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The ETHOS Center

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Educate, Design, Discover, Together

Through community-engaged engineering experiences, the ETHOS Center — Engineers in Technical, Humanitarian Opportunities of Service-learning — connects students with communities in responsive, reciprocal partnerships to co-create technical solutions that advance social justice, human rights and sustainability for the common good. These experiential learning opportunities include immersions, breakouts, research and development projects and engineering design courses.

The ETHOS Center cultivates students' cultural humility, social responsibility, and interdisciplinary technical skills. Working alongside community partners, students co-design and implement equitable and sustainable solutions that address root causes of injustice. ETHOS also supports collaborative research and innovation that responds to community needs through the creation of enabling technologies and practices.

Ethos News
Group of students in Spain
International
02.12.2025

Lessons from Education Abroad link-arrow link-arrow

On Education Abroad and Away trips, students gain valuable lessons inside and outside the classroom. Read about three students' experiences and what they learned from their journeys.
Engineering
06.03.2024

Kind People, Meaningful Work: My Unforgettable Trip to Ecuador link-arrow link-arrow

Chemical engineering student Caleb Herbon recently visited Ecuador through the Ethos Center and shares of his life-changing experience.
Engineering
04.29.2024

Ethos Alumna Comes Back to Share Story with Current Students link-arrow link-arrow

Dr. Chris Vehar Jutte ‘02, now a contractor with NASA, recently came back to her alma mater this spring to discuss engineering as a vocation for the common good. During her discussion with current students, she shared her own vocational journey, which included being part of a group of students who started what is now the Ethos Center. 
Student Opportunities

The ETHOS Center provides community-engaged experiential learning opportunities to engineering students through immersions, breakouts, collaborative research and development projects and course-based real-world design experiences.

These experiences expose students to appropriate technology, alternative, non-traditional technologies and processes that are based on fundamental science and engineering principles, are culturally appropriate, and have tangible and sustained impacts on improving community well-being.

The ETHOS Center believes that innovation and social change happen best through interdisciplinary collaborations within long-term community partnerships. Our opportunities challenge students to address sociotechnical issues while incorporating social justice, human rights and sustainability mindsets into the engineering process.

Join us! The experience can be life-changing!

ETHOS Immersions

ETHOS immersions send groups of two to four students to design and implement appropriate technology solutions in partnership with a community organization. Student projects are varied and focused on community-identified needs and aspirations.

Previous projects have included: implementing water systems, developing and implementing sustainable farming systems, developing adaptive devices, and implementing renewable technologies such as solar cooking, solar PV, micro-hydroelectric systems, solar water heating systems and biogas digesters.

  • Experience a cultural and sociotechnical immersion in another country for six to 12 weeks.
  • Become a member of the community, culturally immersed and centered on the design and implementation of appropriate technologies.
  • Participate in reflective dialogue before, during and after the experience is an integral component of the learning process.
  • Apply and grow your engineering mindset and skill set on real-world projects.

ETHOS Breakouts

ETHOS breakouts send groups of 10-15 students to implement appropriate technology solutions in partnership with a community organization. Student projects are varied, but may include implementing water systems, developing and implementing sustainable farming systems, and implementing renewable technologies such as solar cooking, solar PV, micro-hydroelectric systems, solar water heating systems, and biogas digesters.

  • Experience a cultural and sociotechnical immersion in another country for eight to 10 days.
  • Live within the community, culturally immersed, and centered on the design and implementation of appropriate technologies.
  • Participate in reflective dialogue before, during and after the experience as an integral component of the learning process.
  • Apply and grow your engineering mindset and skill set on real-world projects.

ETHOS Research and Development

Ethos R&D immerses teams of undergraduate and graduate students into long-term faculty-mentored ETHOS-centric research and design projects. Each project focuses on engineering for the common good and the development of enabling technologies and practices.

  • Gain marketable research and development skills
  • Engage with faculty members while extending the impact of their research.

UD students, faculty and staff can explore additional details about the ETHOS R&D Program on Porches (UD login required).

ETHOS: Sociotechnical Engineering for the Common Good Course (EGR 331)
  • Engage with a local community partner on a real-world sociotechnical design project.
  • Gain a greater understanding of social justice, human rights and sustainability principles as related to engineering practices, and to apply these principles through systems thinking and design thinking frameworks.

Human Rights in Engineering (Minor)
  • Explore, discuss and apply human rights frameworks in your personal and professional life as a globally responsible engineer.
  • Gain skills, knowledge and abilities for careers that incorporate global development, social and corporate responsibility, sustainability, stakeholder engagement, full participation of marginalized communities, cross-cultural work environments and equity-centered design.
Program Details (Academic Catalog)
Alumni Opportunities

Mentor an ETHOS Student

If you're an ETHOS alumni who has experience working with a specific program partner or appropriate technology, you can share your expertise with our ETHOS students.

If you're interested in this opportunity, please contact ethos@udayton.edu.

Speak to Students About Your Experience

ETHOS alumni can join ETHOS courses and events to share with current UD students about how ETHOS has impacted their career and/or how students can continue to engage in engineering for the common good after graduation.

If you're interested in this opportunity, please contact ethos@udayton.edu.
Students in Ecuador Student working in Guatemala Group of UD students on an Ethos trip to Ecuador Student conducting research and development Student works on a water pipe project with a volunteer during a breakout trip in Ecuador Students lift a solar panel for installation. Two students conducting research and development Student on an Ethos trip, with a mountain and clouds in the background Group wearing hard hats and reflective vests on an Ethos trip Group of students on a breakout trip to Guatemala
About the ETHOS Center

Our Mission

Rooted in our Catholic and Marianist identity, the ETHOS Center advances engineering for the common good through reciprocal partnerships with community-based organizations. We provide students with transformative experiences in community-engaged engineering education, research and practice — developing just and sustainable technologies, informing practice and policy, and shaping engineering curricula that integrate equity, support vocational discernment, and inspire students to make a positive global impact.

Our Vision

We envision a future where engineering is culturally responsive, environmentally responsible and grounded in authentic community engagement — advancing a more just, equitable, and sustainable world.

The ETHOS Center cultivates a transformative learning environment where students collaborate across disciplines, cultures and communities, locally and globally, to co-create scalable, just and sustainable solutions. By fostering connection, purpose and innovation, we aim to inspire a new generation of engineers committed to meaningful, community-driven change.

Our Core Values

The ETHOS Center programs are grounded in five core values:

  1. Reciprocal Partnerships: Building relationships with communities based on mutual respect, trust and shared goals — honoring their strengths, aspirations and knowledge.
  2. Transformative Learning: Delivering experiential, high-impact education that empowers students to become socially responsible engineers and global citizens.
  3. Cultural Humility: Approaching all engagement with humility, valuing diverse perspectives and ensuring inclusion and access for all.
  4. Innovation With Impact: Encouraging bold, interdisciplinary and data-driven solutions that create lasting benefits for students and communities.
  5. Leadership for Justice and Sustainability: Cultivating ethical leaders who advance equitable engineering and sustainable systems for global positive change.

Frameworks That Guide Us

Frameworks that guide our partnership practices, curriculum, and technical R&D:
Contact The ETHOS Center
300 College Park
Dayton, Ohio 45469 - 0212
937-229-2306 email

ETHOS Leadership

The ETHOS Center is led by Interim Executive Director Scott Schneider. He also serves as an associate professor in the School of Engineering, and as the ETHOS Center Professor for Leadership in Community.

Meet Scott Schneider