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Bass Connections Project Teams: Decisions on Complex Interdisciplinary Problems of Health and Environmental Risk; DECIPHER: Case Studies in Drinking Water Quality; and DECIPHER: Decisions on the Risks and Benefits of Geoengineering the Climate
Mark Borsuk was quick to embrace opportunities to pursue collaborative research and teaching with his new colleagues after joining the faculty of the Pratt School of Engineering in 2016. He teamed up with faculty from the Law School, Sanford School of Public Policy, Nicholas School of the Environment and Pratt to explore shared interests in risk analysis, decision-making and climate change.
He received an Intellectual Community Planning Grant for the Duke Project on Risk and Resilience, and a Research Collaboratory grant on the Decisions, Risks and Governance of Geoengineering. Borsuk is also involved in a multiyear Bass Connections project on Decisions on Complex Interdisciplinary Problems of Health and Environmental Risk (DECIPHER).
Below are excerpts from his remarks for the Duke Interdisciplinary Studies website.
Engagement with Students
The Bass Connections project has opened my eyes to the potential of fully inquiry-based, student-initiated teaching, learning and research. I have been impressed with students’ ability and ambition in structuring their own experience and drawing on the resources available to them, including faculty mentors, university resources and community organizations.
New Approaches to Teaching
In addition to being an incredible experience itself, [Bass Connections] has also informed the way I teach my more ‘conventional’ classes (such as CEE 201: Uncertainty, Design, and Optimization; EGR 305: Engineering Systems Optimization and Economics; and CEE 690: Risk and Resilience in Engineering) by identifying new ways to engage students in their own education.
I am extremely grateful for the opportunities that these seed programs have provided. They have enriched my first two years at Duke tremendously!
Learn More
- Read more advice from faculty who have led Bass Connections teams.
- Explore additional opportunities for faculty through Bass Connections.
- Browse faculty FAQs.