Engineers Without Borders–USA Founder Bernard Amadei Named an Engineering Newsmaker

BOULDER, Colo., Feb. 25, 2009 — Bernard Amadei, founder of Engineers Without Borders-USA (EWB-USA), has been named one of 25 newsmakers for 2008 by ENR (Engineering News Record) magazine, a publication of The McGraw-Hill Cos., New York City.

What began as an overseas field trip for a handful of Amadei’s engineering students in 2001, has grown exponentially into a non-profit organization of more than 12,000 members comprising students, faculty and professional engineers. Their mission is to partner with developing communities to improve the quality of life by designing and building sustainable infrastructure systems that can be owned and operated without external assistance. Currently, 400 such projects are under way worldwide.

As the driving force behind EWB-USA, Amadei had the vision to mobilize the engineering profession “… to contribute to the building of a more sustainable, stable and equitable world.” He is a professor of civil engineering at the University of Colorado at Boulder, holding a M.S. degree from the University of Toronto and a Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley. Amadei also has been the recipient of numerous professional awards.

Currently, Amadei is leading a new paradigm shift in engineering education and practice at the University of Colorado with a program in Engineering for Developing Communities that educates globally responsible engineering students and professionals who can offer sustainable and appropriate solutions to the endemic problems faced by developing communities worldwide.

For the past 44 years, the editors of ENR annually have selected a group of top newsmakers who have served the best interests of the engineering and construction industry. Amadei is being recognized as “…an academic who is giving engineering education a new twist, founding a movement catching on with students, professionals and global communities,” according to ENR. All 25 newsmakers will be honored on March 26, 2009, in New York City. One of them will receive the Award of Excellence, ENR’s highest honor, and will be the subject of a cover story in ENR’s March 30 issue.

EWB-USA is a non-profit organization helping developing communities build sustainable infrastructure, while helping college engineering students become more socially responsible and culturally aware. EWB-USA partners with developing communities to deliver sustainable engineering programs that meet critical community needs. At the same time, EWB-USA provides an educational platform on which to educate a new generation of students about the important environmental, economic and social issues facing the world.

"EWB-USA is unique in that teams of university students, along with their professors and professional engineers, are working hand in hand with developing communities to address critical needs,” said Cathy Leslie, executive director of EWB-USA. “We’re thrilled to provide students with the opportunity to apply what they’ve learned in class while working with other professionals and the local communities to make the world a better place.”

For more information about EWB–USA, visit www.ewb-usa.org.