While the field of Global Health seeks to address the drivers and outcomes of well-being for international populations from a medical or epidemiological perspective, Global Health Engineering addresses determinants of health as a function of engineered interventions and systems. Our work looks at ways of reducing the negative impacts of modern life, particularly in urban areas of over-exploited countries. Our research seeks to reduce the negative impacts of improperly managed human, organic, and anthropogenic waste while ensuring that solutions are affordable, effective, and acceptable to users.
Research
Thematically, we are interested in the drivers and barriers to safely manage human waste, organic waste, and anthropogenic waste. Methodologically, we rely on the fundamental tools of engineering to develop and optimize technology, social science to understand the perceptions and behaviours of populations regarding interventions, and economics to determine financial feasibility and user acceptance.
Cross-cutting all of our work are three core principles: How and why failure has occurred in the past is the foundation of our decision to develop or not develop something new; by adopting open science principles, we are committed to ensuring that our research is reproducible, transparent and reusable for the greatest possible impact. Most importantly, we acknowledge the historical inequalities of international research and strive to understand, implement, and contribute to anti-colonial principles within Global Health Engineering in all of our work.
You are a professor. You’re working long hours; you’re working weekends; you’re sitting in committees, and stuck in meetings that could have been emails; you’re teaching, grading, supervising, and mentoring. And now, on top of all that, you are supposed to make all your research data public, while applying FAIR principles. You need a data steward.
After participating in the third session of the negotiations for the Global Plastics Treaty, Lin Boynton shares the complex dynamics of these negotiations and the broader plastic crisis. From the limitations of recycling to the disproportionate impact on low- and middle-income countries, she uncovers critical aspects largely ignored during the negotiations, urging scientists to speak up during this pivotal process.
