Does your homework make a difference?
Hildie Henderson believes hers does.
Through the Humanitarian Engineering Program at CSM, she is helping to bring water to Lemraiveg, a small village in the Western Sahara Desert. She enjoys applying what she learns to make a difference in peoples' lives.
What is Humanitarian Engineering?
In the past, engineers may have asked, "How do I generate electricity most efficiently?" The humanitarian engineer asks, "How can I help to reduce poverty?" The answer to this question may include generating electricity, but more importantly, Humanitarian Engineers will try to balance technical excellence, economic feasibility, ethical maturity and cultural sensitivity.
hu•man•i•tar•i•an: an artifact, process, system, or practice promoting present and future wellbeing for the direct benefit of underserved populations.
en•gi•neer•ing: designing and creating a component, subsystem, or system under physical, political, cultural, ethical, legal, environmental, and economic constraints.
humanitarian engineering: design under constraints to directly improve the wellbeing of underserved populations.
Watch the youtube video.