News

CAEE Supports Haiti Outreach at IIT In Its Development Of Water Distribution System for Pignon, Haiti

In January 2008, Algirdas Bielskus (BSME), Adam Nizich (BSCE) Eric Radloff (BSCE), Mark Rokita (BSCE), and Kathryn Weissman (BSCE), represented the Haiti Outreach student organization on a trip to Haiti, accompanied by Jessica Nicholson, CAEE Admin. Asst., as the IIT faculty/staff representative.

The Haiti Outreach Student Chapter at IIT is embarking on the design and implementation of a new water distribution system for the town of Pignon, Haiti.

Currently, the main source of water is a stream that runs through the lower end of the town. Obtaining water is an arduous and time consuming task that contributes significantly to the spread of water borne diseases in this poverty-stricken area. The solution developed by IIT students is a gravity-fed pumping system that provides potable water to the community of 10,000.

The project, IPRO 327, is led by IIT professor of Environmental Engineering Krishna Pagilla, IIT vice president of External Affairs David Baker and graduate student Alexandre Miot, IIT’s team is composed of more than 20 students from various majors, including architecture, civil engineering, electrical engineering, and mechanical engineering.

The team has done calculations on water demand, drawn up plans for water kiosks, and considered various solutions to provide a consistent source of water. The diversity of their skills has made it possible to solve these problems and make this multifaceted project a reality, which they hope to translate into a working water system for the residents of Pignon. In addition to designing the system, the team has made four trips to Pignon. There, they have surveyed the elevations, met with town leaders, and familiarized themselves with the environment.

Their most recent trip took place in January 2008, during which the IIT team presented their preliminary design to the Haitian government and local leaders. They are currently finalizing the design of this water system, and have estimated the cost. The proposed design will cost between $150,000 and $200,000. The town of Pignon certainly does not have the budget to spend this amount of money, despite it being a fundamental problem.

The Haiti Outreach student chapter is now conducting a campaign to raise money for the design and construction phase of the project. A celebration and fundraising dinner, featuring Haitian cuisine, poetry, and music, and keynote speech by State Senator Kwame Raoul, was held on February 2 at IIT. The project still needs assistance from generous donors (find out how to contribute on the group's website). Haiti Outreach, IIT Student Chapter is a 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization, and all contributions are tax deductible."

Jessica Nicholson wins the 2008 Staff Excellence in Service Award

Jessica Nicholson was quite surprised on the morning of Wednesday, April 2, 2008, when Beverly Perret, Associate VP of Human Resources, arrived in the CAEE Office with photographer, Mindy Sherman, to make the announcement.
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IIT ASCE Student Chapter’s Hard Work Pays Off

The University of Evansville hosted the 2008 ASCE Great Lakes Regional Conference on April 24th – 27th. The ASCE-IIT Chapter enthusiastically participated in three of the six competitions, including the Steel Bridge, Balsa Wood Bridge, and the Technical Paper.
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As always, the AISC Steel Bridge Competition was the chapter�s largest endeavor. A group of twelve students and five advisors has been hard at work completing the steel bridge. This year has been extraordinarily difficult since the project has been pursued without a conjuncting IPRO. Even though it has been a challenge, the students have created a highly respectable final product. Participants have dedicated many hours outside of their daily schedules to make this bridge a success. Many hours that were spent on design calculations, fundraising, planning, fabrication and welding. As the project came to a completion everyone was excited to travel to Evansville for the final day all their hard work will pay off. Indeed the hard work did pay off, IIT placed second to the University of Madison in the Steel Bridge competion. Now they are preparing for the long trip to Gainesville, FL for the 2008 National Steel Bridge competition on May 23rd-24th.

ASCE-IIT Chapter also sponsored one member, Man Leung, to participate in the Balsa Wood Bridge competition. He tested multiple designs and on the day of the competition, his hard work proved to be quite a success. Man�s bridge weighing 42 grams held a load of 151 pounds; this placed him safely in first place, surpassing the other school by approximately 100 pounds. Since IIT has placed high in similar competitions in the past we were very proud that he was able to keep the tradition going. This year Kaitlyn Conley took on the great task of writing the Technical Paper, and she has certainly done an outstanding job. Without this paper, ASCE-IIT Chapter would have not been eligible to compete in the other competitions.

After all their hardwork, we would like to congraluate the students on their success and wish them luck at the national competition. The ASCE-IIT Chapter would also like to thank all of our sponsors for this conference: ASCE-Illinois Section; ASCE-Urban Planning and Development Group; Associated Steel Erectors; AISC; IIT Department of Civil, Architectural & Environmental Engineering; Garbe Iron Works, Inc.; Rise Group, Inc.; F.H. Paschen/S.N. Nielsen; and individual thanks to Donald Grabowskie, Jorge Cobo, Ed Dennis, Murl Nielson and Stan Johnson.

(Article submitted by Nicole Dennis)