Engineers Without Borders
2025 Uganda Travel Team with their Uganda NGO at their International Project in Bubago, Uganda.
KU EWB students on the Fall Break Trip in Wichita, KS working with Habitat for Humanity
EWB-KU is a student organization at the University of Kansas committed to assisting communities, locally, domestically, and internationally. After its founding in the fall of 2008, the members of EWB-KU decided to help fill a need for sustainable sanitation in the rural Bolivian community of Azacilo. Now, the KU chapter of the Engineers Without Borders USA has expanded its service around the nation, in Bolivia, and in Uganda
In recent years, EWB-KU has put more of a focus on local projects. This year, we are working with Habitat for Humanity, an organization with a goal of building affordable houses for the community, Adopt-A-Highway aimed at cleaning our roads, and the Tiny House Project, whose mission is to construct temporary housing units in areas struck by natural disasters. In the past, we have volunteered for trash pickups along Clinton Lake and the Kansas River and we plan to do more around the Lawrence and KC area!
As a part of our chapter, students travel annually to several other states to volunteer their efforts in other communities. Recently, these projects have included trips to Omaha, Nebraska and Council Bluffs, Iowa, to volunteer for Habitat for Humanity. Our students also annually travel to the Lower Ninth Ward in New Orleans, Louisiana, for spring break. The students work with Historic Green, a non-profit organization aimed at helping rebuild and restore homes after they were destroyed or abandoned in the course of Hurricane Katrina and to support new community developments such as a community church, playground, and garden.
EWB is most notably known for our international projects. Our first sanitation project started in Azacilo, Bolivia, building eco-latrines. The project has since expanded to continue the eco-latrine project in the nearby community of Colani and an additional project in Azacilo, developing shower systems. This year, EWB-KU is proud to announce a new project in Bubogo, Uganda, where we plan to establish a new water source for an 800-member community in need of cleaner drinking water.
2025-2026 Executive Team
- President: Ella Feldman - ellafeldmann@ku.edu
- Director of Membership: Paige Gerstenkorn - paigegerstenkorn@ku.edu
- DOIP Bolivia: Camden Fallen - camdenfallon@ku.edu
- DOIP Uganda: Aaron Scaletty - ascaletty@ku.edu
- Director of Fundraising: Alana Schmalzried-Lugo - aischlugo@ku.edu
- Director of Finance: Austyn Cooper - austyn.cooper@ku.edu
- Director of Domestic Projects: Terry Akers - terry.akers@ku.edu
- Director of Communication: Luke Kennedy-Eker - lucaseker@ku.edu
- Grants/Proposals Co-Chairs: Abbie Peters - abbielpeters13@ku.edu, Irene Xu - irene.xu@ku.edu
- School of Engineering Chair: Connor Looney - c482l199@ku.edu
- Local Projects Chair: Forest Denton - f905d314@ku.edu
- Outreach Co-Chairs: Medha Bhat - medhabhat@ku.edu, Sterling Smith - sterling.smith@ku.edu
- Design & Marketing Chair: Hannah Platt - hlnp@ku.edu
- Social Chair: Brianna Shaver - b927s474@ku.edu
- Media Chair: Arpa Das - a511d599@ku.edu
- Faculty Advisor: Matt O'Reilly - oreilly3@ku.edu
Email: ewb.ku.eng@gmail.com
For more information, including our upcoming calendar and contacts, please visit our website: