Next General Chapter Meeting:
Wednesday, November 8th
As the EWB-USA Central Houston Chapter meets the second Wednesday of
every month, our next meeting will be Wednesday, November 8th at 7:00pm at Rice University in Room 253 of the Mechanical
Engineering Laboratory, which is Building 46 on the map.
Agenda:
7:00 to 7:30 pm: Chapter Updates and Nominations
7:30 to 8:30 pm: Breakout sessions:
The India Reconstruction team will hold a brief breakout session to
review the status of our team's design efforts and of the overall housing
project.
El Salvador Phase III (sewer system) will discuss the project's forward
plan.
The Fundraising Committee will discuss plans for the St. Arnolds Brewery
fundraiser and other upcoming events.
New Participants interested in getting involved will learn more about
the organization.
New Officers
At Wednesday's meeting, we will be nominating officers. The positions we
elect are President, Vice President, Membership Coordinator and Treasurer.
We have specific vacancies for President and Membership Coordinator.
Please consider stepping up to the plate and getting involved! Our chapter
is making a significant impact and we need your help! We will plan to elect
officers in December.
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WANTED:
Structural
Engineer to Mentor Student Project
The Rice Univ. student chapter of Engineers
Without Borders is seeking a mentor for their health clinic project in
Nicaragua.
Qualifications: Professional Structural/Architectural
Engineering or similar experience.
Required commitment: Attend two hour meetings once
every 3 weeks.
Project: Constructing a 3-4 room health clinic in
Nicaragua, providing clean water and electricity, and trying to explore
using innovative, sustainable materials.
Background: The team has a history of success in this
Nicaraguan village. On their last trip they complete all tasks as planned
which included: a rainwater catchment system, a pump to take water from a
well to the church and purified with a biosand filter, and potters for
peace filters for the houses.
Contact: Deepa Panchang, panchang@rice.edu
Team
Lead for Composting Latrines Project in India
The team lead for the composting latrine project in India is leaving
Houston.
Qualifications: Self-motivated professional, sanitation
knowledge is a plus.
Required Commitment: 2-10 hours/week
Project: Many of the villages throughout the coastal
areas impacted by the tsunami in 2004 do not have adequate sanitation
facilities. There is presently an urgent need for latrines to be
implemented at these locations. EWB-Central Houston project team
members are working on design of composting latrines for one of the
villages and will develop educational programs to help build and maintain
them.
Contact: AnnMarie at aspexet@gmail.com
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Volunteer Engineers Work on Tsunami-Affected Coast of India
For the past 18 months, engineers
from the Houston, TX area have been working with villages on the Indian
coastline to rebuild their communities after the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami.
The project work is in the state of Andhra Pradesh, where the 5-meter tall
wave pushed in over 2 km, destroying buildings, ruining wells, and
devastating entire fishing fleets.
Our completed projects include water pipelines, solar pump stations,
solar lighting, and many new borewells across the area. Our current project
is the largest to date: the rebuilding of an entire community using
sustainable engineering methods, including rainwater catchment, green
design, and solar power. The work is being done with the community of Sri
Rama Puram Palem. The budget for this project is $100,000, of which we have
raised $30,000 so far from donors in both the USA and India. We hope to
expand this project to other communities in this area, most of whom have
received little to no governmental assistance since the tsunami.
We are also working with engineering students on specific parts of this
project and have teamed our students with student counterparts from the
Muffakham Jah Engineering School in Hyderabad. In July, a team of two
students completed a month-long surveying project for the pipeline. The
volunteers for this project come from many different engineering companies:
GSI Environmental, AECOM, and CH2M Hill are just a few of local
corporations whose employees have dedicated their personal time and effort
to this project. We welcome the support of the Houston engineering
community on this project and invite you to read more about us and our
other projects at www.ewbhouston.org
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UPCOMING
EVENTS
ENGINEERING ETHICS SEMINAR: November
14th
Our next Professional Development Seminar will
be on Tuesday, November 14th from 6:30 to
8:30pm. The seminar will feature Dr. Pris Weeks and Lisa
Brunn Gossett, J.D. Dr. Weeks, an environmental anthropologist for
the Houston Advanced Research Center, will speak on the ethical and
unethical uses of science. Mrs. Gossett, an Associate Professor of
Environmental Management at UHCL, will discuss ethical issues that relate
to the licensing of engineering and science professionals. All
proceeds will benefit our projects. Please see the attached flyer for more information and note the different
seminar location.
ALL YOU CAN DRINK BEER: November 29th
Our next fundraising event is Wednesday,
November 29th, at St Arnolds Brewery between 6:30 to 9:30
pm. The event will feature live music, all you can drink beer, and
appetizers for $20. For tickets, show up at the door or contact Shalin Mody
at shalinh.mody@nasa.gov.
Spread the word and distribute our flyer!!
The 2007 EWB-USA International
Conference is scheduled for April 12, 13 & 14, 2007,
to be held at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst, MA.
