ESW Projects Database

The goal of this project team is to create an energy producing micro wind turbine. This project will be used to educate students on the importance and availability of renewable energy. ​ This project is currently in the proposal and planning phase. We are currently conducting further research on micro wind turbine designs and applications to put together a preliminary general layout of the wind turbine....

This is an annual event that is held at The University of Akron for middle schoolers to challenge them to various projects involving sustainability and STEMM. This year, we had over 40 students that participated in creating solar cars and competing in races and wind turbines that were tested on the power output in a wind tunnel. ...

This is an annual event that is held at The University of Akron for middle schoolers to challenge them to various projects involving sustainability and STEM. This year, we had a whole class of students participate in creating wind turbines out of recycled materials. Several smaller STEM-focused activities were also held, such as marble races, submersibles, and lava lamps....

In the Fall 2019 semester, the ESW Biofuels team at Cornell created a special taskforce, the Biodiesel Engine Project (BEP). The goal of the project is to install a Vector System (VS) onto a diesel tractor so it can also run on biodiesel, and then analyze its practicality. If the project proves to be practical, then Cornell may allow the team to implement the vector system onto other tractors, and Cornell grounds vehicles. One more step towards meeting Cornell's 2035 climate goals. In collaboration with Optimus Technologies, the team successfully installed the vector system, which lets the tractor run on both traditional diesel and of pure biodiesel (B100)....

The Renewable Energy Solutions: Campus Energy Conservation sub-team is working with the Cornell Campus Sustainability Office to visualize data concerning energy consumption on Campus. The dashboard developed can be used to display energy consumption from different buildings on campus over time. The spring 2022 semester in particular, the team worked to implement a series of energy saving mechanisms around campus, as directed by the Campus Sustainability Office. These projects included: an analysis of Ultra Low Temperature (ULT) Freezers in Cornell Labs, research and analysis of smart control system algorithms within buildings, and the development of fault-detection algorithms as a part of New York State’s RTEM Hackathon. Through these projects, the team learned about how Cornell’s Buildings are heated and cooled and how laboratories in CALS and the Vet School could be upgraded to reduce energy consumption. The hackathon in particular helped the team practice data analysis and visualization in the context of real-time energy data. Overall, the development and eventual implementation of fault-detection and occupancy algorithms at Cornell will help the University save energy and reduce its carbon footprint....

The Renewable Energy Solutions Sustainable Living Outreach team has been focusing on outreach concerning what individuals can do to live more sustainable lives and make an impact concerning climate change. The team utilized the networks that ESW has developed within the Cornell community to deliver engaging sustainability-related social media content to a college audience. This team also hosted an Earth Day outreach event to provide herb planters to students on campus and discuss growing your own herbs, vegetables, and fruits....

Objective: Design and build an autonomous ebb-and-flow style vertical farm capable of growing any small to mid-sized plants.

Design: Our A-frame design is built with pressure treated wood, with four PVC grow troughs arranged on each side. Each grow trough houses five pods in which strawberries are being grown in a clay ball substrate, making 40 plants the farm's total capacity. The troughs are sequentially filled via a gravity-fed plumbing system, with flow being controlled by a series of solenoid valves. An 8 minute fill period is followed by a 10 minute stagnation period, then a 2 minute drain period in which all the troughs' contents are drained and pumped back up to our main reservoir, ready for the cycle to begin again. All electronics are controlled autonomously by an Arduino Uno R3, and our system requires only a single 120V power outlet for continuous and autonomous use....

The goal of The Bike Power Project Team is to transform a conventional bicycle into a technologically advanced bicycle by installing an electrical system that runs on renewable energy. Some of the additional features include phone chargers, turn signals, and headlights. Currently, The Bike Power Project Team is in the process of learning about a new generator. ...

Building a filament extruder that uses recycled plastics for use for 3D printing. Following this instructional document: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ohx.2018.e00026

This is just a placement - testing project description.

This project focuses on creating eco-bricks that, once complete, will be registered with the GoBrik organization. Once enough have been created, there will be a construction project on campus that utilizes the Ecobricks in a fun and engaging manner.

This group works on educational resources (e.g. visual presentation, power point, recording, etc.) that can be presented online, in schools, during meetings, and on our website. ​ Currently, we are working on K-12 presentations that can be a substitute for field trips. We are also working on special event presentations such as "Recycling 101" & "Future Earth" where we travel to local schools and teach students about Plastic Recycling & Sustainable STEM Practices, respectively. In addition, many members are working on varied independent sustainability projects to present to fellow college students....

This project team is going to upcycle metal in various ways to create something new out of it. Currently, this project team is working on creating molds to produce coins that our university will use in lieu of plastic ones.

ZPP is utilizing a phased approach to establish our collaborative recycling work-space.

Phase 1:

Design Detailing

Getting Started! This phase entails the creation of a mobile plastic shredder, and a compression machine. The shredder will allow recycled plastics to be shredded into smaller pieces that will ease the manufacturing process. The compression machine will manufacture reduced plastic by applying mechanical pressure and heat....

The Algae Biofuel Project consists of growing algae in a lab and then processing the algae into biofuel.

This project involves building a garden bed that waters and takes care of itself. The goal is to use an Arduino sensor to measure soil moisture and then water as needed. A garden bed has been built out of wood and a rail to support the sensor and the water pump was added. ...

This is a student research group with the goal of creating a closed-loop recycling system for 3D printer filament on the UC Berkeley campus. The team also hopes to expand the project to other campuses and locations.

ESW Berkeley has been working to build community and sustainability in the engineering space on our campus. We recently built a blender bike which we have used to make smoothies at engineering events. We have made these smoothies zero waste, and vegan, by buying produce without packaging, and cutting and freezing it ourselves, as well as making our own oakmilk. We have also partnered with other organizations on campus in order to give out the smoothies in reusable mugs. ...

This project aimed to reduce the amount of toxic algae growth on a local Oakland Lake. Lake Temescal is a wonderful greenspace surrounded by freeways and houses, that the community is able to use for recreation and gatherings. However, the lake itself is closed multiple times a year due to toxic algae growing on the lake due to excess nutrients. ...

Construction of a green wall/vertical garden on the Bechtel Engineering Center to promote sustainability, reduce energy usage, improve mental health, and increase pollinator populations.

Welcome to H.O.P.E.S.: Hoover Outreach Program for Education and Sustainability.

This is a community partnership project that began with an ESW Build Day grant in the 2017/2018 school year. Since then, this UC Berkeley ESW group has been building chicken coops, learning about food justice, and growing with the elementary school kids and surrounding community. We've made multiple community connections from this partnership and partake in outreach in various community-led build days, as well as experiential environmental education. ...

Rainwater harvesting system and rain garden/bioswale built on a building on the UC Berkeley campus. The tank and gutters for the system were installed a few years ago, and the project is being finished up with the addition of a rain garden/bioswale, as well as a community art day to decorate the tank. ...

This is partnership with a local organization called Transition Berkeley. We received $10,000 to create a culture of repair in our community and provide the appropriate educational tools and resources to do so. We achieve this by facilitating a DeCal (student led) class in which Cal students and high school students in Berkeley attended weekly Zoom meetings to learn hands on repairs skills from community experts. We learned various repair skills such as hand sewing, patching a flat tire, diagnosing a toilet, and more!...

