The global organization that is Engineers without Borders (EWB) began after a single project in San Pablo, Belize. The project was completed in May 2001, and the civil engineering professor who was involved began to form EWB shortly thereafter. There are now 25 established professional chapters, 26 developing professional chapters, 104 established student chapters, with another 43 in development.

Texas Tech University recognized the Texas Tech chapter of Engineers Without Borders as a student organization on February 15th, 2006. At the time, we had a short list of 10 students who were eager to help us out by signing their name to the university-required paperwork for new and re-registering organizations. The first informational meeting was held on March 9th, 2006, with more than 30 students attending. These students spanned 6 of the 8 engineering departments of Texas Tech and showed a tremendous interest in the organization. Our email list now contains hundreds students who voluntarily gave contact information to be kept up-to-date on the chapter news and meetings.

The Whitacre College of Engineering, as a whole, has shown immense support for the organization, helping to send the three main founders of the organization to the International Conference in Houston, hosted by Rice University. Each individual department has begun to show interest in the organization, as well. The Department of Mechanical Engineering donated a substantial amount for the International Conference, and we now have 6 faculty advisors from 5 of the engineering departments.

Our chapter is continuing to forge ahead. We are still recruiting members, who will be immensely valuable to the organization, especially as we tackle our next big hurdles – earning support from Texas Tech and increasing funding. The continued support from many students and faculty will ensure the success of this endeavor and its projects.

For more information, visit the EWB-USA website.