for the next issue at ncsea@ncsea.com.
Heritage Month: Arab Americans as Engineers - Arab America
This article celebrates numerous Arab American engineers, highlighting NASA’s Charles Elachi and the University of Michigan’s Fawwaz T. Ulaby. It also discusses efforts undertaken by NAAAEA to increase Arab American involvement in engineering and architecture.
Arab American Stories: Innovators - Detroit Public Television
In this video, four Arab Americans discuss their backgrounds, inspirations, and innovations. From 9:30 to 17:00, Amir Abo-Shaeer presents his contributions to the Dos Pueblos Engineering Academy, where he returned as a teacher after beginning his career as an engineer.
Howayda Al-Harithy | Urban Design | Conversations - The afikra Podcast
Howayda Al-Harithy, Professor of Architecture and Urban Design, discusses her experiences with urban recovery in the Arab world, including her involvement with the ongoing reconstruction of Beirut after the 2020 explosion. Al-Harithy puts these recovery efforts into the larger context of heritage sites, national identity, politics, and culture.
This article was originally published in the April 2022 issue of NCSEA's Structural Connection newsletter. For more information, check out NCSEA's DEI Resources.