This project has many campus partners. It recently became its own entity called SHAC: Sustainable Housing at Cal.

In this project, we are building a machine to recycle 3D printer filament, following the design described in Aubrey et al. 2018. We hope to use our finished project to recycle used 3D printer filament from the currently operating Brown University 3D printers. ...

Designing a living wall for installation in the atrium of the Chemical and Biological Engineering Building at UBC.

We have made great progress with finalizing our design for the living wall. We are working on creating an itemized budget and sourcing building materials. Most materials have been decided on but we still need to find piping for the irrigation system. Hopefully in the next few days, some team members will be able to stop by the UBC Botanical Gardens shop to see if they have the plants we plan to put on the wall. ...

Our Earthworm Composting Bin uses its intuitive design to enable users to participate in and learn about the decomposition of food waste. Pre-filled with earthworms at the bottom, a student need only to pour food scraps into the top of the bin to initiate the process. The worms will digest the added material and travel upwards as they do. Via a see-through acrylic wall, students can view how fresh trash at the top of the bin becomes the organic mulch at the bottom. Our design also includes a series of removable shelves that allow only the earthworms to travel through them. This allows usable compost to be separated from unprocessed material and then removed through an opening at the bottom. The Earthworm Composting Bin is a device to both teach and enact environmental stewardship for everyday people....

With the recent drought in California and the threat of more to come, alternative ways to capture fresh water are high in a list of demands. While desalination is not currently an efficient process, the sea does offer another resource - fog. In many coastal areas, it is very common to see huge banks of fog roll out of the sea and onto the land. Even in extremely arid regions, fog is a common occurrence. Plants, insects, and trees have already identified this resource, and have developed various ways of “scrubbing” their own fog....

The project is currently in a research stage to try an identify the best ways of measuring the amount of plastic accumulation in beach sand. As there is very little existing documentation, the team is working through creating their own procedures. Eventually, this may lead to a more efficient way of sifting through beach sand to remove microplastics. ...

This project is exploring using ocean waves to create energy through a change of pressure. A preliminary prototype was constructed and tested and was valuable in creating new design and material adjustments

This project is in collaboration with UBC Food Services and UBC SEEDS Sustainability Program. Our chapter is working with another group of students to estimate the environmental impact associated with food delivery services on campus. Many students order food through services like Uber Eats, Doordash, and Skip the Dishes, which often results in single meals being delivered from restaurants that are large distances from campus. ...

An educational campaign to spread awareness both about sustainable menstrual habits and period poverty.

Developing image-recognition technology to run a garden sustainably. The technology would identify when to water each plant.

For this project, organizers would work with a university dining area for an event that produces minimal waste. The goal is to encourage participants to consider their environmental impact as it relates to waste production.

ESW-Etown organized a creek cleanup through the borough and local municipal waste facility. We walked down a mile stretch of the most urbanized part of the Conoy Creek and picked up almost 1000 pounds of trash! Interesting items included an old computer monitor, part of a car engine, and a steak knife....

The Biofuels and Environmental Design: Research and Development sub-team is pursuing a new project on the impregnation of biochar with ammonium phosphate. At a lab scale, this team will seek to demonstrate the technical feasibility of forming ammonium phosphate in the pores of biochar using aqueous phase reagents. The team will be working in the Olin Hall Unit Operations Lab on campus to generate the ammonium phosphate impregnated biochar, with long-term goals of working with plant sciences labs to test the fertilizer efficacy and runoff....

Cornell Bike Charger focuses on creating a stationary bike that converts the energy for rotating the bike's wheels to electrical energy to charge a phone. This project was inspired by the great usage of bikes on campus. We are currently nearing the end of the project and are implementing voltage regulators to prevent phone damage. We hope to develop a fully-functioning model by the end of the project, to be placed as an interactive exhibit in an environmentally conscious dorm on campus (known as Eco House)....

The Carbon Neutrality: Biomass Grinding Project sub-team will work to optimize the daily operations of Cornell University's Biomass Grinding facility by creating 1) a machine that will dry biomass particles evenly and efficiently, and 2) a system that keeps the facility at a reasonable temperature. Ultimately, the team will aim to reduce the facility's energy consumption and operating costs, utilizing guidance from contacts in the BEE, CEE, and ECE departments as well as the Campus Sustainability Office....

The end goal of the Carbon Emissions Reduction project is to create a usable app / website that will serve as a resource for homeowners, specifically in Ithaca, to find new technologies and means of reducing their carbon footprint. We have begun this project by analyzing data on the gas and electricity usage of a sample of homes around Ithaca and comparing this data with qualitative data gathered from visiting the homes and speaking with the owners. We are currently coming out of the research phase and are working on finding the most effective means of putting our findings into a usable platform....

CIRENAS is an eco-lodge in Costa Rica that aims to educate people about sustainable development and environmental conservation by allowing visitors to experience their sustainable ways of living. One of CIRENAS's practices is collecting wastewater in a large tank and using it as fertilizer. CIRENAS is interested in turning this system into one that produces methane via anaerobic digestion to power their kitchen, and they report that there is currently no methane being produced despite the system being closed off to the atmosphere. Our team's goal is to analyze the feasibility of successfully anaerobically digesting CIRENAS's wastewater, and to explore possible problems that could be inhibiting the production of methane. This project will (hopefully) culminate into an on-site visit to CIRENAS during which our team members can investigate what is causing CIRENAS's anaerobic digestion to fail by running tests which we'll design beforehand. Afterwards, we'll report our findings to CIRENAS and propose solutions to increase their methane yield....

The Biofuels and Environmental Design: Bioenergy Implementation sub-team is looking to build off of the Biodiesel Engine Project from previous semesters by creating a Continuous Biodiesel Process capable of producing enough biodiesel to power a campus tractor for a full summer. In fall 2022, they developed and proposed the Batch Beaker Process to facilitate the transesterification with the goal of determining the best conditions for the biofuel product. Going forward, BioImp hopes to secure lab space to experiment with the Batch Beaker Process and eventually switch from pure vegetable oil to campus waste oil as the source for the biodiesel. The team also hopes to design a continuous reaction that will yield larger amounts of biodiesel, as well as perform an economic analysis to determine the long-term economic feasibility of the project’s end goal....

The Carbon Neutrality: Smart Controls sub-team aims to reduce errors in Cornell's record of its campus energy consumption by detecting meter faults and anomalies. In the fall, SC focused on quality control, including detecting missing data, repetitions, sudden spikes in heating or cooling, and discrepancies from previous years. Going forward, SC plans to 1) improve baseline algorithms, 2) use ML packages to make the model predictive (e.g., based on weather patterns), 3) collaborate with other faculty and staff working in smart buildings, 4) establish methods of communicating when meters need to be fixed, and 5) develop more advanced model selection techniques based on biophysical formulas....

Our goal for this project is to give people affected by natural disasters options to power necessary communication devices sustainably. On top of this, the use of solar panels helps to provide reliable electricity during times of instability. The project will also focus on looking at additional features that can maximize the functionality of the backpack, such as flotation, location, and tracking devices. We would ultimately like to make our backpack as cheap and accessible as possible. Currently our design is complete and our circuit construction is underway, which will just leave testing and the assembly to the backpack....

