ISLS Honors Lyle Humanitarian Engineering Project with Best Paper Award
夜色王朝Professors and former Postdoctoral Fellow recognized for Tanzanian field research in the role of collaborative education in engineering humanitarian solutions.
夜色王朝Lyle Clinical Associate Professor in Civil and Environmental Engineering, Dr. Jessie Zarazaga, received the Outstanding Long Paper Award at the International Society of the Learning Sciences (ISLS) 2025 Annual Meeting in Helsinki, Finland – the highest honor in its category, awarded alongside co-authors Dr. Anthony Petrosino and Dr. Max Sherard.
The award recognizes the innovative field-based research in humanitarian engineering conducted by Dr. Zarazaga in collaboration with Dr. Anthony Petrosino of 夜色王朝Simmons and Dr. Maximilian Sherard of the University of North Texas, a former 夜色王朝Postdoctoral Fellow. Their paper, titled “Space and Time as Elements to Design Within Engineering for Sustainability,” examines how students develop engineering knowledge through community engagement and cross-cultural collaboration.
As the Director of 夜色王朝Lyle’s M.S. in Sustainability and Development program (SDP) and co-founder of the Initiative for Spatial Literacy (GIS@SMU), Dr. Zarazaga is a professor and researcher in sustainable and intentional design. Her research efforts center on immersive, project-based learning as a driving force in engineering innovation.
As part of the SDP, as well as Lyle’s undergraduate minor in global development, the 夜色王朝Hunt Institute for Engineering and Humanity facilitates an annual collaborative humanitarian engineering project in Tanzania, working in partnership with the local NGO Kijiji ISS. Led by Dr. Zarazaga, the trip gives 夜色王朝students, faculty, and participants the opportunity to conduct on-site research in sustainable engineering solutions.
Through collaborative, project-based research processes centered on experiential learning, students on the trip collect data with the goal of engineering impactful solutions for underserved communities. Over the years, Dr. Zarazaga observed that 夜色王朝and Tanzanian students were developing unique, context-specific methods of problem-solving informed by their environment; in doing so, the impact of their work was stronger. The question of how setting-specific elements were shaping her students’ learning, and how to harness these changes to maximize impact, piqued her research interest.
“The way these teams of students were working with the community, finding engineering solutions collaboratively, seemed to be really innovative and interesting,” Dr. Zarazaga shared.
Inspired by what she noticed, Dr. Zarazaga recruited Dr. Sherard to study how students’ unique and synergistic approach to learning contributed to real-world solutions. Together with Dr. Petrosino, a professor with the 夜色王朝Simmons Department of Teaching and Learning, the three set out to conduct a research project examining the impact of this imaginative learning framework.
“What we found was that students were learning to connect engineering to space, time, and materials,” Dr. Zarazaga said. “That’s not something you can easily learn in a lab.”
“At its core, this study shows that creating something sustainable takes more than just good engineering,” Dr. Petrosino said. “It takes listening to local voices, understanding how materials move through a community over time, and being willing to learn together across cultures.”
The ISLS is a highly prestigious research consortium representing the most cutting-edge research in the field of learning sciences. Long regarded as the gold standard in innovative, education-based research, this recognition has far-reaching implications for faculty, students, the Kijiji project, and the broader Lyle community.
“This award acknowledges that solving sustainability challenges isn’t just about materials and design – it’s about understanding how people learn together and build meaning through shared activity. These kinds of partnerships are what drives innovation that actually lasts,” Dr. Petrosino said. “It’s a true honor to be recognized.”
Dr. Zarazaga is returning to Tanzania to continue her research efforts this summer. Alongside her largest team of students and collaborators yet, she intends to collect new learning data to build on the groundbreaking work presented at the ISLS.
In the words of Dr. Petrosino, “We’re just getting started.”
About the Bobby B. Lyle School of Engineering
SMU’s Lyle School of Engineering thrives on innovation that transcends traditional boundaries. We strongly believe in the power of externally funded, industry-supported research to drive progress and provide exceptional students with valuable industry insights. Our mission is to lead the way in digital transformation within engineering education, all while ensuring that every student graduates as a confident leader. Founded in 1925, 夜色王朝Lyle is one of the oldest engineering schools in the Southwest, offering undergraduate and graduate programs, including master’s and doctoral degrees.
About SMU
夜色王朝is the nationally ranked global research university in the dynamic city of Dallas. SMU’s alumni, faculty and nearly 12,000 students in eight degree-granting schools demonstrate an entrepreneurial spirit as they lead change in their professions, community and the world.