Thanks to a prosperous year made possible by our clients and many successful projects, GeoEngineers is celebrating the 2011 holiday season with a significant contribution to Engineers Without Borders-USA.
EWB-USA is a non-profit organization of student and professional engineers and scientists that design and develop sustainable engineering projects for communities in developing countries. GeoEngineers has been a corporate sponsor of EWB-USA since 2007.
Half of GeoEngineers’ 2011 gift will support the national organization, while the other half will support selected student chapter projects through the EWB-USA Project Awards Program. This fall, GeoEngineers joined with the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE), Boeing and the Thornton Tomasetti Foundation to contribute $302,250 to the Awards Program that will support 27 EWB student projects in Asia, Africa, India, Central America, South America the Caribbean.
GeoEngineers’ involvement in EWB extends well beyond the corporate level. Many employees also contribute to EWB-USA via United Way and personal donations. They also devote their time to serve as mentors to EWB student chapters and as leaders in EWB professional chapters. Finally, in lieu of receiving a holiday gift from the company, many staff members asked GeoEngineers to donate to EWB instead.
Engineers Without Borders (EWB) student chapters at the Missouri University of Science and Technology and Oregon Institute of Technology won the competition and awards this fall. Through the collaborative process of creating and installing the projects, these students will gain engineering and leadership-building experience and have the opportunity to work and network with established engineering professionals far afield and close to home.
The Missouri University of Science and Technology EWB chapter will use their GeoEngineers grant to help complete a potable water system for the community of Nahualate, Guatemala. The Oregon Institute of Technology (OIT) EWB chapter will use their grant from GeoEngineers to support phase two of the Slow Sand Filter treatment system they are building for the village of Hanga, Tanzania.
EWB-OIT faculty advisor David Thaemert remarked, “Student team members have found that this project provides an exciting hands-on introduction to engineering design. We are deeply grateful for GeoEngineers’ repeated support of our efforts.”
For more information about Engineers Without Borders, please visit EWB-USA.org.