The Renewable Energy Solutions: Food Waste sub-team is working to visualize the extent of food waste on campus in Cornell University dining halls. The team is working with the sustainability coordinators in Cornell Dining to collect data on campus food waste production. With this, they are creating a website that will display the data in ways that both are educational and encourage the reduction of food waste. The website will also display students, faculty, and staffs' perspectives on food waste....

In partnership with the Campus Sustainability Office, the Carbon Neutrality: High Power Device Database sub-team aims to reduce the usage of high energy demanding equipment at Cornell. Particularly, HPDD has been focusing on fume hoods, which are some of the most energy intensive devices on campus since they replace heated air from inside the room with cold air from outdoors. This past semester, they performed thermodynamic calculations in Python using API connections to Cornell’s Energy Management & Control System (EMCS) portal. Going forward, the team will adapt the database's user interface to client-based needs of 135 Cornell laboratory managers, as well as automate client outreach based on device control, status, and usage....

The Green Warriors program is a program through the Cornell Cooperative Extension that teaches incarcerated youth about sustainability and trains them in related skills that are applicable once they return to their hometowns. Cornell’s Chapter of Engineers for a Sustainable World helps this program by designing lessons and helping to build demonstrations for the instructors. Previous lesson examples include a green energy week challenge, which looked for ways to save energy around their detention center and a “build your own circuit” kit centered around solar energy. The team also visits the Finger Lakes facility for semi-annual graduation ceremonies and hosts youth on tours of Cornell University. Currently the team is working with Environmental Engineering professors to design more lessons. This is an ongoing project....

The Renewable Energy Solutions: Hydroponics project will be a multi-semester design and build project with the end goal of creating an efficient and robust outdoor hydroponics system to grow plants without soil while utilizing a solar component to offset energy use. The hydroponics team is also collaborating with faculty in the Civil and Environmental Engineering department to test out new, innovative growing techniques in hydroponics. The team hopes to build an affordable and effective hydroponics setup, and communicate the benefits of hydroponics to Cornell and the Ithaca community....

Working as a part of the Tester Lab under the oversight of Dr. Kui Wang, we are using a reactor within an environment that we designed in Snee Hall to place post- digestate waste from the Ithaca Area Wastewater Treatment Facility (IAWWTF) under high temperature and pressure to produce useful biosolids and liquids....

The current state-of-the-art space suit, the Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU), was developed for short-duration missions in low earth orbit, in which material disposal (lack of recycling), short spacewalk length, frequent maintenance, and dependence on space stations was acceptable. With interplanetary colonization—specifically of Mars—on the horizon, life support systems must be approached from a new perspective. Future interplanetary colonization missions, where functioning bases will need to be built to establish colonies, will require longer time spans spent outside of vehicles, with minimal contact with vehicles and greater mobility. Several life support measures currently implemented in the EMU to allow astronauts to survive comfortably outside of space stations would have to be improved upon to facilitate interplanetary colonization. Most importantly, no system currently recycles the water produced by the astronaut's body through sweat, urine, and feces. The primary focus and scope of this sub-team will be the creation of a Water Filtration Loop in the Liquid Cooling and Ventilation Garment (LCVG) and Primary Life Support Systems (PLSS) that would absorb the body's water through waste, filter it, and return it as potable water for the astronaut to drink....

The goal of this project is to develop a prototype of a new design of wind turbine that can fold in on itself and store itself inside an underground compartment. This kind of dynamic wind turbine could be used in places where they don’t want the wind turbines exposed all the time, like only operating the wind turbines at night time. At the time the semester ended, our model had some functional motion mechanisms. None of the motion mechanisms have been motorized as of yet....

The Biofuels and Environmental Design: Business and Outreach sub-team is continuing their partnership with Cornell Cooperative Extension (CCE) of Suffolk County on a podcast project, as well as beginning a new partnership with the Shinnecock Nation Environmental Department and the NYS Water Resources Institute. In the podcast, they will discuss Indigenous peoples' perspectives on topics like water quality and the impact of ocean acidification on coastal communities. In December of 2021, the team was awarded a $3,000 Engaged Opportunity Grant from Cornell's Einhorn Center for Community Engagement. The team has spent time researching the Shinnecock Nation, environmental issues facing Long Island, and cultural impacts as a result of climate change. From this research, B&O has developed many questions and prompts that they plan to ask the Shinnecock representatives on the podcast when they record. Some topics of inquiry include environmental racism, declining shellfish populations, receding shorelines, ocean acidification, overfishing water quality issues, government actions/their effectiveness, and traditional ecological knowledge. Once the podcast is completed, the team hopes to extend this work to develop engineering solutions to the environmental problems discussed during the recording....

Since the fall of 2020, the Biofuels Bioenergy Implementation sub-team has been performing a techno economic analysis of rare earth element bioextraction (REE TEA). While traditional extraction methods use high-temperature, high-pressure conditions and caustic agents, a more environmentally friendly method uses microbes to produce organic acids and then adsorb rare earth ions from solution. However, this process is also less efficient, so the team has been working to analyze the process’s economic feasibility. The team is working with Biological and Environmental Engineering Professor Buz Barstow, who has been working to genetically engineer the microbes to produce more organic acid in order to increase efficiency. ...

The hydroturbine subteam of the Cornell ESW chapter is working to create a hydropower system on the order of 1 kW in a creek adjacent to Cornell's campus. Hydropower has a storied history at Cornell, and the terrain in the area presents many opportunities for it. We wanted to install a small hydropower system in some way, and found a location where there was an infrastructure need in terms of lighting for a bridge on a popular walking path. We currently are in the process of testing and revising our design, with the end goal being a functional system sometime next year. This system would be operational during every season but winter, and would provide lighting for a bridge, along with a charging port for phones and real-time flow data from the creek. ...

The Renewable Energy Solutions: Software development sub-team is working on a full-stack development project with the end goal of creating a sustainability-centered app and website that can be used by the Cornell community. Through many thoughtful discussions, the team decided to focus this app/website on creating a way for leftovers and free food to be shared around campus in an efficient way with the hopes of minimizing food waste. Currently, the team is working on their user interface design and integrating their frontend and backend. Members applied their CS background, expanding their skills in Python, Java, and HTML to other languages and platforms, including Figma, React, and Django, among others. They are also considering ideas in partnering with Cornell Dining and the Cornell Food Recovery Network....

The end goal of the project is to design and create a prototype of a solar-powered water desalinator and filter. The design will be easy to construct and made of readily available materials to enable more people to have access to clean drinking water. Currently, materials have been identified and the dimensions have been chosen so that initial assembly can begin as soon as possible. ...

The Renewable Energy Solutions: Solar Desalinator team is looking to design a desalinator that can is both inexpensive and easy to build with typical and nontoxic materials. Ideally, the desalinator will be able to be implemented in any community, regardless of available resources....

