Engineers Without Borders, U.S.A.: New campus chapter aims to sustain good works here, abroad

EWB chapter participants include students (from left) Ryan Wilson, Amelia Cosgrove, Rakhi Nikhanj, and Bob Slowinski. Professor Peter Bosscher (second from left) helped organize the chapter. (17K JPG)

It took a trip to India and Nepal last year to help convince Bob Slowinski that he wanted to do something out of the ordinary with his engineering degree.

The poverty he witnessed in the countries, he said, convinced him that he could utilize his engineering training for the betterment of others less fortunate.

"That was eye-opening," said the senior mechanical engineering major of his overseas trip last winter break. "It definitely showed me there was work to be done."

So Slowinski jumped at the chance to help form a UW-Madison chapter of Engineers Without Borders USA. The organization aims to help citizens and communities in developing corners of the world create sustainable public works improvements and improve the quality of life. While training young engineers for work by involving students in each step of the EWB process, the program maximizes their learning and awareness of the social, economic, ethical, environmental and cultural impacts of engineering projects. Those projects typically focus on clean water systems, renewable energy sources, and improved sanitation systems.

Slowinski was one of several UW-Madison students this fall that drove to Boulder, Colo., to learn more about starting an EWB chapter on campus.

They were joined by Professor Peter Bosscher, who has helped lead the effort to create the chapter. Bosscher, who specializes in civil and geological engineering, said he has long been interested in fostering the notion of sustainability in engineering projects. To him, that means more than just building public works that improve communities. It means building something that is sustainable over years, and teaching those who benefit from it how to maintain it and improve it.

"It's not just dropping solar panels into the Sahara," he said. "It's trying to sustain whatever you put in there."

In EWB USA, Bosscher found the perfect complement to those ideals. "This organization had the same set of goals," he said. "This really embodied almost every one of the ethical concerns that I resonate with."

So Bosscher decided to see if there was any interest in starting an EWB USA chapter on campus. He thought there might be some interest. UW-Madison annually leads the nation in the number of graduates who enter the Peace Corps, and Bosscher said a surprising number of those Peace Corps volunteers are engineering students. He organized a meeting in April to see if anyone was interested; 70 students showed up. "It was standing-room only. I was amazed at the level of interest," he said.

For senior industrial engineering major Audrey Miller, the EWB USA chapter represents a chance to put her ideals to work. Her parents were both Peace Corps volunteers, and she spent a year in between high school and college in the Dominican Republic. She views her engineering training through the lens of trying to help others less fortunate.

"It was exactly what I wanted in engineering — to hopefully make a difference," she said. "This will be huge in Madison. I'm certain that this will change the face of engineering here." Bosscher said the UW-Madison EWB USA chapter is in its early stages, and not yet ready to tackle several major projects in the developing world. But the organization will likely take on one overseas project and also work on projects in impoverished areas of the United States, closer to home.

"I see a need for a university like this — an internationally recognized university — to take some leadership for the other side of the fence," he said. "You don't need to have a PhD or a master's degree in engineering to do these kinds of activities. But you do have to have a heart and a desire to make a difference."