Building Tomorrow's Wastewater Treatment Systems... And Workforce
By Kevin Westerling,
@KevinOnWater
National STEM education nonprofit introduces students to wastewater treatment.
Engineering Tomorrow, a national education nonprofit dedicated to fostering a more diverse and expansive engineering workforce, recently engaged thousands of students across the country in an interactive lab on wastewater treatment and related careers in partnership with Engineers Without Borders USA.
The event, held via Zoom on January 15, introduced students to the basics of wastewater treatment technology and guided them in designing small-scale filtration systems. To ensure accessibility, all lab materials were provided to participating schools free of charge.
Titled “Clean Water Filtration Systems & Water Conservation”, the lab featured guest presenters from Engineers Without Borders USA: Natalie Celmo, Senior Program Engineer; Melissa Montgomery, Chief Programs Officer; and Brooke Poppe, Program Engineer.
Throughout the lab, students applied their knowledge to design, construct, test, and analyze their water filtration systems. Activities included measuring the turbidity of their water samples and evaluating the cost-effectiveness of their designs. The session concluded with a live Q&A, allowing students to engage directly with the presenters.
Joanna Caudle, a Staff Engineer at Engineering Tomorrow, joined students at Stone Ridge School of the Sacred Heart, an all-girls high school located in Bethesda, MD, for the event.
Megan Barrett, Executive Director of Engineering Tomorrow, commented:
At Engineering Tomorrow, our goal is to inspire students to pursue engineering careers they may have not considered otherwise and create a larger, more diverse engineering workforce. During today’s clean water lab, students were provided an in-depth introduction into the water treatment process and spoke with our guest presenters at Engineers Without Borders USA, an organization moving the needle on access to clean water worldwide. We hope this event sparks the curiosity of students across the country who participated.”
Background
Engineering Tomorrow is dedicated to creating a more robust and diverse engineering workforce to address global challenges and foster a more innovative future. The organization recently celebrated an impressive milestone, having reached over 1 million students. To inspire young minds to pursue engineering careers, Engineering Tomorrow provides high school teachers with sector-specific, engineer-designed labs, shipping all necessary materials free of charge. The program also offers mentorship opportunities with college engineering students and hosts live lab events featuring thousands of participants. These events often include special guest speakers from leading organizations such as General Electric, CRISPR Therapeutics, General Motors, NASA, and Texas Instruments.
Additionally, Engineering Tomorrow collaborates with Engineers Without Borders USA to engage community college students, equipping them for impactful careers in humanitarian-focused STEM fields. Through these efforts, the organization continues to pave the way for the next generation of engineers.