The Solar Oven Project's goal is to rebuild the solar oven in Bovay Lab. The solar oven was originally constructed in 2010, and has been subject to a significant amount of wear and tear. Continuous use involving a wide variety of materials and chemicals has brought down the quality of the solar oven’s effectiveness. Our goal is to build an updated version of the oven. We are planning to coat the interior with thermal paint, to reconstruct the exterior of the oven with improved insulation materials and work to improve on the software it is connected to make it more realistic to a sunny day in Ithaca. Our ultimate intention with this project is to provide a cleaner, safer, and more effective oven for ESW project testing and solar power simulating....

The Biofuels Research and Development sub-team is investigating the formation of struvite, a slow release fertilizer, from acid-whey waste streams. Struvite formation requires nitrogen and phosphorus, so recovering struvite can reduce the nitrogen and phosphorus of waste-streams. Additionally, compared to other fertilizers, there is less potential for nutrient runoff or overfertilization due to its slow-release nature. In collaboration with the Tester research group in CBE, the Biofuels Research & Development sub-team created model solutions in the lab to represent anaerobic digestate from acid-whey waste streams, and performed struvite precipitation reactions. The team analyzed results using the equilibrium modeling software Visual MINTEQ and contributed to a research paper on this work. The paper was recently published at this link: https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.iecr.2c01077....

In September 2021, the Biofuels Business and Outreach sub-team partnered with Cornell Cooperative Extension (CCE) of Suffolk County, NY. The team wrote three lesson plans for a target audience of grades 6-12 on the topics Climate Change and Ocean Health, Biofuels, and Renewable Energy and Oceans, which will include activities or demonstrations. The educators of CCE Suffolk plan to add these lessons to their brochure and present them to local students at schools, libraries, and their own facilities. ...

The Carbon Neutrality: Business & Policy sub-team is working to improve Cornell's Sustainability Dashboard, which is a website where the general public and Cornell students can track Cornell's progress towards sustainability and carbon neutrality. B&P is focusing on data analysis for the dashboard, primarily using information collected from the annual STARS (Sustainability, Tracking, And Ranking System) report on categories such as carbon neutrality, education, engagement, campus operations, and governance & finance. ...

The Renewable Energy Solutions Water Quality Outreach sub-team is researching waste separation processes, with a focus on waste-composting toilets and water quality in the Ithaca area. Toilets account for nearly a quarter of domestic wastewater, so improving the sustainability of this waste stream would have major impacts. Through outreach with the local community, the team aims to see where such technologies may be feasible, and conduct research to advance their usage. The team has also recently begun researching partnerships in Puerto Rico after several members took part in a trip with their advisor in Puerto Rico over spring break in 2022....

The Carbon Neutrality: Energy Technologies Development sub-team is working on developing a Wave Energy Converter (WEC) that will power an Integrated Multi-Trophic Aquaculture Farm (IMTA) with the goal of addressing food security and less carbon-intensive food supplies. The main motivation for this project stems from the Marine Energy Collegiate Competition, and the team is developing this WEC with help from the researchers of the Symbiotic Engineering and Analysis (SEA) Laboratory in the MAE department....

Clarkson's on campus project for this year was the design and implementation of an educational aquaponics system in the new greenhouse. This project will be completed next semester once the greenhouse is finished due to the pandemic. It will house tilapia fish in a clear tank with a small growing system above to demonstrate how aquaponics works....

Clarkson has been working with a town in Kinyamaseke, Uganda for years. This years project was to create a design for a permaculture garden for a primary school that utilizes harvested rainwater. The rainwater harvesting plans were completed and a design for a garden was determined. The goal was to travel with several club members to Uganda to implement these projects, however, due to the pandemic, travel has been postponed until further notice. Funds have been provided to the community and school via our club to continue to support environmental progress, including the installation of a well that will be utilized by the future permaculture garden and next year project of an aquaponics system. Next year, the garden and rainwater harvesting systems will be implemented....

ESW-Etown held an hour-long session at a local elementary school to a group of second graders on recycling/upcycling. A group of Education/OT majors in the club taught the students environmental education and had a workshop that included yogurt cup turtles....

This project harnessed the energy provided from pedaling a bike to power a functioning blender. A rotor was attached to the wheel of a stationary bike. As the wheel spun, the rotor powered the impeller of the blender. We demonstrated the functionality of our project by making milkshakes for a group of spectators. As the world looks to decrease its reliance on fossil fuels, this project demonstrated how simple devices can be used as sustainable sources of energy....

This project utilized waste vegetable oil(WVO) from the campus dining hall facilities. The goal in mind was to produce 30 L of biodiesel through a transesterfication process that would be compatible with an array of internal combustion engines, including farming equipment, There were five broad steps: collection, filtration, heating & settling, titration, and calculation. As crude biodiesel was purified, glycerin was created as a by-product. Completed biodiesel was tested against ASTM D6751 standards....

Hi guys!!! This is not that difficult- I promise!

ESW-RPI has been working with the village of Ek’ Balam in Yucatan, Mexico in order to create a community center for their people. Currently the project is split into three subprojects all working on unique parts of the community centers system. The names of the three subprojects are solar cistern pump, wastewater system, and adobe bathrooms. ...

The local project we are planning is installing a solar panel at one of our bus stops to provide power to devices that will be installed.

The ESW-MSU chapter started working to design a green roof on a building at Fenner Nature Center for Build Day, but could not complete it due to COVID and not being able to access the site or building materials. The project began in Fall 2019 and was going to be finished in Spring 2020, but will be finished next year. The building was hand built by a previous employee and has other sustainable components and they wanted to add a green roof to educate visitors on their benefits....

In this project, we aim to educate Georgia Tech students on the dangers that the Cosmetic Industry incurs on public health and the environment. We focus on researching harmful ingredients in popular products and hard to recycle cosmetic products and we determine how people can look for safer and more sustainable products. We organize events to promote proper recycling for cosmetic products and to bring in owners of sustainable cosmetic companies in Atlanta to talk to students about their processes. We are also in the process of creating a database of harmful ingredients to make it easier for students to know which products they should avoid....

For the past year, we have had increasing trouble with our composting system, which was basically two big plastic tubs filled with worms and potato skins. The composting system lives in harmony in our greenhouse with our hydroponics system. For starters, the plastic lids are cracking, it is difficult to mix food scraps into the dirt, and it leaks worms. Yes, you read that correctly. There are holes in the bottom of the tubs through which a few particularly valiant worms ventured. While cleaning the greenhouse one day, I discovered a settlement comprised of a tub collecting periodic drops from a leaky hose and the descendants of said worms, who seemed to be enjoying themselves more than their cousins in the composter. Anyway, that's besides the point. While home for quarantine, I decided that I would repurpose and old drum that belonged to our club. With the help of some other members of our team, we designed, fashioned, cut, welded, grinded down, re-welded, and painted ourselves a new composter. It was made mostly out of repurposed materials we had on hand, save the latches and paint. It rotates to make mixing easy and mess-free and had no worm exit points incorporated in the design. It is expected to serve Georgia Tech ESW's composting needs for years to come. Be sure to look for us in Composter Fashion Monthly....

We are developing an interactive map using JavaScript, HTML, CSS, and MapBox to display data about water at various sites in the Palo Alto area. This project is a collaboration with the nonprofit organization Grassroots Ecology.

