Israel Dunmade - Changemaker Profile
Dr. Israel Dunmade (he/him) is a Professor of Sustainable Engineering in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences at Mount Royal University. He is the Alberta Regional Director of the Canadian Society for Bioengineering (CSBE), a member of the Board of Directors of Canadian Society for Bioengineering Foundation, and a member of MRU’s President’s Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Advisory Committee. In this profile, he discusses his work, which focuses on sustainable design and the Circular Economy.
Could you tell me about yourself?
My name is Israel Dunmade, I have my PhD in Environmental Engineering and I'm a Professor at Mount Royal University. Most of my work is focused on sustainability. Under that umbrella, I look at the Circular Economy, sustainable design and manufacturing, sustainable infrastructure, and campus and rural sustainability.
What does it mean to be a changemaker?
It's being intentional about solving problems. In other words, it’s about taking action and active steps towards ensuring that we address social, environmental, and engineering problems that affect our environment as well as human beings. That's what it means to me, and that's what has been my focus [of my work] all along.
What big, beautiful question drives your work?
I always think about - how can we eliminate or minimize the concept of waste? Because waste drives the majority of our environmental problems. So [to do this] I look at any system, whether it’s an engineering system or social system, and try to look at it to ask - how can we bring about changes? It could be in the form of behavioral changes. It could be in the form of process changes that will bring about reduction or elimination of waste in production and consumption. So that's what drives my research work. [This question] arose from an internship in 1986 during my undergraduate program. My background is in Nigeria, and the organization that I did internship with, I saw enormous waste. [For example], pumping machines for irrigation purposes, and so many other machines that lie in waste there. So, I was really concerned, and I asked - Why this waste? What can we do about it? I made up my mind that after graduation, I would focus on how to develop systems that would minimize or eliminate waste.
How do you embody changemaking in your work?
I do this in three ways. The first way is creation - to identify opportunities by looking at a system. As an example, a few years ago I looked at commuting to and from MRU, and tried to understand what we can do in order to reduce our ecological footprints? Following that, I create awareness and foster collaboration. It's better to work together than in silos. I found out there is a saying that “two heads are always better than one.” When you collaborate with members of the community, it will give you the opportunity to look at [the problem] from many angles. It will enable us to develop a robust system that will be able to address the needs of all the interested parties.
How do you see changemaking happening at MRU?
[As I said earlier] I see three approaches. The first one would be identifying opportunities for change. Some years ago, I collaborated with MRU infrastructure and students, and we looked at the waste that is being generated on campus. Then, we talk to and collaborate with, all the faculties, departments, and offices on campus. So now, instead of having a wastebasket in each office, we now have four communal bins in various common spaces. So that reduces waste because it provides the opportunity for recycling. Some of [these changes] require transformation. These are some of the things that I try to look at to identify opportunities [for change]. Then we need to create awareness of those opportunities so that people are engaged and let them know that each of us has a role to play. Little changes here, little changes there - this will help us. When we work together to achieve those changes, it can be done. One person cannot do it alone. One [person] can lead it, but it's better to work together so that we take ownership together.