Some of the eminent Participants:

Keynote Speaker 1: Satprem Maïni (earthinstitute@auroville.org.in) is a French and he lives in Auroville, India, since 1989. He is a postgraduate architect from France in earthen architecture. He is the director of the Auroville Earth institute, where he works as an architect, builder, consultant, researcher, trainer and lecturer. He has intervened in 29 countries and since 1990 saptrem has trained more than 5,800 people from 62 countries on earth architecture and technology which is cost and energy efficient. Dr. Saptrem is the Representative for Asia of the UNESCO Chair” Earthen Architecture, Constructive cultures and sustainable development” and he is an occasional consultant of the United Nations. He is a member of CRA Terre, the international centre for earth construction, a life member of the Indian society of earthquake technology, as well as other Indian and worldwide organizations. He specialized also with building arches, vaults and domes as well as disaster resistant construction system, based on reinforced masonry with compressed stabilized earth blocks, has approval from three governments: Gujarat, Iran and Tamil Nadu for the rehabilitation of the zones affected by their respective disasters of 2001, 2003 and 2004. Dr. Saptrem has been granted 12 awards: 11 Indian Awards and the “Hassan Fathy international Award for Architecture for the poor in 1992”.

Keynote Speaker 2: Professor Ratemo W.Michieka (michiekar@yahoo.com) is a Full Professor of the university of Nairobi, College of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, Nairobi, Kenya. He has a PhD from Rutgers University, U.S.A, in Agriculture and Environmental Sciences specializing in crop protection in university of Nairobi and later appointed to the Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology as a principal and later saw the growth and development of the college into a public university where he became the founding vice chancellor (where he served) for thirteen years. During his tenure, he established several local and international academic linkages and was instrumental in the creation of the African institute for capacity development (AICAD) assisted by the Japanese international co operation agency JICA. He was later appointed a director general, National Environment and Management Authority, Nema where he was charged with the overall compliance of environmental pollution and degradation. During his tenure, he was able to articulate degradation problems of Kenya and educated the public on their rights for a clean and health environment. he was chairman of the interuniversity council for east Africa.(IUCEA) who revitalized its functions, chairman Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI), Member of the commission for higher education among several others. He has been involved various organizations as a consultant like UNEP,UNDP, FAO,JICA, Care- Kenya, CIMMYT, USAID, and local ones. He is currently a member of several environmental organizations notably the compliance committee of the Kyoto protocol. he has been a key note speaker in many for a locally and internationally as well as organizing for seminars and workshops. He has been a key note speaker in many for a locally and internationally as well as organizing for seminars and workshops. He has worked closely with the Kenyan Nobel Prize winner, Prof wangari maathai on environmental matters with special emphasis on the world renown wild game, Maasai Mara. He has been recognized with several awards, elder of the burning spear, EBS, by the head of state; Distinguished alumini from Rutgers university for the exemplary work done in Kenyan public service, among others, he is a member of several academic organizations. He has supervised several Masters and PhD students and currently teaches undergraduate and postgraduate students in agricultural and environmental courses. He has published several papers in local and international journals and written two books.

Dr. Esther Obonyo (obonyo@ufl.edu) is an assistant Professor in the Department of Building Construction at the University of Florida. Esther has a Bachelors degree in Building Economics from University of Nairobi, Masters in Architectural Technology from University of Nottingham and a Doctor of Engineering in Civil and Building Engineering from Loughborough University in the UK. Esther is a member of the ASCE and ASEE. She is also a senior fellow in the Environmental Leadership Program. Esther has over 10 years of professional experience working in three different continents (Africa, Europe and USA). Her research interests are in the following areas: the globalization of construction engineering education, sustainable building technologies, intelligent information and knowledge-based systems for construction and productivity improvement. She has published and presented over 21 peer reviewed papers. Esther is the PI for a “Developing Global Citizens and Engineers” NSF award. She is also the PI for a recent CMMI’s award for “Small Grants for Exploratory Research” focusing on optimizing the hygrothermal performance of earth-based bricks in hot and humid regions.

