Engineers for International Development (EfID)

Civil engineering student builds career from the ground up

Rena Malai — Thu, 21 Sep 2023 17:04:36 +0000

Civil engineering student builds career from the ground up Rena Malai Thu, 09/21/2023 - 13:04

There are too many good reasons to choose George Mason University, according to civil engineering student David Prester. One of which – the rockstar civil engineering professors that helped him grow his education and career.

David Prester. Photo provided.

“They’re above and beyond,” said Prester.

Rockstar civil engineering Professor Matt Doyle recommended Prester for an internship at CDM Smith, an engineering firm that focuses on providing smart solutions within water, environment, transportation, and energy.

Prester’s previous experience with Mason’s Engineers for International Development (EfID) water restoration project in Ecuador lined up perfectly for his work at CDM Smith, where he spent time outside analyzing and monitoring soil, traveling to excavation sites, and overseeing subsurface drilling

“The work I was involved in looked at determining soil conditions for a variety of public works projects, and making sure field exploration work was regularly logged,” said Prester. “It was a mix of field and office work within the geotechnical engineering field.”

Mason’s DNA is in Prester’s family, as his mother and grandfather are both alums with Prester as the engineer of the group.

“I’ve always loved working outdoors and as I continued with school, discovered I love math as well,” he said. “Although I originally thought about a geology degree, geotechnical engineering opens up a lot more doors for me.”

He says it’s important to love what you do, but to not be afraid of doing things that are challenging and difficult.

“You can learn to enjoy something you think you may not be good at, or that seems difficult,” he said. “It’s worth it to give it a shot.”

Topics

internships

Engineers for International Development (EfID)

Engineering for International Development (EfID) Ecuadorian water distribution project enters phase 3

Rena Malai — Wed, 11 Jan 2023 19:18:37 +0000

Engineering for International Development (EfID) Ecuadorian water distribution project enters phase 3 Rena Malai Wed, 01/11/2023 - 14:18

In This Story

Kirin Emlet Furst

The San Pablo de Amali Phase III Team prepare for chlorine study at the first lab.
From left to right, Shannon Teri, David Prester, Kadmiel Afusei, and Professor Kirin Furst.

In the remote hamlet of San Pablo de Amali in Ecuador, access to clean water is a challenge due to various political and environmental issues. Without this vital access, the rural community’s farming and everyday life is under threat of drying up.

But with the help of Engineers for International Development at George Mason (EfID-GMU), a water distribution project is in place for San Pablo de Amali residents to get the water they need.

“With COVD-19, it was difficult to travel to Ecuador during 2020 and 2021,” says civil engineering student Camille Fulton, President of EfID-GMU. “In 2023 we have plans to return to San Pablo de Amali for phase three of the water distribution project.”

The EfID-GMU group has a great connection with the San Pablo de Amali community, which has about 200 people, according to Fulton. In preparation for travels, the group will work to buy and secure the equipment they need as well astake stock of any vaccines, travel documents, and travel restrictions they may encounter while in Ecuador.

During their week-long stay, the group will primarily focus on meeting with the community and local water board, doing water pressure checks within homes, conducting safe water information sessions for the community, and gathering general data to see what needs to be done for their next trip during the summer.

“The community understandably does not have a positive view of their water system and we hope to change and fix that,” says Fulton.

Her interest in EfID-GMU started back when she first joined Mason. She was immediately interested in the work EfID does and likened it to Doctors Without Borders, except with engineers.

“I am immensely proud of the club’s involvement,” she says. “Although we haven’t been able to provide students with international development work in the past couple years due to COVID-19, I’m happy everyone is coming back and ready to go this year.”

The water sustainability project is overseen by Mason engineering professor Mathew Doyle. EfID-GMU exists for students to participate in community-driven development programs worldwide through the design and implementation of sustainable engineering projects, while fostering responsible leadership.

Topics

Engineers for International Development (EfID)

clean water

Ecuador

Civil engineering student draws inspiration from her birthplace

Anonymous — Thu, 18 Feb 2021 20:03:39 +0000

Civil engineering student draws inspiration from her birthplace Anonymous (not verified) Thu, 02/18/2021 - 15:03

Civil engineering major Karla Pineda’s undergraduate career is about to end. Yet, as she prepares to embark on her accelerated master’s program, she reflects on what inspired her to study civil engineering.

Karla Pineda is also a member of Mason's chapter of the American Society for Civil Engineers.

Born in El Salvador, Pineda and her family moved to Northern Virginia when she was 4 years old. She always had an interest in STEM and loved working on tangible projects, so she quickly realized civil engineering was her path.

