Mark Orrs

Mark Orrs, PhD (Sustainable Development, Columbia University) is a Teaching Associate Professor in Engineering, Design, & Society with more than a decade of experience teaching in the fields of sustainable development and engineering design. Dr. Orrs teaches across both the Design Engineering and Humanitarian Engineering programs at Mines, with a focus on project-based, community-engaged, and systems-oriented approaches that integrate ethics, sustainability, and real-world impact.

Dr. Orrs teaches EDNS 315: Engineering for Social and Environmental Responsibility, the gateway course for the Humanitarian Engineering minor, offered each term. He also leads the Sustainable Engineering Design Studio (SEDS) as part of the Mines Capstone Program and is developing a new upper-level Integrated Design Studio in Sustainable and Regenerative Design, launching in Fall 2026 as a Design Engineering elective open to students across the university.

In addition, Dr. Orrs teaches in the Mines Futures Program, including courses within the Energy and Technology themes. He has previously taught in the Cornerstone Design Program (studio and lab), Design for a Globalized World (now EDNS 220: Problem Framing & Stakeholder Engagement), and the human-centered design studio EDNS 401: Projects for People. Dr. Orrs serves as Co-Director of the Sustainable Energy @ Mines (SE@M) undergraduate distinction, and is Faculty Advisor to Mines Without Borders.

Beyond Mines, Dr. Orrs serves as Facilitator of The Global Classroom for the Global Masters of Development Practice Programs out of the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN). This Spring 2026, Dr. Orrs is serving as Teaching Assistant to Prof. Jeffrey Sachs as part of the new Ages of Globalization Program for Higher Education.

Prior to joining Mines, Dr. Orrs was Professor of Practice and Founding Director of the Sustainable Development Program at Lehigh University, where he helped establish one of the nation’s first interdisciplinary, experiential programs in sustainable development, engaging students from engineering, business, and arts and sciences in field-based work across more than a dozen countries.

Dr. Orrs holds a B.S. in Sociology from Saint Joseph’s University, a Diploma in Economics with Distinction from the London School of Economics & Political Science, and a Ph.D. in Sustainable Development from Columbia University.

Mark lives in southeast Denver, where he serves as President of the Hampden Heights Civic Association and has also served in civic leadership roles, including Chief Sustainability Advisor to Councilwoman Kendra Black and member of the Science & Research Committee and later the Zero Waste Committee for Denver’s Office of Climate Action, Sustainability, and Resiliency.