Rice University to host EWB 2006 international conference next month

Engineers Without Borders-USA (EWB-USA), a partner organization of ASME, will hold its 2006 International Conference at Rice University in Houston from Feb. 16–18.

The three-day conference will focus on the pathways to sustainable and innovative technological solutions for community projects worldwide. Attendees will have the opportunity to learn sustainable leadership skills and cultivate relationships with engineering professionals and students, while discovering innovative and environmentally friendly solutions to improve the lives of people throughout the world.

"Building, Teaching, Learning - One Community at a Time" is the theme of this year's conference. The event's keynote speaker will be Paul Loeb, a renowned author and lecturer on the subject of social responsibility. Loeb's work offers unique perspectives on the questions of our time, and has been widely covered in the print and broadcast news media worldwide.

Loeb will address the social responsibility of the engineering education and business communities to bring appropriate and sustainable technologies to developing countries to ensure safety and improve the quality of life in less developed communities.

During the conference, student teams will share their experiences in identifying problems in villages across the globe, and developing and implementing solutions to those problems. Much of their focus in 2005 was to repair damage inflicted by the Asian tsunami.

Engineers Without Borders is a nonprofit organization that works with developing communities worldwide to improve their quality of life. Since its founding in 2001, EWB-USA has grown to more than 2,500 members who are involved in 80 projects located in countries worldwide. In 2004, ASME partnered with Engineers Without Borders to organize teams of student and working members, acting as mentors, to work on projects around the globe.

For more information, visit www.ewb-usa.com/modules/content/index.php?id=77.

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