MACON – Mercer University School of Engineering faculty member Dr. Michael MacCarthy was recently presented the 2019 American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) Southeastern Section Outstanding New Faculty Research Award.
Dr. MacCarthy, who serves as assistant professor of environmental and civil engineering and director of the engineering for development program, received the honor at the ASEE Southeastern Section’s annual meeting at North Carolina State University in early March. It is presented each year to a faculty member with less than six years of experience who has demonstrated excellence in both teaching and research.
“Dr. MacCarthy’s passion for development-related research has piqued the interest of many of our students. He spends numerous hours teaching students research methods, data collection, analysis and communication skills. The success of his students verifies his unique ability to enthuse and engage young people in meaningful research experiences,” said Dr. Laura Lackey, dean of the School of Engineering.
Dr. MacCarthy’s research and service interests include water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) for developing communities (including low-cost groundwater development, self-supply and environmental sanitation), green engineering, low-cost technologies, social marketing and social change, sustainability at the humanitarian-development nexus, and engineering for development education.
He has led Mercer On Mission programs in the Dominican Republic and Madagascar focused on WASH, energy and sustainable development. Additionally, he teaches courses in engineering for development, groundwater hydrology, hydraulics, green engineering and engineering design. He is an associate editor and member of the editorial board for Hydrogeology Journal, a past recipient of Mercer’s Innovations in Teaching Award, and he serves as the School of Engineering’s Peace Corps Prep Program adviser.
Dr. MacCarthy has 20 years of experience in engineering, international development and project management, including a decade living and working in less-developed countries. He served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Cameroon, an infrastructure and community development engineer in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mali and Mauritania, and an engineering for development researcher in Madagascar, Bolivia, South Africa, Mozambique and the Dominican Republic.
He earned his Bachelor of Science in Engineering from Colorado School of Mines, Master of Science in Engineering for Development from the University of Southampton in England, as well as his Ph.D. in civil engineering and a graduate certificate in social marketing and public health from the University of South Florida.
About the School of Engineering
Mercer University’s School of Engineering, founded in 1985, offers innovative and academically challenging programs that provide students with a comprehensive education, featuring a solid foundation in mathematics and sciences, a core engineering curriculum, a range of courses in engineering specialties and a strong emphasis on communication technologies. The School is consistently ranked by U.S. News and World Report as one of the top three master’s-degree-level engineering schools in the Southeast. Known for its breadth of instruction in its undergraduate program and its five-year joint bachelor’s and master’s degree program, the School combines technical education with hands-on laboratory experience. Mercer engineers can look forward to joining fellow alumni in companies such as Robins Air Force Base, Lockheed Martin, Georgia Power, Siemens and Gulfstream Aerospace.
