About the Speaker

Dr. Boris Martin is the CEO of Engineers Without Borders USA and a global leader in humanitarian engineering and sustainable development. Originally from France, he holds an engineering degree from INSA Lyon, a PhD from McMaster University, and a graduate diploma in social innovation from the University of Waterloo. Before joining EWB-USA, he spent years with EWB Canada, including as CEO, where he helped shift the organization’s focus toward systemic innovation and community-driven solutions. With field experience in Burkina Faso and partnerships across Africa and beyond, Boris champions engineering that empowers local communities, fosters entrepreneurship, and addresses the root causes of poverty and inequality. His leadership emphasizes collaboration, equity, and long-term resilience in how engineering serves people and the planet.

About the Session

EWB-USA regional conferences are a unique and exceptional time we get to lift up our heads from the day-to-day challenges of completing our projects and running our chapters. They are a time to zoom out and take stock of the formidable potential of our national organization. With perspective, we can all achieve greater impact, by coordinating better, and by making the whole of our efforts greater than the sum of the parts. This is all the more important now that support for low income communities is in retreat everywhere. During his keynote Boris will share insights about the national organization's priorities and how every chapter can be part of our collective success.

About the Speaker

Dr. Denis Muthike is an assistant research professor and currently serves as the Interim Director of the Mortenson Center in Global Engineering & Resilience at University of Colorado Boulder. Dr. Muthike is a climate scientist whose work focuses on how hydro-climatological events affect communities and how data-driven tools can strengthen climate resilience. With expertise in hydro-climatology, remote sensing and geospatial data science, he has developed innovative ways to integrate and analyze large, diverse datasets to guide decisions in vulnerable rural regions in the eastern and southern Africa region where he has led projects advancing food and water security. Dr. Muthike previously spent over a decade with NASA SERVIR in Kenya, where he trained hundreds of a broad range of professionals and mentored emerging climate scientists. His contributions have been recognized with multiple awards for global engineering, resilience, and mentorship.

About the Session

As the impacts of climate change intensify, communities around the world face growing risks from droughts, floods, and other climate-driven shocks. Engineers have a critical role to play in designing solutions that not only protect people and infrastructure, but also strengthen resilience in the face of uncertainty. This keynote will explore two success stories from East Africa where engineering innovations have been applied to manage drought and flood risks, highlighting the lessons they offer for future practice. Beyond technical expertise, the talk emphasizes the importance of human-centered skills: collaboration, cultural awareness, systems thinking, and advocacy - that enable engineers to design sustainable, equitable solutions.

About the Session

This presentation details a "man-in-the-middle" email scam that defrauded the EWB Kenya team of $20,000 during a remote water project. An attacker compromised the email account of a trusted contractor and provided fraudulent bank details for a payment. After losing the funds, the team consulted with cybersecurity professors to understand the technical nuances of the attack. This session will explain how the fraud occurred in an understandable way. Ultimately, we will share actionable strategies and best practices for other chapters to implement to prevent similar cyberattacks in the future.

About the Session

Want to keep your volunteers inspired, committed, and connected to EWB’s mission? This session will show you how! Learn how to transform routine, non-mission activities into powerful, mission-aligned opportunities that energize your team, strengthen your chapter, and deepen impact. Walk away with practical strategies to turn everyday tasks into meaningful experiences that not only retain volunteers—but ignite their passion for EWB and position your chapter as a true powerhouse of change.

About the Speaker

Cameron Lowrey and Geneva Newell became involved with EWB-Cal Poly (EWB-CP) in September 2019 as freshman engineering students. Geneva joined EWB-CP’s Fiji project team as the fundraising sub-team lead. Her interest in the finances of the project led her to become the team’s project manager from November 2020 to June 2023. Cameron joined EWB-CP’s Fiji project team as a member of the “Tank Monitoring and Filters” sub-team, which she ended up leading from February 2021 to December 2023. During their senior year, the two became co-researchers to complete the filter design initiated by the EWB Filters sub-team, which became their senior project and was ultimately published. Since graduating, Cameron interned with Engineering Ministries International (EMI) before starting her current job as a water resources engineer at Jacobs. Geneva is now working as a marine construction field engineer. Geneva continues to volunteer at EWB as the Student Representative to EWB-USA’s Board of Directors and the Rwanda Project Manager at the Portland Professional Chapter.

