NICHOLS FELLOW 2013-2016
Ashraf Ghaly, Carl B. Jansen Professor of Engineering
New Course: ENS-299 Environmental Forensics
The course that the fellowship funded was offered for the first time as planned in the Fall term of 2014 within the Environmental Science, Policy, and Engineering (ESPE) program. This course covers environmental law, insurance for environmental liability, contaminated site history, transport models, chemical fingerprinting, risk assessments, forensic site management, and dispute resolution techniques, etc.
The course concluded with a stakeholder meeting where a very complicated case was debated in the classroom. The details of the case were made known to the students before the meeting and the roles of actors in the case were randomly distributed to the students. They were asked to study the role of each character and be prepared for a class debate in which everyone had to be equipped with the relevant information to argue their point of view. This meeting was a tremendous way to show the students the complexity of environmental forensics and the difficulty associated with reaching fair conclusions. What made the experience really unique was the frustration that appeared on some students’ faces when other students argued a point stronger than theirs. This experience alone demonstrated the harsh environment in which environmental forensics cases are litigated. The great success of offering the course prompted me to schedule it again for the Fall term of 2015 where I presently have almost a full class.
Union’s Academic Affairs Council has permanently approved this new course (ENS-299 Environmental Forensics). I would like to thank Union College and the donors that made this fellowship possible.
Best Practices
Students taking any of my courses must be prepared to think and develop a position, and most importantly to articulate the reasons for adopting such a stance. This is always known upfront in the course’s syllabus as shown on the course’s website, and is strongly reinforced in the first class when I see class registrants for the first time. I do not only consider my role as an educator but also as a moderator and facilitator. After I present the known and unknown factors about cases under consideration, every student will be asked to share their thoughts. I always like to promote an environment of respect and professionalism in debate. I like to encourage passionate debate in an unintimidating climate. Every one in class is entitled to their opinion and is also free to stand their ground provided that they offer comprehensible justification founded in evidence.