{"id":11177,"date":"2024-07-30T09:07:28","date_gmt":"2024-07-30T14:07:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin-new\/?post_type=campus_story&p=11177"},"modified":"2024-07-30T09:07:28","modified_gmt":"2024-07-30T14:07:28","slug":"eighty-six-engineering-students-work-to-improve-quality-of-life-for-people-in-rural-cambodia","status":"publish","type":"campus_story","link":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/story\/eighty-six-engineering-students-work-to-improve-quality-of-life-for-people-in-rural-cambodia\/","title":{"rendered":"Eighty-six engineering students work to improve quality of life for people in rural Cambodia"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Photo<\/a>
Teams of engineering students designed solutions for the Bunong people in the rural village of Pu Ngaol, Cambodia. Photo by Engineers Without Borders Australia.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Cross-disciplinary teams present prototypes at Research Day, Engineers Without Borders’ U.S. Grand Finals design challenge<\/h2>\n

Cross-disciplinary students in the\u00a0Impacts of Engineering course at UW-Stout this spring investigated ways to improve the quality of life for people in the remote forests of eastern Cambodia.<\/p>\n

Through the\u00a0Engineers Without Borders’ Design for People Challenge<\/a>, they worked in teams to engineer solutions for the Bunong people in the\u00a0rural village of Pu Ngaol.<\/p>\n

Twenty teams of 86 engineering and several other majors, as well as area high school students, presented their ideas and prototypes at UW-Stout\u2019s\u00a0Research Day<\/a>\u00a0on May 6. The day highlighted the works of nearly 300 faculty, undergraduate and graduate students, who shared their research through\u00a0posters and prototypes, exhibits, art and design displays,\u00a0and oral and panel presentations.<\/p>\n

After researching the Bunong people, their culture and low financial means, and taking into consideration the landscape and weather, as well as machinery and materials available in the region, the teams built prototypes and presented\u00a0ways to create accessible roadways and transportation solutions;\u00a0renewable energy sources, such as wind and solar power; reliable food supplies and filtration design for clean drinking water; efficient built environments, including ventilation; safe waste management; and ways to advance information technology.<\/p>\n

UW-Stout\u2019s\u00a0Robert F. Cervenka School of Engineering<\/a>\u00a0is dedicated to enhancing the learning and industry-aligned experiences of its more than 1,000 students to help produce the next generation of engineers. It offers\u00a0five undergraduate programs \u2013\u00a0computer and electrical engineering<\/a>,\u00a0engineering technology<\/a>,\u00a0manufacturing engineering<\/a>,\u00a0mechanical engineering<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0plastics engineering<\/a>; and a\u00a0master’s in manufacturing engineering<\/a>, available on campus and online.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Impacts of Engineering course introduces students to the engineering design process from initiation to completion, while broadening their awareness of the social, environmental and economic implications of engineering, both past and present,\u201d said\u00a0Senior Lecturer Brenda Puck.<\/p>\n

The course is part of\u00a0Stout Core<\/a>, foundational general education classes where students gain global perspective and ethical reasoning to understand social responsibility,\u00a0so they graduate\u00a0ready to do more<\/a>\u00a0on day one.<\/p>\n

Two teams present at U.S. Grand Finals<\/h3>\n

The international Design for People Challenge brings together\u00a0more than 12,000 engineering students from 46 universities in the U.S., the United Kingdom and Ireland.\u00a0This year\u2019s challenge was organized by\u00a0Engineers Without Borders Australia<\/a>, which has worked with communities in Cambodia since 2005. Designs considered sustainability, community livelihoods, and natural and cultural preservation.<\/p>\n

Two UW-Stout teams, with students from six majors, presented their research and designs\u00a0virtually to an expert panel of judges in the final round of the U.S. Grand Finals, May 30 to June 1:<\/p>\n