About the Session

In this presentation, we will trace the journey from EWB project to published research, analyzing the road bumps and highlighting opportunities outside of implementation. EWB projects tend to follow a set path: assessment, design/alternatives analysis, fundraising and implementation. The EWB-Cal Poly Fiji team spent years developing a modified biosand filter. However, during the 2022 implementation trip, focus groups revealed the community neither needed nor wanted this type of filter in their community. While our filter concept was not a fit for Mali Island, community members expressed its potential value in other Fijian villages where they had family. Instead of scrapping the filter all together, we pivoted from implementation to research. The filter research then became a Civil Engineering senior project, independent from EWB. With insights gained from the people of Mali Island, we improved our prototypes and conducted thorough lab testing. In the two years following our lab research, we worked with the Pacific Health journal to refine our findings into a published, open-access article! By sharing our story we hope to spark conversation on breaking the mold of the traditional EWB project path, expanding knowledge and creating positive impacts that extend beyond a single project.

About the Speaker

Bruce, Duyen and Jessie have loads of EWB experience, with their roles being Chair of the Regional Presdients, West Coast Regional President and California State Representative, respectfully.

About the Session

Learn about the inner workings of EWB, how you can be involved with EWB outside your chapter, and meet your voices for EWB-USA!

About the Speaker

Lee Faraca is a Cal Poly SLO alumni who has been involved in EWB since 2015. He was a team member of the Cal Poly Nicaragua Chapter for 5 years, and continued working with the San Francisco Professional Chapter after graduating. Lee is the current president of the San Francisco Professional Chapter. In his professional life, Lee is a civil engineer who specializes in water and wastewater treatment.

About the Session

Water quality testing is an important due diligence in water treatment and system design. In a presentation put together by EWB's Sanitation Program Approach (WASH), learn about the typical constituents of concern and how to sample for them. Refershers on sampling terminology, best practices, and protocols will have your team ready to perform and/or contract out water quality testing.

About the Speaker

Duyen Nguyen serves as the West Coast Regional President for Engineers Without Borders USA (EWB-USA), supporting chapters across the region as they grow their impact and leadership capacity. She has been deeply involved with EWB-USA for over a decade, starting as a student chapter member before taking on various professional and national leadership roles. Duyen is passionate about mentoring emerging engineers and helping volunteers find meaningful ways to continue their global impact beyond college. Her professional background spans civil engineering, community engagement, and program management, with a focus on sustainable infrastructure and equitable development.

About the Session

Graduating soon and wondering how to stay involved with Engineers Without Borders after college? Join this engaging panel led by West Coast Regional President Duyen Nguyen, featuring alumni and professionals who have transitioned from student chapters into new EWB roles and opportunities. Together, they’ll share insights on pathways to continue making a global impact—whether through professional chapters, mentoring, committees, or national leadership. Gain inspiration and practical advice on how to sustain your passion for service, grow your professional network, and align your career with EWB’s mission of engineering a better world.

About the Speaker

Bruce has been an Engineers Without Borders volunteer since 2009. During his time with EWB, Bruce has been an REIC and Project Lead, a Mentor to several Student Chapters and the Michigan State Rep for Student and Professional Chapters. Bruce created and led the Project Management Support Committee, is a member of the Mentor Support Committee and was the Professional Chapter Representative to the EWB-USA Board of Directors from 2017 thru 2019. Bruce has been part of EWB’s Financial Stability Committee, the Global Planning Committee, the Board Audit, Fundraising Committees, and Strategic Governance Pillar. Bruce currently leads a team of seven Regional Presidents in the work they do supporting EWB-USA’s 204 Chapters and 8,000 volunteers.

About the Session

Did you know that EWB offers a wide range of tools, guides, and support systems designed to make your chapter’s work easier, smoother, and more impactful? A recent Volunteer Survey revealed that many chapters aren’t even aware of all that’s available! In this interactive session, we’ll shine a spotlight on the full suite of resources at your fingertips—covering everything from project planning tools to chapter management support. You’ll leave with practical knowledge, insider tips, and clear next steps to help your chapter save time, reduce stress, and amplify its impact. Don’t miss this chance to discover how to make your EWB journey easier—and more rewarding—than ever.

