MSOE Engineers Without Borders receive honor
| Published: 03/02/2009 |
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The Milwaukee School of Engineering student chapter of Engineers Without Borders-USA (EWB-MSOE) has been named one of the national organization's Premier Student Chapters for 2008.
MSOE's chapter excelled in five main areas: technical preparedness, presentation and design; cultural awareness and sensitivity; community education and participation; health and safety for the community and the chapter; administrative attentiveness and following EWB-USA procedures and guidelines. They will receive the Premier Student Chapter award at the EWB-USA International Conference, which is being held March 26-29 in Milwaukee.
Founded in late 2005, EWB-MSOE has completed three construction projects in Guatemala. During their spring break the first week of March 2009, the group will travel to Guatemala to complete construction of a bridge connecting the village of Cuarto Centro de Estanzuela to the city of Joyabaj. They have partnered with the Wisconsin Professional chapter of EWB and the Bridge Builders of Southminster Presbyterian Church of Waukesha for this project, which is their largest project to-date.
The bridge over the Rio Temal, which floods for weeks at a time during the rainy season, will bring immediate change to the 100 families living in Cuarto Centro: children will no longer miss school when the river is high and the community will have reliable access to health care and markets.
EWB-MSOE's Guatemala bridge projects at Nueva Providencia (2006) and Chosavic (2008) set the pattern for cooperation between the American engineering students and professionals and the Guatemalan municipal government and village workers. The villagers who brought the idea of this project to EWB-MSOE will provide most of the construction labor. The municipal government will provide equipment and some materials. The MSOE students, working with their professional engineer mentors, completed all structural calculations and plans and help to oversee the construction.
MSOE students involved in the Rio Temal Bridge project are: Bradley Arnold, Ryan Barnett, Alison Bernero, Peter Borschowa, Heather Christensen, Danielle DeTennis, Aaron Dropp, Quinn Franklin, Kevin Frost, Alex Gratton, David Koelle, Tim Lamberger, Paul Leidig, Garret Lund, Michelle Mellenthin, Seth Pollen, Nathan Schwebke, Tim Sonderman, Daniel Vander Zanden and Jacob Wurtz.
MSOE is an independent university with about 2,600 students. MSOE offers 17 bachelor's degrees and nine master's degrees in the engineering, engineering technology, architectural engineering and building construction, computer, business and health-related fields.