Engineers Without Borders (EWB) is an organization that seeks to improve the quality of life for disadvantaged peoples around the world by providing water, power, and structural engineering solutions. Between 2002 and 2006, the organization grew from less than 100 to over 6000 members, distributed in 76 student chapters and 201 professional chapters nationwide.
The CCNY chapter of Engineers Without Borders (EWB) was inaugurated on October 11, 2005. The CCNY EWB chapter is uniquely positioned to make successful contributions towards the effort of their parent organization, since the group is technically capable, multi-cultural, and multi-disciplinary. The 20 active students in the chapter are pursuing degrees in Civil, Mechanical, and Chemical Engineering, Communications, and Economics at City College, and Public Health at Hunter College. The chapter is advised by Professor Beth Wittig, P.E. and Cliff Gold, P.E. and mentored by Professors Tom Price, P.E., Vasil Diyamandoglu, and Margie Winslow. To join our group, contact us at info@ccny-ewb.org.
In addition to providing a real service to people in need, EWB also provides CUNY students with meaningful hands-on problem-based learning opportunities. EWB provides an opportunity to apply skills developed at CUNY to a real problem in a real environment: engineering design, economic analysis, and professionalism. During our first assessment trip to Honduras, our travel team struggled with the design implications of the findings that there was only 10 feet of difference in the elevation of the source and the community, that the pipeline would have to follow a tortuous path since the terrain was hilly and random portions of the path could not be excavated, and that erosion management on steep reaches of the path would be critical to maintain the integrity of the pipeline. These practical issues are now being addressed at the design stage by the whole chapter.
EWB also provides an opportunity to develop skills seldom taught in any classroom: Proposal writing, project management, truly multi-disciplinary collaboration, assessment of social and economic impact, and social responsibility. Social responsibility is especially relevant in our first project in Honduras, since the assessment results did not confirm the need for microbial disinfection, and since the community would need to be able to operate the system on their own after the students completed their design.
A final type of learning opportunity is the incorporation of green and sustainable design and implementation practices into the projects. These opportunities are prominent in EWB projects, since we are responsible for purchasing and transporting all supplies. The use of 'green' approaches will save us time and money, and reinforce to community members the inherent value of their indigenous resources.
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the terrain was hilly and random portions of the path could not be excavated, and that erosion management on steep reaches of the path would be critical to maintain the integrity of the pipeline. These practical issues are now being addressed at the design stage by the whole chapter.