But visits back to El Salvador led her to concentrate on transportation engineering. “When I traveled home, it was hard to see the harsh difference in infrastructure, especially transportation infrastructure, and that made me more interested in the transportation side of civil engineering,” she says.

Pineda is specifically interested in the intersection between transportation and sustainability. “In El Salvador, and many other places, you can clearly see how pollution has affected the lands and the communities. I know we can do better, we have one earth, and we have to make changes.”

She sees transportation as an accessible path to pursue sustainable efforts because almost everyone uses some form of transportation regularly. “There are little modifications we can make in transportation engineering that will have a huge impact,” says Pineda. Changes like recycling asphalt, using more sustainable materials, and adjusting one’s lifestyle can make a difference.

Mason’s student club, Engineers for International Development (EfID), fascinated Pineda because of their mission to tackle these grand challenges, one small change at a time. Currently, she serves as the vice president and works with the president and the executive board to coordinate events centered around sustainability.

“Typically, we take a trip down to Ecuador in the winter and summer to help a village build a sustainable water supply, but with COVID-19, we haven’t been able to do that,” she says. “We have gotten creative to help the village from a distance and creating other socially distanced events. We’ve hosted a few tree planting events throughout the community, and I worked with other members of the club to translate guides and information to send to the village in Ecuador.”

As part of her accelerated master’s program in transportation engineering, Pineda has already started taking graduate courses during her undergraduate education. She says she chose the accelerated master’s option because it made sense for her long-term career goals and allows her to learn more about transportation engineering. “Getting a master’s in one year instead of two is a great opportunity. I get to take graduate courses in my undergraduate career, and in five years, I come out with a solid foundation of knowledge in civil and transportation engineering,” she says.

“I love school, I love to learn, and the bachelor’s program gives a strong foundation in civil engineering, but I want to be prepared for a career in transportation engineering,” says Pineda.

Topics

Civil Engineering

accelerated masters

Engineers for International Development (EfID)

Sustainability

transportation engineering

Sustainable Infrastructure

Mason Engineering students plan clean water project in Ecuador

Nanci Hellmich — Mon, 04 Feb 2019 13:59:06 +0000

Mason Engineering students plan clean water project in Ecuador Nanci Hellmich Mon, 02/04/2019 - 08:59

Several members of the Engineers for International Development visited a community in Ecuador for a week to help them develop a clean drinking water system. Pictured here from left to right: Omar Azizi, Mubeen Farukh, Min Lu Kelly-Durham, faculty advisor Matthew Doyle, Sylvia McLain, and Andrew Simpson.

When a group of Mason Engineering students heard there was a community in Ecuador that desperately needed clean drinking water, they jumped at the chance to help.

Several members of Mason’s chapter of Engineers for International Development (EfID) flew to San Pablo de Amali for a week in January to assess the agricultural area’s current water system and find a way to improve it.

They discovered that the drinking water in the agricultural community has high levels of bacteria, and many homes don’t have access to running water. “There is an existing system that functions sporadically, sometimes delivering water but not clean water,” says civil engineering senior Omar Azizi, vice president of the group.

Some of the disinfection processes in the system are defunct because they require a lot of maintenance, says Sylvia McLain, a junior in the Sid and Reva Dewberry Department of Civil, Environmental, and Infrastructure Engineering (CEIE). “They’ve stopped taking care of it, so sediment and bacteria are in the water.”

The students talked with residents about what they need, tested different sources of water including the local rivers, and mapped out the geography of the area. The group must decide whether to improve the current system or build a new central system for about 200 people.

"Our goal is to give them a working water system," says Andrew Simpson, a civil engineering senior and EfID president. "We're going to use our skills and passion to do that."

They’ll work on the designs for the project with guidance from faculty advisor Matthew Doyle, an engineer and adjunct faculty member; David Lattanzi, CEIE assistant professor; and Kenex Sevilla, (BS Civil Engineering ’14, MBA ’18), a quality control manager with Dewberry and former president of Mason’s chapter of EfID.

Since the group’s founding in 2011, it has conducted projects in Nicaragua, Honduras, the Peruvian Andes, and the Amazon, addressing small communities' concerns over water shortages, clean water access, sanitation, and hygiene.

A team of 10 students will travel back to Ecuador this summer to improve or replace the system with the help of the residents and funding from the Civil Engineering Institute Board and EfID fund-raisers.

“When you can meet the people who are impacted by your work, it changes your perspective and makes the work feel more important,” Azizi says.

The experience “humbled me,” McLain says. “These people just want clean water, and it’s so easy for us to take a shower, get a glass of water, and wash our clothes.”