ASME Member Deployed to Iraq Seriously Injured in Ambush (1/21/05)

An ASME member who was serving in Iraq was seriously wounded in a New Year's Day ambush.

Capt. John Kuniholm was profiled in the December issue of ASME NEWS [See "Real-world challenge of '04 competition has applications for ASME members serving in Iraq"]. The story explained Kuniholm's efforts to design a remote-controlled scout to help identify improvised explosive devices.

Kuniholm, a graduate research assistant who, as a Marine reservist, was deployed to Iraq in August, lost his right forearm in a blast that precipitated a firefight near the Haditha Dam. The hydroelectric dam, which provides power to one-third of the Iraqi population, is the site of occasional terrorist attacks.

He had voluntarily joined a search for insurgents who had fired on members of the Small Craft Co., an attachment to Kuniholm's platoon. Another member of his search party was killed in the explosion.

Read more about the attack and Kuniholm's recovery in the February issue of ASME NEWS.

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Mission Accomplished for EWB/ASME Project in Northern Hills of Thailand

The team of students from the University of New Hampshire, who had traveled to Thailand in early January to complete an irrigation project, packed up a few weeks ago and left the villagers of Santisuk with regular access to drinking and irrigation water for the first time ever.

The project, which was organized by ASME and its partner Engineers Without Borders, was begun a year earlier. Various members from the UNH team made a total of three trips to the village to finish particular stages of the project. Because students supply most of the engineering labor, the time available is usually limited to breaks in the academic semester.

The project involved building bridges across several ravines to transport the water for irrigation. Sanitized water to be used in the homes required the installation of new pipeline.

Learn more about this ASME/EWB project in the February issue of ASME NEWS.




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