A group of senior engineers that are all a part of ESW-Etown are creating a recreational greenhouse that will be used by students, professors, and the community. The total budget for the greenhouse is $6000 and so far the club has raised about $4000 for the project. Some of the materials have been purchased/donated, however, due to COVID, the project has been postponed until next semester....

ESW-Etown received funding through the school to host five informational seminars about environmental problems and how we can try and solve them. We gave $100 worth of prizes out at every event. Two of the events had guest speakers and the other three included a short documentary and a discussion afterward,...

HEAT is a project focused on creating more energy efficient homes in the neighborhood surrounding the University of Pittsburgh’s campus. We received funding to distribute pipe insulation, faucet aerator, shower head, window and door insulation, light bulbs, and power strips. This project consisted of outreach at the local food pantry where sessions were held to teach community members the benefits of creating a more energy efficient home. The sessions were held on Tuesdays and Fridays where we were able to distribute energy efficient items. During these sessions there was also an educational aspect where people learned about the economic and environmental benefits....

This project was to try and build a proof of concept for a hydroponics projects on campus.

We were creating a solar smoothie as a way for students at Mudd to use their technical and management skills to collaboratively create a device that is not only sustainable but can help raise awareness and morale within the campus.

ESW-Etown is working with dining services to create a 10x25 ft hoop house that they can use to grow their own vegetables. This project is being run by a group of sophomore engineers that received $2000 to complete the project. As of now all of the materials have been bought, however, due to COVID this project has been postponed until next semester....

This project is mainly collaborating with the FABE Department at Ohio State to build a cyclic system that will have minimal inputs and allow for the growth of plants by recycling water through the plant beds and using fertilizer to grow the plants. We hope to research fertilizer produced by compost, rather than artificial fertilizers, and compare the growth rates and quality of crops grown under different conditions. This project is probably the furthest along and centers on environmental engineering principles....

This project aims to implement composting programs at two university-owned apartment areas at Iowa State University to increase student participation in waste diversion.

Create electricity with a portable and adjustable pedal-powered generator using recycled parts. This project can be used to charge a battery and power lots of things like lights and charge a phone. It also serves as an educational project by demonstrating how easy is to make renewable energy using recycled things. ...

Combining Agriculture + Automation¶

NU AutoAquaponics' goal is to build a fully automated, remote monitored and controlled farming system in our club office that efficiently outputs both fish and plants without human labor for at least one month while minimizing the use of water and electricity....

Pura Playa, a project of ESW-NU, works to bring plastic waste reduction and recycling to campus through engineering, outreach, and activism efforts. Our desire to make a campus-wide impact started with the design and branding of educational flyers on plastic water bottles, which are now permanently featured at 20+ water bottle refilling stations around campus. We routinely engage with students, both engineers and non-engineers alike, to ensure we can reach as many of the general and interdisciplinary sustainability communities on campus as possible. You’ll see us around campus and in residential communities delivering our message on plastic waste in interactive and thought-provoking ways....

Insufficient outdoor workplaces with outlets continues to be a major problem for students living and studying on Northwestern’s campus. Furthermore, renewable energy installations on campus thus far have been limited to a few sites, despite its prominence in Northwestern’s Strategic Sustainability Plan (SSP). As such, the SmartTree project group aspires to address these distinct areas in its creation of Northwestern’s first mobile, solar-powered charging and work station....

ESW has partnered with Professor John Rick of the Department of Archaeology at Stanford in continuing the Engineering for Archaeology program in Chavín de Huántar, a UNESCO heritage site. We have three projects currently underway: structural engineering, AR/VR reconstruction, and robotic exploration. The first team is structural analysis focused - we look for ways to preserve the integrity of the site while maintaining its accessibility. The second team focuses on creating a VR experience showing what the site might have originally looked like. The third focuses on using technology for archaeological exploration (i.e. robots)....

This project will build a Pivoting blade vertical axis wind turbine (VAWT) and evaluate its performance.

Phase 1

Build a prototype based on the Proof on Concept Video...

This project is about tracking and finding trends in the air pollution at UCI. If you don’t know, Southern California is an especially interesting place to study air pollution, as its geography makes it vulnerable to unique atmospheric problems, most notably photochemical smog....

ESW at Purdue University is in the process of creating a bicycle powered blender to bring an exciting view on sustainability to students and faculty across campus.

The RHIT Garden Irrigation Project is an additional step after we completed our rainwater collection system. This irrigation system will be connected to our rainwater barrels and fed to the gardens raised beds. Automation of the pump and watering will also be considered....

Developing a biomimic design for the Biomimicry Design Institute Challenge. The working design concept was to mimic prairie dog burrowing tunnels for building ventilation. Due to COVID-19 we were not able to finish design development.

As of spring 2020, the structure and electrical components have been designed and materials had been selected. The team spent the semester checking past decisions and completing further calculations. Unfortunately, after the closure of campus due to Covid-19, RITESW has decided not to continue the project at this time....

As we have done the last couple of semesters, we are working on removing macroscopic pollution from RIT’s campus. Our plan this semester was to clear trash from Bailey Woods (nearby the solar panel field). Last semester we were able to pull 400+ pounds out of a large plot on Jefferson Rd. After a month and a half of planning, getting cleared through EHS and FMS for a pickup date, and many ambitious volunteers ready to go, our plans were cut short due to COVID-19. Our plan is to continue where we left off and surpass our initial goal of 100-200 lbs next semester. We will continue this project until the major dumpsites around campus are cleared. ...

The purpose of this project is to design, build, test and document a safe water filtration system for individual households in Haiti and other third world countries. The budget for the project is $10 and the design should be simple enough for potters local to Haiti to build and supply to households in the area. Our Customer, TAM Ceramics, will provide us with the filter media and also will take care of the distribution of our design to Haiti. The filter media is going to be granular clay infused with silver for its antimicrobial properties. ...

Rural Haiti has been facing a sanitation and waste management issue. With no plumbing or running water, permanent outhouses are being built as bathroom facilities - however, it is difficult to relocate the waste, the latrines are at risk of destruction from natural disasters, and most importantly they are expensive to fabricate, resulting in half-assembled facilities that are useless to the population. The Arborloo team is currently designing an inexpensive and sustainable solution to these problems. An Arborloo is a moveable latrine that sits on top of a shallow pit that holds the waste. It will be fabricated with materials found easily within Haiti and designed to be built by the people in Haiti. Some key design features include the ability to remove the arborloo once the pit is full (and plant a tree in its place), collapse the arborloo when high winds are approaching (avoiding structural damage), and upgrade/replace parts as the family earns more money for a higher quality latrine. ...

For residential owners or contractors who are interested in sustainable building insulation, our product is a novel building thermal insulation material created with its complete life cycle and carbon footprint in mind, while optimizing efficiency through its form. Unlike other synthetic materials on the market, our product uses sustainable materials. ...

Our goal was to produce a project proposal and video for the ESW Conference in April. The project we arrived at was a retrofit of an ecoswale and permeable asphalt to the edge of K lot. This retrofit would filter water runoff from the parking lot as it reaches the stream behind the lot. The project was chosen as a finalist at the conference, and we hope to continue the project....

