Abstract Summary
The environmental crisis faced by scientists and policy makers today is complex, and relentless. Deconstructing these intractable problems into smaller design questions is a common, yet powerful, tool in solving many contemporary, interdisciplinary hurdles. While technological innovation is beneficial, development done in isolation often leads to inoperational or ineffective solutions. Rather, understanding the crossover between stakeholder input and ecosystem needs is critical in creating a workable design space. Only then can engineering-based approaches allow for rapid development of holistic solutions via step-by-step pipelines to dissect, assess, and solve problems. This presentation aims to guide the audience through the analytical processes and lines of questioning used by engineers to take on highly convoluted socio-technical problems and intelligently define design metrics that ultimately guide technology development and the success of an intervention. Through real-world case examples and discussion, attendees will have the opportunity to learn and adapt these problem solving protocols to their own reef conservation efforts. Presentation authors are practicing mechanical and biomedical engineers who have translated these approaches to ongoing reef restoration technology efforts with the support of the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
