Engineers Without Borders Win Prestigious Competition

Columbia University's Engineers Without Borders Uganda Program has won one of the Environmental Protection Agency's most prestigious student awards after a weekend ofposter presentations and meetings with judges in Washington, D.C.

The group based its winning proposal on work accomplished through a $10,000 EPA grant received last fall, called the Multifunction Energy Platform (MFP) Pilot or Phase I Award. The purpose of this award, given to only 43 teams across the country, was to develop a sustainable technology designed for the EPA's People, Prosperity and the Planet - or P3 - Award.

Collaborating with several Ugandan organizations and institutions of higher learning, the EWB has accomplished this mandate by developing the means for agricultural equipment in this poverty-stricken country to operate using locally grown, non-edible oil from the jatropha plant.

Last weekend, Columbia's EWB moved to the next - or P3 - step, with their proposal titled Multifunction Energy Platform (MFP) and Jatropha Program. It included continued attention to cultivation and responsible use of the valuable jatropha plant, increased pilot MFP projects in the region, ongoing MFP design development, and additional educational and monitoring programs.

Members of Columbia's team are Matt Basinger, Janelle Heslop, Sara Del Fierro, Jennifer Wang, Jim Wang, Lacey Gleason, Watue Sowaprux, Christen Soden, Yasir Diab and Alison Ferris. The team leader is Vijay Modi, Professor of Mechanical Engineering; del Fierro and Heslop are the student leaders.

Representatives of The American Association for the Advancement of Science judged the competition. The EPA then chose five winners who will receive up to $75,000 to continue their work.

For a demonstration by Matt Basinger of the technology involved in working with jatropha and other plant oils, watch the video "Earth and Environmental Engineering: Biodiesel Project" on the Environmental Stewardship homepage.