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Sofia Schlezak, MS 2023
Humanitarian Engineering and Science: Environmental Engineering
Bio: Sofia is a 2021-2023 Fulbright & Ministry of Education Alumnus from Argentina who has worked as a public servant in Argentina's National Ministry of the Environment (2018) and currently works as a Project Coordinator at the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) in the field of chemicals and waste management. She holds a BSc in Chemical Engineering. During her time in the HES program, Sofia served as a Project Consultant in the EDNS 477 Engineering for Sustainable Community Development course and was a member of the Humanitarian Engineering and Science Graduate Student Committee. During Fal 2022, Sofia also participated in the Cornerstone Design course Call for Proposals as an opportunity to extend her research topic to undergraduate Mines students. Along with Jaime Styer, they showed students what happens to different waste streams once discarded and introduced them briefly to some concepts of "urban mining." Her long-term goal is to replicate socio-technical approaches within science and engineering projects in Latin America. She aims to co-design and co-analyze with waste recyclers affordable, accessible, and sustainable solutions, thus promoting greener, meaningful, and safer jobs.
Project summary: For her thesis, Sofia investigated socio-technical interventions to reduce chemical risks in informal electrical and electronic waste (e-waste) recycling livelihoods in Buenos Aires and, at the same time, promote the socioeconomic development of the local workers. She argues that they are key stakeholders within the circular economy in Argentina and deserve more attention from scholars and practitioners.
“Studying the world of e-waste is exciting because it can be approached from various perspectives, for example, by rethinking the design of devices and recycling processes, developing legislation, studying economic aspects, analyzing environmental and health impacts, and promoting decent work. I decided to focus on e-waste workers. When I went to Buenos Aires, I was glad to see how many e-waste workers were committed to my research. Occupational safety and their family's health are topics that interest them. Furthermore, they concluded that risk management measures can also bring economic benefits. During my field work, I enjoyed being in their workspace, talking to them, and observing their routine. Their work is inspiring and motivates us to think about our excessive consumerism.”
The interdisciplinary techniques she learned at Mines helped her design appropriate research questions and methods and interact with various stakeholders so that the aims of her project correspond to the interests of the community. During her research process, Sofia interviewed more than 15 stakeholders, visited five e-waste facilities and conducted two workshops with more than 37 participants.
Research extension in Colombia: During Spring 2023, Sofia joined the EDNS 477 Engineering for Sustainable Community Development course as a Project Consultant. They spent two months meeting virtually with women from the Asociación Puerta de Oro, a Colombian association dedicated to bringing together and protecting informal e-waste recyclers to co-define, ideate and prototype solutions to the problems that these workers face. During Spring break, the class travelled to Bogota and met the e-waste women recyclers. From this collaborative process, the issues that emerged included how to strip electronic wires, identify and sort plastics, and dismantle printed circuit boards to maximize access to valuable materials while reducing labour-related injuries.
Sofia would like to acknowledge and express her gratitude to the HES Program, the Fulbright Commission and the Ministry of Education in Argentina, the members of the government agencies and e-waste workers who contributed with their time, patience, and knowledge, and last but not least, Dr Juan Lucena for his tireless work, advising and continuously presenting opportunities for personal and professional development.
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