We are working closely with RIT to build a solar composting facility on campus. Our team is responsible for designing and budgeting the solar power portion of the project. We have been working really hard to make a system that will last a long time but also be cost-efficient. We're very excited about the process we have made so far and we are continuing to finish up this project by the end of the spring 2020 semester. ...

We were focused on getting the SolaRIT, ESW's mobile power cart, in working condition by rewiring the electronics and making it a resource that other clubs and organizations could rent out and use for their activities. We were unfortunately interrupted in the middle of building, so all our materials are currently waiting to be installed....

Hui O Ko’olaupoko is a non-profit conservation organization operating in Kaneohe, HI. Rainfall is heavy in the winter months (November through March) and light the rest of the year, so the organization has asked for a design to build a rainwater catchment system that they can use to water their community garden in the dry season. The system should have a footprint of up to 10 sqft, hold up to 200 gal. of water, and not be a permanent structure, but should be durable for many years. In the future, the system may include a drip irrigation system....

ESW is proud to announce that our Solar team has placed in the 2018-2019 Smart Campus Challenge to implement their Solar Charging Bus Station outside the bus stop in front of the Union. Next year, the bus stop will actually be upgraded with solar panels on top, outlets underneath the seats, and a monitor that displays information about sustainability and resources for students to act green. This project is in full swing, and supports more than just engineering majors. In order to implement this bus stop effectively, this project involves web design and marketing....

This project will involve building a solar-powered refrigerator for communal use. Community fridges are essential services that provide reliable access to affordable and nutritious food to a rapidly increasing number of food-insecure and impoverished people in the United States. There is a significant amount of food waste that could be prevented and could instead help those in need. ...

ESW's way of raising awareness for renewable energy through a fun and effective fundraising method. Students get the satisfaction of a fresh smoothie being served to them with the help of solar energy. The portable smoothie can be placed in a location on campus for students to visit and enjoy a refreshing treat and learn about sustainable practices and ESW!...

It is an international hackathon for coders, scientists, designers, storytellers, makers, builders, technologists, and others in cities around the world, where teams engage the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA’s) free and open data to address real-world problems on Earth and in space....

Repair Café is an international project to reduce waste by bringing people together to fix broken items for free.

We recycled broken guitar strings from our local community guitar store and made them into bracelets.

We recycled old glass bottles and made candles with them. The bottles were cut using a tool to score the bottles and then they were thermally shocked by heating and then placing them in ice to break them along the score. An eco-friendly wax was melted and poured into the bottles, and the wax dried with wooden wicks sticking out of them. ...

Designing and fabricating a smoothie cart with blenders powered by solar power. One blender is powered via a bike that a smoothie enthusiast can ride.

STORM stands for students taking on runoff management. This project consisted of a build day where a rain garden was planted behind a dorm on campus. The plants consisted of beauty berry, ninebark, elderberry, and hydrangea. All of the plants chosen were native to the Pittsburgh region. On build day approximately 10 people attended to shape and plant the rain garden....

ESW-Etown held a succulent sale and raised about $800 for the club. The succulents were potted in upcycled yogurt cups, cans, or any other cup-like material. Used coffee grinds from the campus coffee store were used as soil for the succulents.

A rebuilding of the EMU super mileage car designed to compete in the shell eco marathon.

Our app, Sustainable Scotty, promotes sustainable behavior by fostering friendly competition and by rewarding users with virtual and real life prizes. Students select from various sustainable actions, such as refilling a reusable water bottle, composting or using a reusable bag. Then they can snap a quick picture, log it, and earn coins. Users can then put the coins they earn towards unlocking different types of green infrastructure to build their virtual cities. They can also put their coins towards real life rewards such as a free cookie or a free coffee at campus dining locations, or credit in the Carnegie Mellon Bookstore. Sustainable Scotty estimates the amount of CO2 saved by the user’s actions; users can join groups to compete against friends to save the most amount of CO2....

Our Build Day concept is aimed at sustainably supporting small businesses and restaurants in Austin. As a result of the pandemic, disposable takeout container use has dramatically increased at the same time that supporting small businesses like local restaurants has become crucial to keeping local economies alive. Our concept will aim, first, at the design and implementation of a modular reusable container sterilization system. This will allow customers to skip the single-use plastic while supporting local businesses without risking COVID-19 cross-contamination. Our Build Day event concept is a hybrid of real-time system assembly broadcast and virtual community connection with the launch of a small-business dashboard....

We identified and categorized microplastics in images of tap water samples taken along the pipe from Hemlock Lake to the University of Rochester Goergen Hall tap. This is part of a study into the applications of a nanoporous-membrane water filter at McGrath lab at the University of Rochester....

As an organic chocolate company based in the bay area, TCHO Chocolate is commonly known for their high quality, ethically sourced chocolate that can be found in Salt & Straw Ice Cream. TCHO’s current sustainability focus is in Ghana, through the Cacao Research Institute of Ghana (CRIG). Here, farmers grow and harvest the cacao pods, extract the beans, and ferment them before sending the product off to companies such as TCHO. In this process, cacao husks are discarded once the beans have been extracted. This results in a large waste of biomaterials that are usually discarded. Working with TCHO and CRIG, this team will repurpose cacao husks to produce biochar, an organic substance that can act as activated carbon in water filters. This project would involve testing the effectiveness of the husks as biochar water filters, as well as developing a mechanical system to produce the biochar and then filter the water through. As part of this the team will also explore how the water from the filter can be used. Ideally this solution will be implemented across Ghana to bring cleaner water to cacao producing areas....

Our objective is to build a network of IoT (Internet of Things) sensors that report data such as humidity, temperature, light levels), and bug density for our campus greenhouse at Howdy Farm.

Our chapter recycles disposed license plates and scrap metal to create new useful items. So far, we have created bags and boxes in our Ingram Makerspace.

ESW-Etown worked alongside a local MS4 agent to organize a tree planting along a FEMA purchased a land plot. We helped plant over 400 tree saplings and shrubs in an area that will mitigate flood damage.

Biofuels are traditionally thought of as direct substitutes to our modern, combustible fuels. The Biofuels Project at the University at Buffalo has taken a different perspective, looking to create a biological solar panel.

The team is specifically refining a fourth generation biofuel, which produces energy without destroying biomass. The system uses the algae Chlamondius Rienhardi to produce hydrogen gas using only simple salts and sunlight. Chlaymydomonas Rienhardi can produce hydrogen gas in a oxygen and sulfur-deprived environment. Therefore, the team performs sulfur and oxygen deprivation during experiments....

Over the course of two years, a team of about 10 active members worked on creating and designing a solar drone boat.

The purpose of this boat was to monitor and collect data about the water in the campus lake. The boat would be powered by solar panels, and it would be fitted with different sensors. These sensors measured data including pH levels, BOD concentration, and temperature. ...

Underclassmen Design features a team of students who are freshman and sophomores looking to get a hands on experience in engineering. This year, the students decided to create a biodigester.

A biodigester is a tank which digests, anaerobically, without air, organic material and produces methane gas for cooking, lighting and heating etc....

We are continuing our work to update and refit our biodiesel lab, which has fallen into disuse under previous executive teams. we are considering several directions, the most promising being to refit it to produce bioplastic precursors, or as a fermentations lab....

