LAFAYETTE’S chapter of Engineers Without Borders (EWB) is one of three in the nation to be named a 2013 Premier Project by EWB-USA, the organization’s highest honor. It was selected from more than 250 chapters.
Since 2006, EWB has been working with residents of El Convento, a remote village of about 180 people in Honduras, to build a water treatment and distribution system. After the community’s water system was destroyed by Hurricane Mitch in 1998, residents were forced to collect water from a polluted stream.
“Being involved in the EWB projects allows students who are still early in their studies to experience design work. They can get involved in brainstorming solutions and in designing system components even when they are first-year students and sophomores,” says mentor Anne Raich, associate professor of civil and environmental engineering. “Upperclass students have the opportunity to gain more technical design experience as well as experience in implementing and troubleshooting the designs developed.”