Achievement

IGERT trainees Lauren Fry and Valeire Fuchs accompanied by their university faculty advisors, joined a group of undergraduates and graduate students from Michigan Tech and Yale, as well as students from Universidad Tecnologica Boliviana in Bolivia for collaborative research through the nongovernmental organization ACDI/VOCA. NSF funded the project with the goal of developing scientists and engineers with global perspectives by integrating sustainability and appropriate technology principles into international, community-based research projects. The students conducted several research projects within three communities related to wastewater treatment systems, gravity fed potable water distribution systems, land use change, and climate change. Their research was presented at the 2008 D80 Conference, the American Geophysical Union 2008 Fall Meeting, and the New Zealand Society for Sustainability Engineering and Science 2008 Conference: Blueprints for Sustainable Infrastructure.