Dr Derrick Tate (dtate@ttu.edu): Derrick Tate is an Assistant Professor in the Mechanical Engineering Department at Texas Tech University. He has studied prominent approaches to design in America and Europe and applied these ideas to design tasks in many fields. He aims to impact the academic community and wider society through bringing design thinking to areas of strategic importance: for example, developing sustainable approaches for building systems, transportation, and manufacturing; enabling innovation in large enterprises; facilitating grassroots engineering and entrepreneurial activity; and creating tools for collaborative conceptual design. He received a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering degree from Rice University. His S.M. and Ph.D. degrees in Mechanical Engineering are from MIT in the areas of manufacturing and design, respectively. Dr. Tate has been a member of international committees for several conference series: World Conference on Integrated Design and Process Technology (IDPT), International Conferences on Concurrent Engineering (CE), International Conference on Axiomatic Design (ICAD), and Design Education Conference (ConnectED).

Dr Lakshmi Reddi (lreddi@mail.ucf.edu) is Gerry and Ruth Hartman Professor and Chair of the Department of Civil, Environmental, and Construction Engineering, at the University of Central Florida.  Dr. Reddi has over 20 years of experience in geotechnical engineering related research and in the interdisciplinary areas of seepage in soils and geoenvironmental engineering.  He served as the Director of Civil Infrastructure Systems Laboratory at Kansas State University for about seven years, and participated in numerous research projects at federal (NSF) and state/regional levels in the areas of waste utilization, soil remediation, and leachate through soils.  Author of two textbooks, “Seepage in Soils,” and “Geoenvironmental Engineering,” Dr. Reddi is a strong proponent of interdisciplinary research in civil infrastructure systems integrating structures, soils, seepage, and environmental principles.  He has published more than hundred papers, and worked with researchers from diverse disciplines in sciences and engineering.  He has international collaborations with researchers from Australia, South Korea, and India, and made visits to professional meetings and/or conferences in about twenty countries.  Dr. Reddi won numerous awards for his teaching and research excellence.    

Dr. Charles Kibert (ckibert@ufl.edu) is a Professor in the M.E. Rinker, Sr. School of Building Construction,   College of Design, Construction and Planning, University of Florida. He was the Director of the Center for Construction and Environment from 1991-1999 and of the Rinker School from 1999-2002.  He is also a co-founder and chairman of the Cross Creek Initiative, a non-profit industry/university joint venture seeking to implement sustainability principles into construction. His research interests are: construction waste management, environmental impacts of construction, construction and demolition (C&D) debris recycling, and sustainable development and construction. He is the Coordinator of an international working group known as Task Group 16 of Conseil International du Batiment (CIB) on the subject of Sustainable Construction. Dr. Kibert teaches a newly developed graduate course on Sustainable Construction at the University of Florida as well as continuing education courses to industry on the subject. He organized the 1st International Conference on Sustainable Construction held in Tampa, Florida in November 1994, an event attended by 300 construction industry people from 30 countries. He has published over 90 papers and books and edited several publications on construction and the environment and related issues. He has been a keynote speaker and lectured on sustainable construction in the U.K., Germany, Lithuania, Finland, Italy,   Canada, and the   U.S.  

Kuhn Park (kuhn.park@ttu.edu) is an Assistant Professor in College of Architecture at Texas Tech University. He has a Bachelors degree in Architectural Engineering from KangWon National University in South Korea and, Master of Architecture from University of Colorado, and is a Ph.D. candidate in Computational Design in Department of Architecture at Carnegie Mellon University. He is a member of the U.S. Green Building Council, Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture, Association for Computer Aided Design in Architecture, and Association for Computer-Aided Architectural Design Research in Asia. His research interests are in the following areas: Building Information Modeling, computational design, integrative architectural / engineering / construction process to achieve design innovation for environmentally responsive building. He spent four years practicing architecture in Seoul, South Korea and Denver, Colorado. He has been involved in a compressed earth block (CEB) research project for two years, and is the designer of two low-income CEB houses for Habitat for Humanity.

