Welcome to the 2Nd Meeting of the Madison Area Professionals Chapter of Engineers Without
Madison Area Professionals Chapter (MAPC)
Engineers Without Borders-USA
Members Meeting
May 13, 2009
Meeting Minutes
Attendees:
Danielle McIntoshKelly DoyleBrad HughesEyleen Chou
Paul FossumTom SiebersMichael PollinaScott Hamel
Nancy ZolidisDave Hoerr
- Welcome and Introductions
The meeting was called to order by Nancy Zolidis at 7:05pm.
- Minutes from the last meeting
Minutes of the April 8, 2009 meeting were reviewed. Motion to approve the minutes was made by Danielle McIntosh, seconded by Kelly Doyle. Motion passed.
- Treasurer’s Report
Danielle McIntosh reported on her on-going efforts to get the portionof MAPC members’ dues allocated to our chapter account at EWB-USA. Kelly Doyle contacted Scott Hammond in April via email, and he indicated that dues from those who signed up this fiscal year [same as calendar year?] would be reallocated to the MAPC account. We still have 6 members whose dues haven’t been properly allocated. New members can now join EWB-USA and select MAPC on the EWB-USA website for their chapter affiliation.
- Technical Advisory Committee
Nancy Zolidis said that TAC chair John Lichtenheld had distributed the latest version of his spreadsheet showing the chapter liaisons, student project managers, technical skills needed, and subgroup liaisons for the five student projects.
- Project Reports
- Lake Superior-Red Cliff, Wisconsin
Nancy Zolidis reported that due to the length of time required for EWB-USA to approve project travel, and the fact that this is extremely inconvenient for the Red Cliff project (since their project site is only a few hours drive away), the students have created a new group, Badgers Without Borders, under which banner they will travel to the project site. All other related activities will continue as a EWB-UW student chapter project. The students need some help in the area of health issues related to flooding of basements in the community.
- Kenya
Kelly Doyle provided an update on the fluoride filter concept, which involves the use of bone char. She described some unsuccessful attempts to char the bones in kilns, where they had some problems with the marrow. Mike Pollina and Kelly will be assisting the students with another attempt this weekend, using a pit method. They are also continuing to work on improving the design for the sand filters, including developing a better sand cleaning technique.
- Rwanda
Danielle McIntoshreported that they have found a mentor for their upcoming trip, so the trip is a go. The students will be working on an on-going agriculture project, financial management for the projects in Rwanda, and a potential rainwater catchment system. They will also be building contacts with a local agriculture college. It might be possible to obtain some additional funding from an ag research project at UW-Madison.
- Haiti
Scott Hamel told the group that the team still plans to travel in early June, but they are currently on hold, pending some answers to questions posed by the EWB-USA TAC. They will be building the powerhouse for the hydroelectric power system, and also do the surveying for the clinic project. This will include additional training of Haitian surveyors. They need some water resource expertise, including some hydraulics design assistance. Scott said they will be working with Mike Wegner and Jim Bachhuber on this. They will also be meeting with some engineers from Mead & Hunt.Six students from UW and 2 from the San Francisco chapter will be traveling. Scott also reminded the group of the surveying class scheduled for May 30 at UW-Madison.
- El Salvador
Scott Hamel provided an update on the bridge subgroup, who will be taking several design proposals to show to the community on the next trip. The plan is to build the bridge in January. The students have been able to come up with some basic designs for the bridge, but they really need help with details such as the joints. Norm Doll and Tom Zalewski are helping the students with detailing the bridge designs. The other subgroup will be traveling in August, working on water quality and education. Paul Fossum said they are looking for an artist to design a new coloring book. Danielle McIntosh volunteered her fiancé. Paul also reported that the first wastewater piping system was completed by the community. The group also plans to look into improvements to the existing waste water treatment plant, which is not working very effectively.
- Update from EWB-USA
See above
- Old Business: Banquet
Eyleen Chou reported that the fund-raising banquet came off pretty well. The student chapter raised approximately $5000. Improvements are planned for next year, including improvements to the attendee spreadsheet, and moving the event to campus, which should lower costs and make it easier logistically. She stated that they will not hold it on the same weekend as Engineering Expo in the future, as many students were involved in both and it became a little too hectic.
- New Business: Strategic Planning for the Next 12 Months
Nancy led a discussion of what the chapter should do specifically in the coming year, starting with a solicitation of the group for ideas. She mentioned four areas: membership growth, speakers and programs, fundraising, and social functions.
Mike Pollina mentioned that the students want help in dealing with the EWB-USA bureaucracy, and also to help keep the momentum going on the projects.
A number of ideas were discussed regarding recruitment, including a “brown bag road show” to offer talks at various companies in the area. The “High Tech Happy Hour” was mentioned again as a place to spread the word. Tom Siebers said there are a lot of people out there who can help with specific problems. The desirability of reaching out to those with non-engineering expertise in areas such as health, agriculture, languages and cultures, etc. was also brought up. Nancy Zolidis mentioned the lack of faculty involvement, and wondered why we didn’t see more participation from them, and how we could bring them in. She mentioned that Mike Wegner had talked about contacting UW alumni. Mark Tussler had also volunteered to undertake some publicity work with local media. Eyleen Chou said that the students were going to be setting up a table at the Dane County Farmers Market.
There was considerable discussion of the types of topics and speakers that could be brought in for chapter meetings. Topics included project management training, first aid and safety, pre-trip orientation. Nancy and Eyleen discussed how the student chapter had lined up speakers throughout the year. It was agreed that working together would be beneficial for both organizations.
On the subject of fundraising, Tom Siebers said that Prof. Jeff Russell was very good at this, and that we should try to enlist his help and advice. Eyleen Chou said that the student chapter would provide an estimate of what their funding needs will be in the coming year.
Mike Pollina suggested that we organize field trips for MAPC and students to interesting sites in the area, and perhaps have our own “brown bag” seminars from time to time.
Eyleen also reported that there will be an EWB Energy Awareness Concert, for which the sound stage will be powered by bicycle-driven generators, at the Memorial Union on June 10.
- Action Items for the Next Meeting
Eyleen and Gavin Weir will look into the first aid requirements coming from EWB-USA.
Nancy Zolidis will follow up with Mike Wegner on alumni outreach, and also contact Mark Tussler about publicity, and work on developing an outreach campaign (“brown bag road show”, etc.)
Tom Siebers will contact Prof. Russell regarding fundraising.
Eyleen will organize the Farmers Market table project.
Kelly Doyle will look into a Habitat for Humanity work party opportunity for the chapter.
- Next Meeting Date
The executive committee determined that the chapter should continue to meet throughout the summer. The next meeting will be on Wednesday June 10, from 7-9pm, in an as-yet-to-be-determined location on the UW-Madison campus. Eyleen Chou will schedule a room for us.
- Adjournment
A motion to adjourn was made by Kelly Doyle, and seconded by Eyleen Chou. Motion passed, and the meeting was adjourned at approximately 9:00pm.
Respectfully submitted,
Dave Hoerr
Secretary