About the Speaker

Pete Schwartz is a physicist whose work connects technology, sustainability, and social equity to advance community-driven development worldwide. After transitioning from nanotechnology to sustainability research in 2006, he began exploring how simple, low-cost technologies can empower people and reshape the global energy landscape. His team at Cal Poly develops Direct DC Solar systems that use electricity directly from solar panels and photovoltaic electric cooking technologies that aim to replace traditional biomass fires, which contribute to deforestation and millions of premature deaths each year. Guided by the belief that innovation should be created with communities rather than for them, Pete collaborates with partners in Uganda and Malawi to co-develop energy solutions that expand access while strengthening local capacity. He brings this same philosophy into the classroom, teaching Appropriate Technology and Energy, Society, and the Environment through open, video-based instruction and hands-on projects at Cal Poly’s Student Experimental Farm, making sustainability education a global and collaborative effort.

About the Session

In this workshop, we will reexamine, build, and implement the simple solar DC microgrid for ultra low-cost electrification with a power optimizer developed over the past three years at Cal Poly. Solar panels directly connected to a load (DDS for Direct DC Solar) could be the least expensive electricity in existence, but suffer from inefficiencies when the load resistance doesn’t match the solar panel’s maximum power point. We designed an impedance-matching circuit that draws power from a solar panel at a set voltage under all loads and solar intensities, maintaining near-maximum solar panel power. Besides increasing output power, the circuit increases installation flexibility by accepting a wide range of load resistances and, when demand exceeds supply, allows the home or community to electronically prioritize loads. These features improve the utility of the DDS microgrid. A small collaboration is manufacturing optimizers on printed circuit boards ($7 for up to 50 V systems, $30 for up to 500 V high-power microgrids) for deployment in domestic and industrial communities in the USA and Africa. The radically inexpensive electricity fills three niches:(1) providing electricity access to people who would otherwise not be able to afford it; (2) load-shifting from expensive, carbon-intensive grid electricity for daytime loads; (3) providing inexpensive backup electricity for grid outages. While the circuit itself is nothing new, its implementation could initiate a revolution in electrification, especially for low-income communities. You do not need electrical training to benefit from this workshop. We provide your group with a power optimizer to assemble, implement (with a variety of solar panels and loads) and take home to share with the world.

About the Speaker

Matthew Harsh is Professor of Science, Technology and Society and Director of the Center for Expressive Technologies at California Polytechnic State University. He holds a BSc in Materials Engineering from Northwestern University, and as a Marshall Scholar, earned an MSc and PhD in Science and Technology Studies from University of Edinburgh. Much of his work explores the cultures and governance of science and innovation in Africa. He is the Director of ‘Computing Cultures’, a film about computer science research in Kenya and Uganda, and Senior Producer of ‘Brother Time’, a documentary about political unrest after the 2007 Kenyan election. His academic films have received numerous awards and have been shown at film festivals and events around the world. His publications can be found in many academic journals including Development and Change, Engineering Studies, Geoforum, Minerva, Science & Public Policy, and Social Studies of Science.

About the Session

Learn about community involvement and successful community relations.

About the Speaker

Rebekah Oulton, PhD, PE, LEED AP, ENV SP is an associate professor at California Polytechnic University, San Luis Obispo (Cal Poly SLO), in the Civil and Environmental Engineering department. She started in Fall of 2013 after completing her doctorate in environmental engineering at the University of Iowa. She teaches both environment engineering and water resources engineering, emphasizing sustainability principles and resource protection in all of her classes. Dr. Oulton’s research areas focus on water sustainability, including advanced water treatment methods targeting emerging contaminants, development of appropriate low impact development best management practices for storm water management in Mediterranean and arid climates, and effluent water polishing via Soil Aquifer Treatment to maximize efficiency of indirect reuse.

About the Session

Complex societal problems like access to clean water, homelessness, sustainable development, conservation, renewable energy, and climate change (to name a few) persist in spite of decades of technical brilliance that have been directed toward eradicating them.   This talk proposes an alternate approach to engineering solutions to today's complex problems.