A worldly senior design group
By: Joe Dammel
from the Michigan Tech Lode
Published the week of 2006-10-25
“Buenos Dias, good morning,” was the welcome given
to attendees of the 2nd annual International Senior Design symposium,
the culmination of months of hard work by 13 undergraduate students
who ventured to Santa Cruz, Bolivia last August.
International Senior Design was initiated in 2001 and has featured
10 design classes with 118 Michigan Tech students involved. According
to the ISD Web site, the program was, “Designed to emulate
work of a design/build firm in industry while providing a meaningful
class experience that combines field construction with an engineering
design project to benefit people of the developing world.”
Although many participants come from civil or environmental engineering
backgrounds, this year’s group featured a mechanical engineer
and a scientific and technical communications major and is open
to all majors. Alumni have entered wide ranges of professions
and about 15 percent return as mentors for the current students.
The symposium, held on Oct. 21 in the M&M building’s
U115 lecture room, featured four presentations from student senior
design groups. The four groups included three students each and
a scientific and technical communications major, Karina Jousma,
who acted as communications liaison for all groups. Three of the
groups focused on storm water projects to alleviate flooding in
several Santa Cruz neighborhoods while the other designed a septic
system for a local school.
Dimmed lights illuminating traditional Bolivian clothing along
with music and video clips playing over the sound system and the
screens around the room set a very festive tone to the otherwise
nondescript lecture room.
After a short introduction, a Michigan Tech student from La Paz,
Bolivia, Jose Camilo Uzquiano Sandy, played two Bolivian songs
on his guitar.
The first group tackled a yearly flooding problem that occurs
near the Sixth Ring Canal in Santa Cruz. Keegan Peters, Chase
Nelson and Eric Griffith used topographical survey maps and other
engineering analysis methods to determine the best solution. They
found three possible options that would alleviate the seasonal
flooding: an earth canal, concrete canal or subsurface pipe. It
was decided that two subsurface pipes that merged into one would
be the most efficient option. Their proposal’s projected
cost was $29,000 and would take 22 days to complete.
Next to present was a group dubbed Ambassador Engineering and
included members Nick Darga, Nicholas Link and Erik Moore. Ambassador
Engineering also worked on a neighborhood with an annual flooding
problem. They considered two options the previous group had –
piping and canals, along with another innovative solution: a drainage
system that used a road as a means of flood control. They recommended
this unique solution because of its ease of installation, relative
inexpensiveness and sustainability.
After the second presentation, an intermission was held for refreshments
and to give students a chance to answer any questions about their
projects. Movie clips from the trip were also played, showcasing
some of the lighter moments of the trip.
The first people to present after the intermission were Bailey
Gamble, Jeff Dambrum and Amanda Kohler who called themselves Ernesto
Engineering. In Santa Cruz, the trio worked on providing a better
septic system to a public school of roughly 2,400 students of
all ages. The current systems were overloaded and had begun seeping
up through the ground and into the students’ recreational
area. Water testing confirmed the presence of fecal coliform which
is a bacteria resulting from human and animal waste and also a
reliable indicator of water quality. A handful of design options
were considered, some of which were immediately eliminated. The
two remaining options were a modified Bolivian system and a gravity-fed
drain field. The cost of implementation would be between $4,420
and $5,230, depending on labor. A similar system was constructed
last November in Bolivia by the student group Engineers Without
Borders and was based on a design by a previous ISD group.
The final group, Watts Engineering, designed a flood alleviation
system for another Santa Cruz neighborhood. Andy Smith, Greg Roth
and Kim Zielesch originally planned on constructing a new road
in the area, but upon arriving at the site, determined that a
new or improved drainage canal would bring more benefit to the
neighborhood. Modeling eliminated the feasibility of constructing
an earthen canal, so Watts Engineering designed a concrete canal,
which can be smaller because of increased flow. The benefits of
their proposal were protection of the surrounding neighborhoods,
improved property values and decreased health hazards inherent
to the yearly flooding.
The benefits of ISD, according to students, mentors and advisors,
are numerous as well. “After being involved in a project
like this, our engineering skills are more valued. A simple project
like this is more meaningful than anything done in the states,”
said ISD advisor Linda Phillips, recounting a letter from a former
student.
“It really gives you confidence to go onto whatever’s
next. ... Working with actual clients and industry mentors has
helped shape my outlook as an engineer,” said environmental
engineering student and Ernesto Engineering project member Jeff
Dambrum.
Many family members, ISD alumni, faculty and even a Bolivian
civil engineering student named Giancarlo Calbimonte, who helped
the groups in Bolivia, were present to show their support for
the ISD students. “This was a wonderful show of support
for our group,” said Phillips.
In her closing speech, she had special words for her family,
ISD alumni and especially for her current students. “I’d
like to thank you, my students - my friends. For many of you this
has been an experience of a lifetime. Take the memories and lessons
learned from ISD and apply it to the basis of who you are and
keep it alive within you.”
Each member and present alumni were then presented with a Bolivian
woven cord as a reminder of their achievements.