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INDIA
Water Supply System and Sanitation Projects:
Members of the Houston
India team continue to make good progress with design efforts for the Water
Supply System that's part of the Housing project at Sri Rama Pattapu
Palem (SRPP). The Housing project is a collaboration of efforts from
various EWB professional chapters throughout the US, with a goal to build
33 new permanent homes for families currently living in temporary mud
houses. The water supply system currently envisioned will rely on
both rainwater harvesting as well as existing groundwater supplies to meet
the water demands of the community. The Housing project is scheduled
to be completed in July 2007. Guo-Pin Fuan is currently leading
the design team for the water supply system, which meets every Sunday from
3:00-4:30 PM. However, the Houston team is seeking a new team lead (to
replace Tejal Gholkar, who is leaving Houston in November) to help manage
design efforts for the latrines project to be implemented at Jalamma
Palem. We welcome participation by new members in the planning and
design of these projects.
El SALVADOR
Phase I and II: Colonia Esmeralda
We've made much progress in
the Colonia Esmeralda Retaining Wall Construction project. Brian Davis and
Jose Moreira will be in the community for the next week making the final
construction arrangements. The municipality has agreed to donate 5 workers;
the community directive has chosen a project manager, and the community
members are eager to begin construction. Retaining wall construction will
commence this month. Unfortunately, the well-drilling will take longer. Due
to the rock formation in Colonia Esmeralda, Living Water will not be able
to drill in the area and we are searching for drill contractors to complete
the Colonia Esmeralda water project.
Phase III: Tiembla Tierra and Santa Carlota
Sanitation System: If the sanitation system project is
to be successfully implemented, it will require additional help from engineers with experience in the
sanitation or construction fields. If you are interested in learning
more about this project and contributing, please contact John Leblanc.
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What is Engineers
Without Borders-USA?
EWB-USA partners with
developing communities to improve their quality of life through the
implementation of environmentally sustainable, equitable, and economical
engineering projects while developing internationally responsible engineers and engineering students.
Get Involved!
The Central Houston chapter
of Engineers Without
Borders was founded in February, 2005. In the last year and a half, the
chapter has grown from two engineers
to approximately 40 active participants.
We are succeeding in creating
a chapter that is diverse in age, experience, and engineering disciplines.
Our team members live all over the city, including Cypress, the Woodlands,
Sugarland, Clear Lake, and Galveston. If you would like to join our team,
please let us know.
There are plenty of ways to
get involved!
Fundraising Committee:
In our first year of fundraising, we raised $35,000, which is excellent!
Let's double this amount next year. Interested in helping? Join our
Fundraising Committee. Contact: Shalin Mody
Outreach Committee:
Since we started the chapter in Feb, '05, we gave 20 presentations, staffed
4 charity fairs, hosted 3 Professional Dev elopement Seminars, and 2
workshops. Help us spread the word about EWB and plan our next seminars.
Contact: Dave Rubin
Project Engineering: Volunteer
as a project engineer on our current projects. A listing of engineering
needs can be found here.
Technical Reviewer: If
you can't commit to working on a project, but can spend a few hours a month
reviewing technical designs, let us know. We're starting to form the South
Central Technical Advisory Committee. Contact Sara Beck
Sponsorship: Contact
Sara Beck about
corporate sponsorship opportunities.
Professional Development
Seminars: Attend or present at our seminars, which are
designed to help Professional Engineers
(PEs) obtain required professional development credit. Contact: Dave Rubin
Workshops and Training
Programs: Are you an expert in a particular field? Give a
workshop on a sustainable engineering topic to teach local engineering
students and professionals Contact: Dave Rubin
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Join EWB-USA!
Engineers Without Borders (EWB-USA) and EWB-Central Houston are looking
for people who are committed to improving the quality of lives of those in
disadvantaged communities. Annual membership cost is only $100, and chapter
meetings are free. Click here for more information and to join EWB-USA
today!
DONATE!
Like all EWB projects, our projects are completely financed by
donations. All donations are tax deductible. You may contribute mail or use
the internet at your convenience.
To donate by internet, go here.
To donate by check or money order:
Address to EWB-USA, but write "Central Houston
Professionals" in the memo field. Send your donation to:
Engineers without Borders
– USA
1880 Industrial Circle, Suite B-3
Longmont, Colorado 80026
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POTENTIAL
BOLIVIA PROJECT
One of our members is
submitting a new project application to EWB-USA. The project would
benefit approximately 3,000 residents of a large hill in the periphery of
the city of Cochabamba, Bolivia. A survey trip this summer made
contact with a Rotary chapter in Cochabamba who felt this sector of the
city presented the best opportunity for partnership with an EWB-USA project
team. The proposed project would drill a well at the bottom of the
hill and install a pump with sufficient power to fill a tank constructed at
the top of the hill. An organized unit of residents has already
purchased and set aside a plot of land at the base of the hill for well
site. Typical flow capacities from wells in this area were quoted to
be 10-15 liters/second, sufficient to provide the residents of the hill
with water. Chapter members interested in working on this project are
asked to contact Marcos Flores. Experience in well
drilling and water tank construction are preferred, but not required.
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Questions?
If you have a question or would like to find out how you can volunteer
with EWB-USA, contact any member of our current Executive Board.
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**Please
forward this to anyone who you think might be interested. If you did not
receive this newsletter directly and would
like to, please email Sara
Beck
EWB-USA
is a non-profit 501 (c) (3) tax-exempt organization that partners with
developing communities worldwide in order to improve their quality of life,
while involving and training internationally responsible engineering
students and professionals.
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