We are completing a feasibility study and designing a rainwater collection and purification pilot project to be put in place to serve the Denman Green low-income housing development. We are working in partnership with the Denman Housing Association, a Non-profit organization created with the goal of improving living conditions for underserved residents of Denman Island...

UC Merced has a greenhouse hydroponic farm on campus. The project goal is to provide produce for on campus food distribution services. Hydroponics is essentially soilless farming. This agricultural technique reports to have 90% water retention. In comparison, conventional agriculture (soil-based farming) has 10% water retention. The chapter is attempting to grow leafy greens and herbs. The dimensions of the hydroponic farm is 20 ft by 4ft. ...

With incorrect disposal of plastics and other materials, the ocean has quickly become a place of pollution. Over time, trash accumulates onto beaches, which affect both wildlife and people. Cleaning up our beaches is often a costly and timely process, which this project attempts to help with. The goal of the beach clean-up rover project at UCI is to design, build, and test an autonomous rover that can route along the beach and passively sift through sand to collect trash. During operation, the rover will collect and store any trash for later disposal....

The Airborne Wind Turbine project seeks to create a method of harnessing energy from jet streams present at high altitudes. This project tackles one of the main downfalls of wind as a source of power since wind is an intermittent source of energy due to geographical restrictions and seasonal fluctuations with the currently used wind turbine systems. The ability to reach much higher altitudes by creating an airborne system can provide non stop energy production. ...

The goal of the Closed Loop Shower Project is to provide the capability to conserve more fresh water by instantaneously filtering the water during a shower and pumping it back to the shower head. Thus, creating a closed loop that reuses up to 90% of water and uses less energy because water does not need to be continuously heated. ...

The goal of this project is to establish safer long term heating solutions for less developed countries by optimizing the "rocket mass heater" concept for particular regions. The rocket mass heater is a more efficient version of a regular wood furnace heating system that is both safer to use and results in a less polluted chimney exhaust. ...

The Solar Electric Bicycle project's aim is to create an electric bike powered by solar panels. The electricity produced can give the user many utilities such as charging electric applicants on the move, or for other uses to improve bike performance such as assisted pedaling. ...

The sustainable homes project seeks to combat homelessness by building tiny homes out of recycled plastics. The project currently is engineering building blocks/ bricks by shredding, melting and remolding collected recycled plastics into an ideal brick shape that can be used to create houses. ...

The Automated Renewables Monitoring Systems (ARMS) project is an effort to create low-cost, microprocessor-based power-weather correlation monitoring systems for various renewable energy sources. Using a few sensors, a Raspberry Pi, and the Internet-of-Things utility Cayenne, we aim to return concrete data on the true outputs and viability of various renewable energy generators on campus, and possibly pave the way for installing further such energy generators....

UCSD Bottles to Models (B2M) was created with the vision to create a fully functional and self-sustaining process of transforming used plastic bottles to usable filament for 3D printers. Although our goals have changed over the years due to several factors, we have accomplished several objectives:...

UCSD's CommUnity Garden aims to:

1. increase interest in STEM,
2. encourage students to live sustainably, as well as
3. foster community involvement while improving food quality in underprivileged areas.

Our project has two sub-teams: Outreach team and Hydroponics team....

UCSD ESW students are working with Housing Dining Hospitality (HDH) to measure the carbon footprint of the Keeling Apartments, one of many student housing buildings, through measurement breakdowns of energy usage by appliances within the building. In addition, ESW students are working with the student population living in the Keeling Apartments to record daily student lifestyle choices that affect the energy usage of the building as a whole. Using these measurements, ESW will make recommendations to HDH regarding new appliance options or ways of handling current appliances in a way that will reduce the total energy usage, as well as make recommendations to the students in an effort to help make students more aware of their impact on the large-scale carbon footprint in a way that encourages them to make minor lifestyle changes when useful and able....

The goal of the Green Fuel Cell Project (GFC) is to build a hydrogen fuel cell system that utilizes local resources and electrochemical reactions to produce an electrical/power source.

Objectives of the GFC include:

• Using materials that are greener and more cost-efficient than materials used in traditional combustion-based engines...

UCSD ESW-Personal Electric Vehicle project explores the possibilities of designing and manufacturing any vehicle that is powered by electricity. Our current project is converting a regular bike into an electric bike with a regenerative braking system. Those who are time sensitive, live in inner-city, have public transit issues (public transit does not reach all communities or is far away), do not own a car, find biking to work or school exerting, or who suffer from anaemia will benefit the most from this project. The bike will cut down on commute time and money. Additionally, the bike will make lengthy rides on hilly roads at UCSD less tiresome. The project will encourage more people to switch to sustainable means of transportation. Our goal is to make an e-bike that is consistent enough for commuting....

The goal of Triton Solar Car is to build a racing vehicle that is 100% powered by solar energy. Once we have the finished product we plan to apply to compete in solar car races. We have made models for all parts of the vehicle and are in the process of finishing the batteries and working on the schematics for the solar array....

As energy production transitions to renewable sources, two trends are on the rise:

• Small scale energy production in interconnected microgrids
• Increased grid battery storage capacity

The Vertical Axis Wind Turbine (VAWT) Project offers avenues of development for both of these burgeoning engineering opportunities. Using IoT capabilities, the VAWT allows for remote monitoring and maintenance, while also collecting data to optimize energy production as a standalone, microgrid. The energy produced is stored and used for charging phones, laptops, and micromobility devices....

Taking inspiration from the "Seabin project" this project consists of making a device, nicknamed the "River Roomba" that will autonomously filter trash from the Merrimack River. The finished device will allow efforts to focus more on larger debris and trash, as this device will focus on smaller pieces of garbage. ...

This project consists of "updating" a wind turbine that our chapter already made. The turbine will be upgraded so that it can charge a cell phone with the power it generates.

A set of garden boxes and a composter for Franklin Elementary in Santa, Ana California. The project is for Build Day 2022.

This year the hydroponics project experienced major transition.

Location: The project was in the basement of the on-campus foodbank, but this year they needed that space for a different project. Our hydroponics project is now looking for a new on-campus location....

Unlike other universities and/or clubs, many students do not treat ESWGuelph as another course for which they must dedicate time to do work. In previous semesters, students sporadically attended meetings which made it difficult to continue projects as members were not very committed....

The Plastic for Parts project team at the University of Guelph has been working hard to assemble a machine designed to recycle plastic water bottles into 3-D printer filament. This device is called a Polyformer and consists mostly of 3-D printed parts made from PLA filament. The objective of this project is to reduce waste in the community while gaining a resource to assist with other projects in the club and on campus. ...

This project was done in collaboration with the University of Guelph (U of G) Chapter of Engineers Without Borders.

The U of G engineering building has a coffee shop 'Tim Horton's' that sells coffee in disposable cups and lids. The engineering building also has many common spaces. Students and faculty purchase coffee and drink it while working in these common spaces, then dispose of the waste before leaving the building and filling the garbage and recycling bins with these coffee cups. ...

