Oregon & Iraq Professors Meet

Iraqi Engineering professors learn about solar technologies while attending Oregon State University's International Promotion of Sustainable Engineering Seminar in August 2009.

Nineteen engineering professors from 11 Iraqi universities participated in a sustainable engineering conference at Oregon State University, August 1-14, 2009. The group learned about green technology and building design while visiting a road construction project.

Nineteen engineering professors from 11 Iraqi universities participated in a sustainable engineering conference at Oregon State University (OSU), August 1-14, 2009, as part of OSU's International Promotion of Sustainable Engineering (IPOSE) Seminar.

Organized by the Michael Scott Mater Foundation (MSMF), which has key leaders serving in civilian and contractor capacities with the 402nd Army Field Support Brigade at Joint Base Balad, Iraq, the conference discussed green technology and building design, recycling, and wind, biomass, solar and geothermal energy generation.

Sponsored by OSU, Oregon BEST Center, and the US Embassy - Baghdad, Cultural Affairs Office, the event served to strengthen and expand the cultural and academic exchanges between the US and Iraq, while demonstrating to the Iraqi professors new sustainable technologies that can be applied in their country as it continues its reconstruction. Other universities that participated in the seminar were Portland State University, University of Oregon, and the Oregon Institute of Technology.

Going forward, over 20 Iraqi universities have formed the Iraqi Coalition on Sustainable Engineering Education (I-CSEE), which has the support of both the Iraqi Government and Kurdistan Regional Government's Ministries of Higher Education. The I-CSEE mission is to integrate the Iraqi reconstruction and infrastructure development initiatives through the development of a series of testing laboratories at strategically selected universities, each focusing on different sustainability platforms.

I-CSEE represents the first coalition of its kind in Southwest Asia and has the potential for inclusion of Iraq's neighbors and other countries throughout the world.

"The IPOSE seminar and I-CSEE program represent a full enterprise approach towards implementing sustainable practices into the community, provincial and national reconstruction efforts of Iraq," said Joshua Mater with the MSMF. "Iraq is not only codifying its development efforts, but demonstrating its capability as a responsible member of the international community."

From General Ray Odierno - thank you, sir.