On Friday (March 14), the Faculty of Engineering, Universitas Indonesia, hosted a guest lecture featuring Dr. Terry Cousens, a Senior Lecturer in Geotechnics from the University of Leeds. The lecture took place at the Makara 04 Smart Meeting Room, Dekanat Building, 1st Floor, and was attended by undergraduate students from the Regular and International Special Classes. Dr. Cousens delivered a lecture on the topic of Tackling and Solving Challenges through Engineering.
The session began with a warm welcome and an introduction to Dr. Terry Cousens, who highlighted his expertise in engineering and problem-solving. He also emphasized the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration in addressing global challenges. Dr. Cousens then presented several key discussion points, including Global Challenges & Engineering Solutions, Sustainability in Engineering, The Role of AI and Engineering Responsibility, Engineering Ethics, Safety, and Accountability.
Dr. Cousens opened the lecture by highlighting pressing global challenges, including climate change, technological advancements, infrastructure resilience, and resource management. He explained how various engineering fields contribute to developing innovative and sustainable solutions.
The discussion on sustainability emphasized the need to incorporate sustainable practices across all engineering disciplines. Dr. Cousens provided examples of how engineers can integrate eco-friendly materials, renewable energy, and sustainable design principles into their work.
According to Dr. Cousens, Artificial Intelligence (AI) is transforming engineering and raising ethical and social concerns. He underscored the need for engineers to ensure that AI-driven solutions are designed responsibly, free from bias, and beneficial to society.
Finally, Dr. Cousens addressed ethical challenges in engineering, stressing the importance of accountability, transparency, and adherence to professional standards across disciplines. He emphasized the critical role of safety in all aspects of engineering, as engineering decisions directly impact society. He illustrated this point with an example of a fire accident at a concert in Manchester, where highly flammable materials were used despite strict regulations prohibiting them. This case underscored the necessity of adhering to safety guidelines to prevent disasters.
“This lecture provides real-world examples of the importance of an interdisciplinary approach, ethical responsibility, safety considerations, and innovation in engineering solutions. Hopefully, this lecture will encourage students to stay informed about emerging challenges and contribute to solving them through responsible engineering practices,” said the Dean of FTUI, Prof. Kemas Ridwan Kurniawan, S.T., M.Sc., Ph.D.
Dr. Terry Cousens joined the School of Civil Engineering at the University of Leeds in 1979, where he has been a senior lecturer in Geotechnics. He teaches soil mechanics to both undergraduate and postgraduate students and conducts research in geotechnical engineering. He also teaches other engineering courses, such as surveying, and is particularly interested in project-based learning.
His research interests focus on three main areas of geotechnics—stress-strain behavior of soil foundations, soil-structure interaction, and environmental geotechnics. Most of his recent research efforts have been centred on the latter field, ecological geotechnics, particularly in studying landfill design and performance, including bentonite-enhanced liners and the geotechnical behaviour of loose waste materials deposited hydraulically. He focuses on experimental work, both in the laboratory and in the field, and has experience in designing and constructing laboratory and field instrumentation.
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Public Communication Office
Faculty of Engineering Universitas Indonesia