Our ESW chapter at the University of Guelph has an exciting announcement... We are launching a new project called Scraps to Soil! We aim to design and build a solar powered composting system to be implemented on campus and in future, around the community. Our hope is to reduce the amount of food waste on campus and to help provide nutrient rich soil for the gardens. The system will be using renewable solar energy to turn which will reduce the amount of labor required for maintenance and upkeep. This main frame of this design will consist of 2x4s and a rain barrel. In order to speed up the composting process and allow for aeration, the barrel needs to turn approximately 2-3 times a week. We plan to use a solar panel to power the motor that will then turn the barrel using a gearbox and chain. This new project will be a great way to educate students on the importance of composting and will contribute to making our campus more sustainable. Stay tuned for more updates as we continue to design and construct this system!...

The University of Guelph’s ESW chapter has partnered with 10Carden (10C), a community-centred, collaborative organization to introduce hydroponics systems to the university and club members. The club is in possession of one of 10C’s AEVA hydroponics systems. The system is being used to grow greens in the engineering building which will be donated to the community upon harvest. The goal is to retrofit the system with sensors and probes to create a fully autonomous growing and maintenance process. 10C is in possession of four additional systems which are being maintained by ESW members....

The UofG Pop Tab Project has been launched as of January 2023. Pop Can tab collection jars are being placed in various areas on campus. Collection sites will be set up in each residence and dining hall. Another site for collection will be the University Centre, a rain barrel designed to look like a large pop can will be used as a collection box. This design is used to draw attention to the pop-tab collection initiative as well as the club. Arcade-style collection boxes such as Plinko are being designed to allow for an interactive drop-off process. Using QR codes and censors, student participation is logged in a website that transfers pop-tab collection to virtual points awarded with prizes. Collected pop tabs will be donated to the Canadian Legion who will sell them for scrap and use the proceeds to purchase wheelchairs for handicapped individuals. ...

Reusable mugs have been placed in dining halls around campus with an emphasis on the engineering building. This project reduces the universities consumption of single use plastics.

Polyolefin plastics are extremely detrimental to the planet because of the time it takes to decompose. Currently, we accrue about 300 million tonnes of plastic waste every year. Another worldly issue is the detrimental burden that women in third-world countries have from cooking over an open fire. From the results of GC/MS, plastic derived fuel oil has proven to be a cleaner cooking fuel than traditional kerosene because it is sulfur-free. Utilizing these results, both major issues could simultaneously be improved and/or solved. Burning firewood releases harmful, climate-warming emissions that causes forest degradation, which in return, causes losses in erosion control, biodiversity, and flood protection. Plastic derived fuel oil could potentially be a cleaner alternative that has more environmental-friendly emissions and while also helping women who carry these health-related burdens that come from using firewood. The principles of appropriate technology can be applied to allow developing world communities to produce plastic derived fuel oil themselves. Results will be presented consisting of a GC/MS analysis of fuel oil produced from polyolefin plastic waste and compared with traditional kerosene cooking fuel. The results will show that cooking fuel from plastic waste is a viable alternative to biomass and traditional kerosene....

Our Build Day concept is aimed at sustainably supporting small businesses and restaurants in Austin. As a result of the pandemic, disposable takeout container use has dramatically increased at the same time that supporting small businesses like local restaurants has become crucial to keeping local economies alive. Our concept will aim, first, at the design and implementation of a modular reusable container sterilization system. This will allow customers to skip the single-use plastic while supporting local businesses without risking COVID-19 cross-contamination. Our Build Day event concept is a hybrid of real-time system assembly broadcast and virtual community connection with the launch of a small-business dashboard....

Currently, there is a sand shortage in the world. Sand is being extracted from ecosystems, and this practice, if not regulated, threatens the biodiversity and health of these ecosystems. The Glass Recycling Project strives to create a sustainable way of recycling glass back into sand for humanitarian and environmental projects. Their ultimate goal is to conduct research on materials and come up with uses for recycled glass. This can include coastal restoration. ...

We are a group of like-minded student engineers who are trying to build a shredder, injection mold, and extrusion machine to recycle used plastic in order to reduce the amount of the plastic waste into our society.

ESWUT's Solar Powered Smoothie Cart project serves as a fun and interactive method of promoting renewable energy. Through solar panels on top of the cart, power is generated and used to make smoothies for all to enjoy! The project has been an ongoing ESW project for years, and the cart has been and will continue to provide refreshing smoothies for a great cause. Who doesn't want to enjoy a smoothie powered by the sun!? If you're interested in helping with the project through research, maintenance, sales, or any other method, please contact us! ...

The Stormwater Filtration Project focuses on the portion of a manmade Waller Creek tributary running from Crestview Station along Airport Blvd to its confluence with the Creek at W Huntland Dr. The preliminary goal is to assess the impact of stormwater runoff from the surrounding area on the water quality of Waller Creek downstream by establishing routine and targeted monitoring of stormwater runoff quality and ambient surface water quality. The primary goals of this project are to allow engineering students to learn more about stormwater best management practices while engaging with their local community, expand the university’s network of community scientists, and develop a framework for implementing stormwater green infrastructure on a neighborhood scale. Civil and environmental engineering majors are preferred, but of course all majors are welcome. ...

Started in the Fall of 2014 with the help of the Green Fund Committee, UT Aquaponics is student based project that seeks to bring awareness to the future of sustainable food production. The focus of the team currently is to build a new aquaponics system that can sustains itself through sensors and solar panels. In the 2019-2020 year long semesters, the team has been working to restart the old system and preparing for the construction of a new system....

The Negative Emissions Technology Project is a team of undergraduate students who are interested in learning about and applying carbon removal methods to help reverse climate change. We currently have two ongoing projects.

1. Our first project involves integrating a scaled down Direct Air Capture unit (using Metal Organic Frameworks) with an HVAC unit to capture CO2 from a concentrated source. We hope to convert this CO2 to electricity and fuel that can power the building using photovoltaics . We are still in the initial stages of this project and are currently assessing the feasibility of this idea in terms of energy and cost....

Bees occupy an important role in our local ecosystem, and with a dwindling worldwide population the UW-Madison chapter of ESW saw the possibility to help our local ecosystem. We are working along side another community organization, FH King Gardens, to build a Langstroth beehive that will sit on the garden grounds. This project allows our members the opportunity to use their skills as engineers to help not only the environment, but also our community. ...

Project water is a research based project. Our research includes the following topic areas: green streets, water runoff, economics of green streets, urban planning, and vegetation types of green streets including salt-tolerant plant species. Our research is based on UW’s Green Infrastructure and Stormwater Management Master Plan and we will be focusing on Observatory Drive, a popular street on campus. This street is also close to Lake Mendota, so it is important to mitigate flooding and stormwater from entering the lake. We plan to conduct a pilot study with a goal of understanding the economic and environmental impact of implementing green streets in our urban landscapes. ...

The purpose of this project is too construct a 2 axis solar tracker that concentrates roughly 1666in^2 of light onto a square inch coupon of Vertically Aligned Carbon Nanotubes from Surrey Nanosystems. The purpose of this is to see how well the material maintains its thermal and optical properties after extended exposure to high intensity radiation on the visible light spectrum. ...

We are creating a data entry system for the cacao supply chain process