NEWS
“Bulldogs Without Borders” restores water desalination system in Haiti
A team from Louisiana Tech University’s “Bulldogs Without Borders” (BWB) student-led service organization recently traveled to Sous-a-Philippe, Haiti, where they began restoration on a water desalination system that was destroyed by a cattle stampede more than 40 years ago.
Ryan Joseph (mechanical engineering), Kendra Britton (accounting), Logan Caskey (mechanical engineering), Blaine Johnson (civil engineering), Uriel Salazar (mechanical engineering) and Savannah Burch (animal science) worked with the Louisiana Tech University Wesley Foundation to develop and implement an economically sustainable solution that will serve the community.
During the summer trip, the BWB and Wesley Foundation teams used skills developed at Louisiana Tech to reverse engineer the system to understand what critical repairs were required and how to deliver materials to the village. They worked to ensure that the majority of the materials were available in Haiti and to educate the community on how to construct future solutions and make repairs.
“We had to do a lot of reverse engineering to understand how this system worked,” said Joseph. “To do that, we had to use skills we learned from our classes.”
Although a team of six members traveled to Haiti, the entire organization was involved in the project. Before the summer trip, members of the organization brainstormed, researched and prepared plans to be implemented during the restoration.
Additionally, the organization raised more than $15,000 through grants, fundraisers and donations to cover travel expenses for the six-member team.
“It is always rewarding to see our students put their knowledge and skills to work to help improve the lives of other people,” Dr. Hisham Hegab, dean of the College of Engineering and Science, said. “Programs like Bulldogs Without Borders offer special opportunities to truly enhance our students’ learning experiences and prepare them to have productive careers.”
Bulldogs Without Borders is a student-run organization that is open to students of all majors. BWB strives to improve the quality of life for communities both locally and worldwide.
Written by Brandy McKnight – mcknight@latech.edu
From left – Ryan Joseph, Blaine Johnson, Savannah Burch, Logan Caskey, Uriel Salazar and Kendra Britton.
Ryan Joseph (mechanical engineering), Kendra Britton (accounting), Logan Caskey (mechanical engineering), Blaine Johnson (civil engineering), Uriel Salazar (mechanical engineering) and Savannah Burch (animal science) worked with the Louisiana Tech University Wesley Foundation to develop and implement an economically sustainable solution that will serve the community.
During the summer trip, the BWB and Wesley Foundation teams used skills developed at Louisiana Tech to reverse engineer the system to understand what critical repairs were required and how to deliver materials to the village. They worked to ensure that the majority of the materials were available in Haiti and to educate the community on how to construct future solutions and make repairs.
“We had to do a lot of reverse engineering to understand how this system worked,” said Joseph. “To do that, we had to use skills we learned from our classes.”
Although a team of six members traveled to Haiti, the entire organization was involved in the project. Before the summer trip, members of the organization brainstormed, researched and prepared plans to be implemented during the restoration.
Additionally, the organization raised more than $15,000 through grants, fundraisers and donations to cover travel expenses for the six-member team.
“It is always rewarding to see our students put their knowledge and skills to work to help improve the lives of other people,” Dr. Hisham Hegab, dean of the College of Engineering and Science, said. “Programs like Bulldogs Without Borders offer special opportunities to truly enhance our students’ learning experiences and prepare them to have productive careers.”
Bulldogs Without Borders is a student-run organization that is open to students of all majors. BWB strives to improve the quality of life for communities both locally and worldwide.
Written by Brandy McKnight – mcknight@latech.edu
Recent Comments