Dartmouth Engineer

The Dartmouth chapter of Engineers Without Borders (EWB) was among eight organizations and individuals honored with the College’s 2006 Martin Luther King Jr. Social Justice Award. The award, presented January 27, recognizes members of the community who have demonstrated compassion, perseverance, courage, and leadership.

EWB designed and installed a machine-dug well and solar pump in Nyamilu, Kenya last summer to provide the village with clean water for drinking and irrigation.

Murnen, left, and Hansen. Photograph by Joseph Mehling '69.

EWB co-chairs Tia Hansen ’05, Th’06 and Hannah Murnen ’06, Th’07 accepted the award for the organization. Both say participating in EWB has influenced their career aspirations.

“It made me realize what a positive impact small engineering projects can have in the developing world,” Hansen says. Drawn to renewable energy technology, especially solar power, she plans to pursue a Ph.D. in chemical engineering with a focus on renewable energy resources.

Murnen is also considering a Ph.D. in chemical engineering and wants to research ways to harness solar and wind power that could be used in developing countries. She says it would be gratifying to work in countries that are not already dependent on petroleum because those countries can still avoid eventual reliance on fossil fuels.

According to Murnen, Dartmouth’s EWB has a proven formula for success: taking on simple projects that students can plan, execute, and oversee themselves. Although Hurricane Katrina prompted EWB to consider taking on projects within the United States, Murnen says, international projects seemed to yield the best results and help people meet their most basic needs. “In the U.S., engineering tends to be more sophisticated,” she says. “By going international, we allow ourselves to really contribute to the engineering, not just the grunt work.”

After the success of its Kenya project, EWB no longer has to look around for its next project because suggestions are rolling in. A group member recently traveled to San Fidel, El Salvador to study the feasibility of a water project proposed by Kiva Wilson ’04, a Peace Corps volunteer there. The group is also considering a follow-up project in Kenya.

For more photos, visit our Dartmouth HELP Worldwide collection on Flickr.

During the summer, 10 volunteers from the service organization Dartmouth Engineers Without Borders installed a solar-powered pump to provide clean water year-round to the village of Nyamilu, Kenya. The community, home of Audi Okullo ’00, Th’05, previously relied on an unpredictable supply of rainfall and water collected from streams for drinking, cooking, and washing. The $20,000 project was designed to supply clean drinking water as well as water for small-scale irrigation for fruits and vegetables that the community can sell.

According to volunteers Mike Bolger Th’05 and Katie Muse ’05, D-EWB outfitted the village’s new 98-meter borehole with a pump powered by 480 Watts of photovoltaics mounted on the roof of a small pump house. The villagers had begun to dig the well by hand, but the volunteers, concerned about contamination, hired a local company to drill a borehole. The students tested the water for bacteria and fluoride and briefed villagers about well maintenance. The team plans to stay in contact with the village for the next few years.

In addition to Bolger and Muse, the D-EWB team in Kenya included Ashley Carruth ’05, Colby College exchange student Sandy Beauregard, Tia Hansen ’05, Tietjen Hynes ’06, Erin Osborn ’05, Leah Skypeck ’05, Allison Welsh ’05, and team advisor Brian Klett ’89.

DOING WELL: D-EWB’s Sandy Beauregard helps residents of Nyamilu, Kenya, test a hand-dug well for contaminants. Photograph by Katie Muse ’05.

For more photos, visit our Dartmouth HELP Worldwide collection on Flickr.

The Dartmouth chapter of the international service organization Engineers Without Borders (EWB) is working with counterparts in Louisiana State University and Kenya to bring clean water to the Kenyan community of Nyamilu. The project is a response to villagers’ requests for a sustainable, reliable source of safe water.

Left to right, Katie Muse ’05, Audi Okullo, and Hannah Murnen ’06. Photograph by Douglas Fraser.

According to Dartmouth EWB co-chairs Katie Muse ’05 and Hannah Murnen ’06, the three chapters are handling different parts of the $20,000 project. The Kenyans surveyed the area, LSU is focusing on pipes and reservoirs, and Dartmouth is designing a solar-powered pump with advice from Professor Dan Lynch and professional engineer Brian Klett ’89. Five or six of the 15 Thayer School students working on the project expect to travel to Kenya this summer to implement the system.

EWB participants anticipate that the clean water project will have several social ripples, including reducing water-borne disease. Irrigation water will increase crop yields and open opportunities for raising livestock, creating new sources of employment and income.

The project is giving students experience in the human side of engineering. “It’s important that the need arises from the community, rather than imposing your ideas. You have to be aware of the culture and environment,” says Muse.

M.E.M. candidate Audi Okullo is giving fellow EWB members an invaluable view of life in Nyamilu. The village happens to be her home.

For more photos, visit our Dartmouth HELP Worldwide collection on Flickr.