EWB-UA :: About EWB

About EWB

Our Mission

Engineers Without Borders – USA supports community-driven development programs worldwide through the design and implementation of sustainable engineering projects, while fostering responsible leadership.

EWB History

Sparked by a chance backyard conversation, EWB-USA has become a global engineering movement. In 2000, University of Colorado Civil Engineering Professor Bernard Amadei happened to connect with a landscaper working in his backyard.

The man, Angel Tzec, invited Dr. Amadei to visit his village in San Pablo, Belize, which was desperately in need of clean water.

He flew to San Pablo, which had no running water, electricity or sanitation. Dr. Amadei was also stunned to see little children carrying water all day long from a nearby river. “I knew that, as a civil engineer, there had to be something I could do.”

Dr. Amadei returned in May, 2001 with eight CU engineering students and, working with the local community, installed a clean water system powered by a local waterfall. Simple, sustainable and low-cost, the entire project was completed for $14,000.

As he harnessed the power of water, Dr. Amadei decided to harness the power of professional and student engineers to complete similar low-tech, high-impact projects in other developing countries. The result: Engineers Without Borders-USA.

“The world doesn’t need any more big dams. The world needs clean water, energy and basic services for the billions struggling just to stay alive at the end of each day,” Dr. Amadei says.

EWB-USA was officially incorporated in June 2002.

EWB members with local NGO contacts in Ghana

Water quality testing in Mali

"Our vision is a world in which all communities have
the capacity to meet their basic human needs."

EWB at the University of Arizona

In the fall of 2004 a group of undergraduate and graduate students from the chemical, civil, hydrology, and mining engineering departments, with the assistance of Dr. Sean Dessureault (Mining Engineering Faculty Member) and Dr. Bart Nijssen (Civil Engineering Faculty Member), joined together with the common goal of establishing an official Engineers Without Borders organization on the University of Arizona campus. This goal became a reality with the ratification of the club's constitution, the hosting of a first general meeting held on February 17th, 2005, and the transfer of power to an elected executive committee. The University of Arizona Student Chapter established its affiliation with the national organization, EWB-USA, during the summer 2005.

Our Activities

We are constantly on the lookout for volunteer opportunities, both local and abroad. Since our chapter's inception, members of the Engineers Without Borders-USA, University of Arizona Chapter have made seven trips to Africa, worked with Tucson Habitat for Humanity, built homes in Mexico with Agua Prieta Family Shelters, organized major fundraisers, presented at human rights forums, and participated in numerous other volunteer activities.

Learn More!

For more information, please see the following For Students and For Professionals.
Also, feel free to contact us with any questions you may have about membership, volunteering partnerships, or contributing to the University of Arizona Student Chapter of Engineers Without Borders-USA