! My name is Erin Rose, but my friends call me “ERB”. I graduated from Cornell in May 2012 with a degree in Mechanical Engineering. I’m sticking around good ol’ Ithaca for an extra year to work on my Masters of Engineering in mechanical engineering, focusing on energy and sustainability. I have always been interested in becoming an engineer, but until I joined ESW my freshman year I didn’t really have any kind of idea what I wanted to do with it. Luckily by getting more and more involved, becoming ESW-Cornell’s VP of Events for ‘10-‘11 and then chapter President for ‘11-‘12, I discovered and developed my passion for using my skills to develop sustainable solutions, specifically in the area of harnessing renewable energy sources.

This summer I worked for ESW Nationals in the Bay Area as Assistant Development Director, aiding in the development of a stable alumni network, creating marketing and sponsorship material for the group, networking in the area and spreading our message and name. I will be continuing my role on the national team this year, but may change positions in order to accommodate our needs.

The conference last year in Buffalo was one of the best ESW experiences I have ever had. I have kept in touch with a ton of people and made connections all over the country. I can’t wait to meet up with old friends and make new ones this year!

Hey guys,

My name is Jeff Ng and I’m a 3rd year Pharmacological Chemistry Major. I used to be an Environmental Engineer, but I am still very interested in sustainability. 

I joined ESW last spring quarter and have been working on the National Conference Committee as the Scheduling Coordinator. Specifically, I have booking transportation, event locations, hotels, and food.

We’ve put a lot of time and effort to planning this conference. I hope you will enjoy all the different events that are awaiting you! :D

Some fun facts:

I enjoy skating, surfing, and snowboarding

I have played tennis for a couple years (anyone want to hit when they come down? The weather is great here!)

I like to draw on paper, canvas, and even walls

I like playing Halo…anyone excited for Halo 4?!

Hello everyone!

My name is Alex [Dale] (fun fact: there are three Alex D’s on the National team right now), and in my day job, I’m a 4th year PhD student in Civil & Environmental Engineering at the University of Pittsburgh (I also got my B.S. here in Engineering Physics). My focus is on the regional impacts of supplying energy and water, and I can talk your head off about the Marcellus Shale, among other topics. As part of my PhD work, I also spent January-May of 2012 in Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, and hope that in the not so distant future, there will be some ESW chapters there as well.

Outside of official business - but often related - I’m a giant policy and sustainability news wonk, a rock climber, and a fan of hard science fiction, creating/repairing things, and the Transition movement. When asked, I generally list my passions as ‘sustainability, creating communities, and journeys, impromptu or otherwise’.

I’ve been involved with ESW locally since 2007, and on the National Team since 2009, which makes me the resident curmudgeon and occasional historian. This upcoming year I’m the Education Director (for the last three years I’ve been in the Communications Role). My job is to create educational and training events such as our webinars, steer the national conversation about important topics in sustainability, and collect educational resources for both individuals and chapters to use. If you’re doing educational projects locally, I’d love to know about them, and help you improve them. If you’d like to teach classes on some sustainability topics - either to engineers, schoolkids, or the public - I’ve got some material and expertise that can help. 

I am super pumped for this year’s conference - it’s in a warmer location, I love David Brin’s work, and the workshops promise a great blend of students and professionals talking about practical sustainability. It’s been a great time watching and steering ESW the last few years - back in 2009 we didn’t know if we’d exist in three years, let alone be having our third regular conference. The more we connect as a community, the stronger we become and the more we can do - so interact! Toss us stuff. Ask us questions. Let’s make the world a better place.

Hello everyone!

My name is Verena, and I’m a 4th year Environmental Systems major at UC San Diego, with an emphasis in Ecology, Behavior, and Evolution. I originally became involved with ESW at UCSD in Winter of 2010 as a member. From there, I became the project leader of ESW-UCSD’s Thailand Bioenergy Team. This past summer, I became the Communications Director of the National Team. It’s so awesome to see how ESW runs as a national organization (and hopefully soon, international).

As the Communications Director, my job is to facilitate communication within ESW as a whole, as well as market and promote ESW. Some of my responsibilities include creating ESW newsletters, managing ESW’s social network presence, updating website content, and trying to get media involved with ESW happenings. Some of my major goals this year include sending out monthly ESW newsletters, making ESW’s presence more visible, and providing transparency between all current and potential members and affiliates

Now that the more “dry” part of my intro has been done, I’d like to share a few “fun” facts about myself:

• I absolutely adore owls, hippos, and narwhals! That covers my favorite air, land, and sea animals.
• I love reading in my spare time. My all-time favorite is “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” by Douglas Adams. (I just bought JK Rowling’s “The Casual Vacancy”, but alas textbook readings must come first.)
• I speak fluent Cantonese, and can understand Mandarin (although I speak it poorly).
• I’m not an engineer! I am an Environmental Systems major, and it just goes to show how multidisciplinary ESW is — we welcome and need members of all majors and backgrounds!
• I recently learned the art of crocheting amigurumis (small Japanese-style stuffed animals). My latest project is a purple hippo.
• I’m SO EXCITED that UCSD is hosting the 2012 National Conference! It will be my first one, and I can’t wait to meet everyone and see what other chapters have been doing! I’m so proud of ESW-UCSD for all of their intense planning since April, and I can’t wait to see it actually happen!

Say hello to me if you see me at the conference! As always, please feel free to email me at info @eswusa.org if you have any questions/comments/suggestions about ESW-releated!