Dr. Mang Tia (tia@ce.ufl.edu) is a structural engineering professor with a special emphasis on materials at the University of Florida’s Department of Civil Engineering. He is a professional engineer in the State of Florida. His professional accomplishments include service to the American Society for Testing and Materials - Member of Committee D-4 on Road and Paving Materials, Chairman of Subcommittee D04.94 and member of Subcommittees D04.22, D04.44, and D04.48. He has also served on the Transportation Research Board - Member of Committee A2D01 on Characteristics of Bituminous Materials. Dr Tia has extensive international experience including being an invited speaker to several professional workshops. He was an invited speaker to the University of Sao Paulo, Brazil, to give a series of seven lectures on Concrete Pavement Testing and Analysis, Asphalt Pavement Recycling and Concrete Durability. He was also an invited speaker at special workshop at the Taiwan Highway Bureau in Taipei, Taiwan, to give a series of lectures on (1) U.S. and Florida’s Experience in Dealing with Rutting, Cracking and Skid Resistance Problems, (2) Super pave Mixtures and (3) Quality Control of Highway Mixtures.

Dr G.M Kawiche (dg@nhbra.go.tz) and Alex Ndama (ndalex2001@yahoo.com) both hold executive positions with National Housing and Building Research Agency (NHBRA). Dr. Kawiche is the Chief Executive while Alex who is a co-chair for the workshop is the executive engineer. NHBRA has conducted extensive research on the use of earth-based technologies within the Tanzanian context. The NHBRA ensures that research results and technical information on Human Settlements Development is made available to all those who need them, promote affordable and durable local building materials and associated technologies, and appropriate housing construction techniques and also provides building research consultancy services. They regularly erect demonstration units that they use to educate the general public on the benefits of using earth-based technologies. Their outreach activities also include hosting workshops and seminars.< /p>

Dr. Y. Fundi (ncc@intafrica.com) is a practicing civil engineer who is currently heading Tanzania’s National Construction Council (NCC), an organization established by the government to monitor, control and give advice on the initiatives that promote construction development in Tanzania. In addition to facilitating the establishment of a regulatory framework, the NCC has been instrumental in establishing training courses to enhance the skills of the people working in construction trades. The NCC also hosts continuous education courses for professionals and builders at all levels throughout the country.

Saidi Msangi (msangi_saidi@yahoo.com) is an architect and building scientist based in Dar es Salaam. In addition to his extensive professional experiences of designing and managing the construction of building in different parts of Tanzania, Saidi has been actively engaged in the research and development of earth-based bricks. He is currently championing the use of silica rich quarry dust as a stabilizer for earth bricks. He works closely with Frank Mwafongo (ffongo5@yahoo.com) who has also confirmed their participation in the proposed workshop. They are both principal architects with the Dar es Salaam- based AQE Associates who have also confirmed their participation in the proposed workshop.

Bonaventure Baya (Director General - bbaya@hotmail.com) and Kamugenyi Luteganya (Environmental Impact Director - kluteganya@yahoo.co.uk) are both licensed engineers in senior executive positions with Tanzania’s National Environmental Management Council (NEMC). In addition to preparing the framework for environmental governance across all industrial sectors, NEMC is directly is mandated to approve construction projects from an environmental perspective. NEMC also develops and delivers continuous professional courses for the different professions.

Dr. Amon Makenya (makenya@aru.ac.tz) is an engineer who is currently working as a professor at Ardhi University. His research is in area of material science. He has published extensively in the area of appropriate building technologies and presented at several international conferences. In addition to his research and teaching assignments at the university, he also works as consultant on different construction projects in Tanzania. < /p>

Dr. Harriet Eliufoo (heliufoo@yahoo.com) is the dean for the school of Construction Economics and Management at Ardhi University. She has extensive professional experience in the research and application of material technologies in the East African context. She is also runs a quantity surveying practice through which she works as a consultant for different construction projects in Tanzania. She has close working relationship with the professional associations in Dar es Salaam.

