Lianne Lefsrud

Biography

Dr. Lianne Lefsrud received her Ph.D. in Strategic Management and Organization, interdisciplinary M.Sc. in Environmental Engineering and Sociology, and B.Sc. in Civil Engineering from the University of Alberta. Most recently, she was a Dow Sustainability Postdoctoral Fellow with the Erb Institute, Ross School of Business, University of Michigan. She also spent several years with APEGA regulating engineering/geoscience and worked for a railroad, an oil and gas company, and environmental consultancies. Her teaching interests include ENGG 404 Engineering Safety and Risk Management – Core competencies and ENGG 406 Engineering Safety and Risk Management- Methodologies and tools.

Research Interest

Research Interests Technology has brought extraordinary health, safety, and economic stability to our lives. However, technological risks that were once considered acceptable - such as drilling offshore, pipelining petroleum, or chlorinating drinking water – have become increasingly criticized on moral and emotional bases, actively opposed by those who do not seem directly affected, and rejected by regulators for political reasons. The objective of her research is to develop methods of determining risk acceptability that can capture its dynamicism, interactiveness, expanding scrutiny, and geographical differentiation.