Hello all! Hope you are excited for the upcoming conference. We have a little more than a week until the main event! I thought I would introduce myself informally, but just an FYI, I look forward to getting to know each of you. Please feel free to post about yourself on here as well, maybe some of your aspirations with ESW, your career goals, or whatever. But in the mean time, here are some tidbits about muah:

-I’m from Indianapolis and I now go to Purdue. Indiana born and raised!

-I lived in Phoenix for about 6 months working for OPUS West working on a design-build project right off of ASU’s campus (if you see an 8-story building with curtain wall right next to the mountain of Mill St, that’s it)

-I recently traveled to Bhubaneswar, Odisha in India on a Global Engineering Program project, collecting water samples, and then trying to remove fluoride using activated alumina

-I went to London in 2010 as part of study abroad program checking out the construction of sites for the Olympic games

-I’m a doctorate student in Engineering Education at Purdue. The School of Engineering Education has only been around since 2004, and it started here at Purdue

-I like playing sports, especially football. I played safety in high school. I’m currently an adamant Colts fan. I even play a little bit of Madden from time to time

-We’ve rebuilt the Purdue chapter! Props to our president Emilie Garnier and our graduate advisor Calvin Holic for all they have done helping the Purdue chapter get back on its feet.

Admittedly, that last item was not about me. But hey, it isn’t about me. Frankly, it’s not about you either. It’s about US- the community of people interested in a sustainable world. I look forward to meeting all of you here soon!

Hi ESW! My name is Ben, and I’m a 4th-year undergrad at UC San Diego. I’m the current Director of Chapter Relations - West, where I get to overwork myself helping chapters and National Team coordinate and communicate with eachother, helping get new chapters formed, working on all the planning we’re trying to do on National Team, and generally being the point person for communication inside of ESW. (Fortunately, I have Alex Devaux to help me with all that). 

I’m studying General Biology with a minor in Environmental Studies, but don’t let that fool you—I was majoring in Bioengineering for 2 years before switching (I got sick of them talking about medicine when I cared about energy). I joined ESW the fall of my sophomore year, so almost two years ago, and led some projects and helped restructure the cabinet of ESW-UCSD. When I’m not taking six classes and working 20 hours a week on ESW, I like to play Dungeons and Dragons and debate about politics.

This summer, I’ve worked to get chapters updated and reconnected (including bringing back many chapters whom Nationals had lost contact with), as well as helping with the strategic planning and incorporation/nonprofit processes. My goals for the next year are to start a dozen new chapters, see ESW incorporate and gain 501(c)(3) status, and help every chapter grow to 20+ members with 4 or more projects.

Lastly, I’m super excited for national conference. I’ve spent the last few months talking to presidents about their projects and chapters, and the best part has been seeing presidents connect over common interests and challenges. I can’t wait to see people connect at conference, talking about their ideas for ESW and projects and how they want to see the world become a better place. What’s your favorite project or biggest chapter challenge?

Hey friends,

I’m glad you’re taking time to learn and absorb as much about ESW as you can, or procrastinate positively, if that’s your deal.  So to help you out, here are some fun facts about myself.

I love doing handstands and cartwheels, so I play capoeira.

I love climbing trees, and I will do it when my spirits need lifting (literally and metaphorically)  I also like to slack line when it’s nice out.

I was born in France, and I am fluent in French.

I once accidentally swam to an island which was 1/2 mile away (I thought it was just 400 meters)

Here are some less fun facts about me.

I graduated Penn State May 2012 with a degree in Biological Engineering, and I am now working at Pennoni Associates, an engineering consulting firm in State College.

I’ve been involved with ESW for 5 years, working up the ranks from web-master, to Vice-president, to President, to DCR East.

Now more fun Facts:

As DCR East, I speak with over 15 different presidents about all the amazing ESW stuff they do, help them connect, and make this community vibrant.

This will be my 3rd national conference, and I am PUMPED!  These things re-energy your ESW spirit, and put it on overdrive.  Whoop Whoop!

Hi all!

Just wanted to take the chance to introduce myself for those who don’t know me. My name is Rob Best, and I am currently a Master’s and Ph.D. student in Civil and Environmental Engineering at Stanford University. As a Ph.D. student, I don’t know exactly when I’ll graduate, but hopefully I’ll defend in 2016. My focus is in Sustainable Design and Construction with an emphasis on sustainable, integrated community infrastructure and building systems. In the little free time that being a Ph.D. student allows, you’ll often find me at one of several local trivia nights where I’m known among friends as the guru of all things jazz, baseball, or Disney. If I’m not there, check the forest—I love to hike and camp as well. I’ve been a member of ESW since 2007 when I joined the Harvey Mudd College chapter where I served as President before joining the National Team in 2009. I’ve served as Director of Education and Outreach, Director of Education, and now Projects Director, and am excited to help develop some amazing projects for us this year!

As Projects Director, it’s my job to help provide resources to chapters for successful management and execution of projects. This encompasses everything from finding funding opportunities, to answering logistical questions, helping connect chapters with technical mentors, and being an open forum for bouncing ideas around and helping develop new initiatives for all our awesome chapters. This past summer, I’ve helped write a few new project proposals for some of our potential corporate donors while also pitching in to clean up some of ESW’s central resources and documentation. After we finish some of that back end bureaucratic work, look forward to some new guidance documents to help more effectively start and manage projects, a couple new educational and technical initiatives sponsored by ESW National, and a fully functional and useful Opportunities Bank where we can share resources, job opportunities, and funding announcements.

Hope to see all of you at the conference in October! Last year was my first conference (despite my long involvement with ESW), and it was a blast! San Diego is going to be even better this year, and as a native Southern Californian, I can tell you just how awesome the weather is this time of year (so East-Coasters, come enjoy it for a few days!).