Nikita L. Reed (nlreed1@alum.howard.edu) is a laboratory manager with the Florida Department of Transportation at the State Materials Research Park . She is an Engineer Intern in the State of Florida . She manages the Chemistry Lab, which tests materials ranging from cement to traffic striping using a variety of technologies and instrumentation. Prior to her work with the Department of Transportation, she worked in Florida's Environmental Laboratory Certification Program. The program serves as a National Environmental Laboratory Accreditation Program Accrediting Authority for environmental testing laboratories throughout the United States.

Dr. Musibau A. Shofoluwe (musibaus@ncat.edu) is a Professor of Construction Management at North Carolina Agricultural & Technical State University. His area of teaching expertise includes construction management & organization, construction materials, Land development, Construction contracts administration, construction estimating and cost control, project management, affordable housing and sustainable construction practices. In addition to teaching undergraduate and graduate courses, Dr. Shofoluwe also serves as a graduate program coordinator for the Master’s degree in Industrial Technology (construction Management) and the Consortium PhD degree program in Technology Management with Indiana State University. His current research interests include: Sustainable construction practices and Risk Management in construction. An avid grants writer, Dr. Shofoluwe has written and received over $4 million in funded grants from various agencies. He currently directs two funded grants totaling over $1.2 million. He has published several scholarly articles and he currently serves on the editorial board of the Journal of Industrial Technology. Dr. Shofoluwe is a Licensed General Contractor in the State of North Carolina.

Dr. Ece Erdogmus (eerdogmus2@unl.edu) is an Assistant Professor in the Architectural Engineering Program within the Durham School of Architectural Engineering and Construction at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. She is teaching structural engineering courses such as Engineering Statics, Masonry Design, Mechanics of Materials Lab, Advanced Cementitious Materials Lab, and Global Experiences in Architectural Engineering course, which is a part of the University of Nebraska’s Engineering Study Abroad in Italy Program. Her research specialization is in the field of Assessment and Rehabilitation of Existing Structures, specifically masonry. She has several funded projects, including but not limited to the National Science Foundation (NSF) funded project on the research for the reconstruction of a 3^rd century Roman Temple in Turkey, and the National Center for Preservation Technology and Training (NCPTT) funded project regarding the development of optimized and sustainable fiber reinforced mortars for masonry application. She has been an invited attendee in the NSF/ RILEM US-Czech Republic workshop on the assessment and rehabilitation of historic structures in 2006, and US-Poland workshop on Engineering collaborations organized by the University of Nebraska in 2007. She has numerous journal and conference articles/ presentations, and has served as a reviewer for NSF and numerous technical journals in the field of structural engineering. She is an associate editor for the Masonry Society Journal.

Dr. Peter J. Jacques (pjacques@mail.ucf.edu) is an Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Central Florida.  His research and teaching is centered on the social conditions and obstacles to global sustainability. He has published three books on environmental politics, and numerous articles, including interdisciplinary work towards new fields in sustainability.

Kamrunissa Sareshwala (Mirabilis@ufl.edu) is a Masters student in the Department of Building Construction at University of Florida. Kamrunissa has a Bachelors degree in Civil Engineering from Nirma University, India. Her research interest include: sustainable construction and green building technologies. She has also published a paper in NUCONE 2006 – A national conference on current trends in technology, on use of supplementary cementitious materials in concrete. Presently, she is working with the PI as a graduate research assistant for her NSF SGER award on the hygrothermal performance of earth-based bricks in hot and humid regions.

Mr. Nasir Peerani, Regional Director (Aghakhan University Development)

Mr. Ameen Allidina, Director of Construction (Aghakhan University Development)

Mr. Hans-H Christensen, Housing Architect and City Planner

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