World, Environment & Sustainability
Personal and Educational Growth through Service Learning
This semester, 52 undergraduates, graduate students and faculty members are traveling to communities in Madagascar, Ghana, Tanzania, Ecuador, India, Indonesia, Cambodia and Panama to put their engineering skills to work through the Villanova Engineering Service Learning program.
Villanova Engineers Share Stormwater Expertise in China
Drs. Bridget Wadzuk and Robert Traver of the Villanova Center for Resilient Water Systems, recently visited China where they participated in the first International Academic Conference on Sponge City Construction.
Villanova Engineers Partner with Ecuadoran University to Create Intranet Solutions for Galapagos Island Schools
Under the leadership of Dr. Pritpal Singh, a team of Villanova Engineering undergraduates and graduate students are working with students at ESPOL in Ecuador, to establish a community intranet to share sustainable education resources among schools on the Island of San Cristobal, where internet service is unavailable. In October, the IEEE Humanitarian Activities Committee awarded the team $53,000 to support the project.
Villanova Partners with ESPOL University to Rehabilitate Solar Home Systems in Ecuador
College of Engineering faculty and students will help rehabilitate solar home systems in the island community of Cerrito de Los Morreños in the Gulf of Guayaquil, Ecuador, and train local residents in their operation and maintenance, thereby addressing issues of sustainability.
Karl Schmidt, RISE Forum Director and Professor of Practice, College of Engineering, Villanova University | Growing Greater Philadelphia, 1210 WPHT Radio
On WPHT’s “Growing Greater Philadelphia” program, Karl Schmidt presents Villanova’s RISE Forum, a revolutionary interdisciplinary program that is changing the future of sustainability. He explains how businesses can attract top talent in the ever-growing, competitive engineering field.
Villanova forms Partnership with University in Ecuador
Villanova's College of Engineering and Escuela Superior Politécnica del Litoral (ESPOL) in Ecuador signed a memorandum of understanding to promote the development of academic, scientific and institutional cooperation between both universities. The agreement calls for the exchange of students and faculty, scientific research collaboration, professional internships and other forms of technical cooperation.
Liberia: Catholic Relief Services Joins Monrovia City Corporation to Cleanup West Point │ Front Page Africa, May 9, 2018
Through a Catholic Relief Services - Villanova Engineering Service Learning partnership, Sustainable Engineering grad student Amy Heindel is in Liberia on the Sustainable WASH Research Initiative. Teams are also working in Madagascar, Tanzania and Ghana.
Can Green Infrastructure Save America's Capital from Overflowing Sewage? │Inside Science News Service, April 25, 2018
Dr. Robert Traver, director of Villanova’s Center for Resilient Water Systems and a renowned stormwater expert, is quoted in this article about the capitol’s sewage drainage issues.
Engineering Students Continue Decades-Long Tradition of Service in Panama
During spring break in March, nine Villanova University students from the College of Engineering traveled to the Cheypo region of Panama to maintain and expand the area’s water system.
Delaware River Watershed Initiative Builds on Conservation Successes
The Villanova Urban Stormwater Partnership has been awarded $565,000 to continue its efforts in clean water protection for the suburban Philadelphia area watersheds.
With a Green Makeover, Philadelphia Is Tackling Its Stormwater Problem │ YaleEnvironment360, March 29, 2018
This piece highlights the role of the Villanova Urban Stormwater Partnership in Philadelphia’s “green makeover,” and includes a video about Villanova campus’s living laboratory for stormwater research. VUSP Director Dr. Traver adds that Drs. Bridget Wadzuk, Andrea Welker, John Komlos, Virginia Smith, Kristin Sample- Lord, and Garrett Clayton were significant contributors to this work, which is supported by the NSF, PennDot, PaDEP 319 / Growing Greener, and VUSP Partners.
VESL Director Presents at Sustainable Infrastructure Conference
Jordan Ermilio shares experience in sustainable water infrastructure at Cambodian conference.
NovaCANE project was present at CAMBALACHE Festival
Villanova Engineering PhD grad Sergio Yáñez '15 took the NovaCANE (Community Action by New Engineers) STEM outreach program to the University of Santiago, Chile where he teaches Civil Engineering.