Christopher T. Fehrman, BS Environmental Engineering, Michigan Tech University, MS planned in Environmental Engineering.

Chris is a jive-talkin’ turkey from Saginaw, Michigan. He arrived in Houghton on a warm, sunny day five years ago and couldn’t bear to leave for more than a summer. Yes, the serene waters of Superior, hidden wonders of the Keweenaw, snowy winters, fresh pasties and Yooper hospitality lured him back every time! One summer he traveled to Alaska, where he met a beautiful princess named Sayward, who wore running shoes and a southern accent. After slaying the evil dragon, our knight claimed her as his true love and they rode off into the sunset on his noble steed, naturally back to the Upper Peninsula.

Sayward, a Master’s International student in her own right, was given an invitation for a Peace Corps assignment in Zambia, starting in January 2004. However, this lovely couple had plan of their own: Chris, he took a trolley to the jewelers store, bought a 0.5 carat diamond ring, took it back to Sayward waiting at the door and as he gave it to her she began to sing. “Obladi oblada Peace Corps On, yeah! Let’s go to the Peace Corps now.”

Chris’ research interests include sustainable development projects, alternative energy systems, surface water modeling and water & wastewater treatment. He has traveled to Mexico and the Dominican Republic for mission trips, and last August did his international senior design project in Bolivia, which entailed water quality testing and onsite wastewater treatment system designs for government schools in a peri-urban area. He helped found the Engineers Without Borders Chapter at Michigan Tech and will travel back to Alaska in May to present his senior design project at the ASCE-EWRI Conference as a finalist in the Parsons-Brinckerhoff Design Competition.