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Engineering |
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Henry
Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science |
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Engineers Without Borders: Sustainable Outreach
By Marlys Amundson
A new UCLA student organization is using engineering to improve
the quality of life for people in disadvantaged communities around
the world.
The student chapter of Engineers Without Borders (EWB) was established
in 2002, making it the third chapter in the United States. (There
are currently seven chapters nationwide.) “It’s one of the most
active branches,” notes Etai Weininger, co- president. “We have
12 officers and about 60 members, including a few students from
outside engineering.”
Inspired by the original chapter at University of Colorado at Boulder,
Daniel Faissol and Weininger founded the UCLA chapter in hopes of
creating socially aware engineers who are aware of their worldwide
responsibities, and who can apply their skills to benefit others.
The organization is designed to help people in disadvantaged communities
improve their lives through engineering projects that are environmentally
and economically sustainable.
EWB is not a relief organization, notes Weininger. “We’re trying
to create projects that will be sustainable and benefit the communities
in the long-term. Education is a critical component of our work.”
The group is also focused on educating its members on issues outside
engineering, including needs in developing countries and environmental
concerns.
The UCLA chapter has already designed and built several solar ovens
using simple materials such as cardboard and aluminum foil. The
ovens - which can reach up to 200 degrees Celsius when built with
wood and metal - can be used to cook food and sterilize water, and
require no fuel, unlike wood-burning cooking fires.
“The solar ovens can save a great deal of time and money for hundreds
of millions of poverty stricken families around the world who would
otherwise burn expensive fuel to cook food. Respiratory illnesses
caused by breathing in pollutants released into the air by burning
fuels, a leading cause of death in children, can also be eliminated.
The units we’re building are simple, portable and cheap, and we
plan to teach others how to build them, using materials that are
native to a given area,” explains Faissol.
The students are considering developing and building simple solar
“refrigerators” that use evaporation to cool a storage pot and water
filters using clay and sawdust that remove 99 percent of contaminants.
They also are coordinating with other EWB chapters to raise enough
funding to send several members of the group abroad for a large-scale
project.
UCLA’s EWB chapter has an educational component, and hosts lectures
and other events to encourage thinking about the environment, sustainable
technologies, and developing countries from viewpoints outside of
engineering.
Weininger and Faissol are both seniors in electrical engineering,
and Faissol is also minoring in public policy.
For additional information on the UCLA student organization, please
visit http://www.seas.ucla.edu/ewb/.
Photo: Scott
Quintard, UCLA Photography |
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COPYRIGHT
2004 UCLA |
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