| Engineers Without Borders – USA | |
|---|---|
| Abbreviation | EWB–USA |
| Formation | June 2000 |
| Type | NGO |
| Purpose/focus | Community development |
| Headquarters | Boulder, Colorado |
| President of the Board | David Stewart |
| Website | ewb-usa.org |
Engineers Without Borders – USA (EWB–USA) is a non-profit humanitarian organization established to partner with developing communities worldwide in order to improve their quality of life. This partnership involves the implementation of sustainable engineering projects, while involving and training internationally responsible engineers and engineering students.
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EWB–USA's first student chapter was originated in 2002. Students from the University of Colorado at Boulder installed a ram pump to run water from a river, to a community outside of San Pablo, Belize. The ram pump was successful and children were able to go to school, instead of carrying water during the day. The total cost of the project was under $10,000.
EWB–USA has three guiding principles, or long-term competitive strategies which act as an underlying framework in the fulfillment of its mission elements and differentiates EWB–USA from other service organizations, professional societies and academic institutions: Deliver sustainable and appropriate community projects; provide transformational education; and provide opportunities for constant networking and communication between invested parties as a means for sharing of best practices.[1]
In 2010 EWB–USA received the Henry C. Turner Prize for Innovation in Construction Technology from the National Building Museum. In a statement from the prize jury, Arthur Gensler said, "This organization gives locals hope and talented engineering professionals the opportunity to share their knowledge with countries that can so greatly benefit from their efforts."[2]