#eswb

[bosch]

Oz (1950-2014); civil name Walter Josef Fischer) was considered the "grandfather of the sprayer scene" in Hamburg. His works are omnipresent in the Hamburg city area, especially in the form of smileys, spirals and tags. He has left his mark more than 120,000 times in Hamburg. He was sentenced several times for his graffiti and served a total of more than eight years in prison for it. I've been inspired to explore graffiti in the cityscape after viewing the exhibition @einestadtwirdbunt at the Museum für Hamburgische Geschichte recently. Again, I highly recommend the exhibition, which traces the history of graffiti in Hamburg from 1980 to 1999. Also check out @city_of_oz.hamburg for further oz impressions and a great collaborative map documenting the locations of his work. #ozhamburg #ripoz #cityofoz #einestadtwirdbunt #eswb @histmuseenhh (at Billstedt, Hamburg, Germany) https://www.instagram.com/p/Cl3V2m6sQCJ/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[petitepowerhouse]

I didn't even know I suffered, but ESWB is a serious condition. 

"We need to learn how to be comfortable with where we are. That's calledacceptance - having the courage to say, "This is where I am, and where I am is where I am.""

Great advice. 

[theengineerthatcould]

ESWB Local Project: Assessing the feasibility of solar panels for church

Earlier in October, I was selected as a member of the Engineering Students without Borders local projects team. Our project for this semester will be to assess the feasibility of installing solar panels for Sojourner’s Church, right here in Charlottesville.

Sustainability and renewable energy have always interested me, so whenever I see articles about it in the New York Times, The National Geographic, the Economist, Science or wherever, I definitely pay closer attention and read them through. I am obviously no expert, but I have a fundamental understanding and a strong interest.

My Initial Assessment

For the local church, solar panels have clear benefits. Solar energy is clean, renewable, and efficient. However, they are expensive to install and maintain. It can take years or even decades to just breakeven in terms of the cost. On the other hand, the value of solar panels is beyond just the financial factors.  I think this project is important because we would be helping the church make a rational decision as opposed to an “emotional” one—like when people drive for tens of miles and waste gallons of gas in search for a supposedly environmental friendly lawnmower, and still believe that they are contributing to sustainability.  Also, I understand that there are government grants and tax breaks for organizations that install solar panels. I would be interested in learning about the policy aspect of renewable energy as well.  I look forward to analyzing the different criteria we may use for assessing the practicality of solar panels for the church, and the roles that environmental, financial, and logistical factors would play in the decision making process. 

Getting Started

I was looking forward to getting started with the project. I met with the rest of my team earlier last month and discussed our general approach.

Two days ago, we met with John, the one of the leaders of the church, to talk about specifically what he is looking for. It was interesting to hear him emphasize that their mission is more important than the money involved in the installation of solar panels. The church members have looked into idea of a solar panel for a long time and for the reason of increasing the church’s visibility, publicity, and membership. They want to send a message to the community and encouraging churches to install solar panels and conserve as much energy as possible, since churches usually tend to have large roofs that would be conducive to harvesting solar energy.

This is on the track of what I meant before by an “emotional” investment in solar energy. However, after getting John’s perspective, I do believe it is a worthwhile message. Even though the cost of solar panels may be high right now, who knows about a few years down the road? The church’s effort to install solar panels now would act as an even more effective example for the benefits of solar energy.

We also gathered information about the environmental context for the installation of solar panels. We found that there are no trees in the surroundings and there is little shading. The church is at the highest place in the area and it happens to be windy.  A major concern for solar panel effectiveness is the steeple on the church. It casts a shadow over the roof, and even that think shadow can have a significant impact on the effectiveness of the photovoltaic panels.

Next Steps

After we’ve established the reason that the church is interested in solar energy, it’s time to help them hash out the technical aspects. We will be putting together a report for them about the steps for installing solar panels as well as a cost analysis.

Apparently, the SPCA in Charlottesville has installed solar panels to power their operations, and our team will be asking them about the details of their effort. We are interested in the kind of solar panels they are using, whether they feed back into the grid or use a battery system, and whether they roll back their meter. We are also interested in how they generated the funding, how much return they are getting out of the investment, and whether they received any grants or tax credits.

I look forward to really getting into this investigation. Fortunately, one of the members of our team has worked at a solar panel installation consulting company and was very experienced in the technical side of assessing the feasibility for solar panels. He will be a huge help and I bet I can learn a great deal from him. We are aiming to get this report put together over winter break and getting it back to the Church by New Year’s… wish us luck!

[theengineerthatcould]

Professor Bob Swap on Global Development

I've always been under the impression that Charlottesville is a peaceful little town, but it's seriously been under some violent weather recently. First an earthquake, and now a crazy hailstorm.

But with purple umbrella in hand (it did not help much), I braved these translucent bullets dropping out of the sky went to the Engineering Students Without Borders meeting yesterday to hear Mr. Bob Swap speak about international service projects. He is a professor in the Civil Engineering department and has worked with engineering students and JPC groups since 2003, particularly for trips to South Africa and Central America. He offered very compelling reasons for students to participate in international service projects, and gave great insights into and advice about designing successful projects.

First, Mr. Swap gave very convincing reasons for us, as university students, to go participate and lead international service projects. Mr. Swap pointed out that we, as UVa engineers, have unique resources and skills that are valuable to international communities, provided, of course, that they are used and applied appropriately. For one, there is the value of a dollar. A few hundred dollars can make a world of difference in a community that has very little. Also, the knowledge we learn in the classroom are meant to be applied--they can be turned into concrete devices or projects that brings tangible change to a community in need.

Mr. Swap also highlighted the need to free ourselves of constraints and to not confine ourselves to the traditional stereotypes of engineering. Just as our skills are not strictly limited to technical knowledge, our projects do not necessarily have to be a purely technical. For example, it could be about integrating technology into society, such as educating a community about potable water and water filters.  

One thing that stood out to me in the presentation was his mention of the quote “I was fine before you told me I wasn’t” to reflect the sentiment in international communities when foreign groups come in and tell them what they need. Each community has different cultural and societal norms and values, and we cannot blindly impose our standards to their communities. Mr. Swap’s insights into designing successful international projects had emphasis on respecting the existing social and cultural framework of the communities. In order to truly make a positive impact on the community, resources should be directed at serving a need that the community recognizes, and executed in a manner that fits with their values and norms. 

Perhaps this had something to do with Mr. Swap’s gung-ho personality (refer to the intensity in his expression as pictured above), but I took a lot of what he said as a personal challenge:  to not be bothered by the inconveniences, and to take my energy, passion, creativity, knowledge, and go out there and do something great for the world. I’ll make sure to do that at some point during my next four years.