Dear Carroll College Engineering Alumni and Supporters:
Welcome! The past year has brought exciting updates to Carroll College’s Engineering Program. We welcomed a new faculty member, Dr. Ron Breitmeyer, who dove right into leading four senior design teams through diverse projects – from wind turbines to airport renovations. Graduating students will soon join the Order of the Engineer, marking their commitment to uphold the standards and ethics of the profession. Our ASCE Chapter is actively preparing for this year’s Pacific Northwest ASCE Student Symposium, where they will race with the best in the concrete canoe competition. The two projects managed by our Engineers Without Borders chapter are back to traveling the world and making a global impact. Teams are working to improve earthquake resilience in Guatemala and sanitation management in Uganda. Join us as we celebrate these impactful endeavors!
Introducing Our New Faculty
Ronald Breitmeyer, Ph.D.
Dr. Ronald Breitmeyer joined Carroll at the start of this school year. He holds a Ph.D. in Geological Engineering from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, focusing on hydrological properties of municipal solid waste landfills. His post-graduate career at Exponent, Inc. involved environmental modeling, remediation analysis, and forensic cost analysis. He later served as an assistant professor at the University of Nevada, Reno, leading research on abandoned mine lands and wildfire-burned soil geotechnical properties.
For the past four years, Dr. Breitmeyer has been an associate research Hydrogeologist at the Montana Bureau of Mines and Geology, specializing in groundwater models and field investigations for the Ground Water Investigation Program. He is a licensed engineer in Wyoming. Now teaching at Carroll College, Dr. Breitmeyer appreciates Montana's many excellent outdoor recreational opportunities.
Dr. Breitmeyer has been a wonderful addition to our team and we asked him to share a few words about his first year at Carroll:
“This spring I am completing my first academic year at Carroll College as an Engineering Professor. I was afforded the unique opportunity to take over the freshmen engineering and senior engineering design courses (among others). In this role, I have been able to see our talented students as they come in the doors to begin their engineering education journey and on their way to bigger and better things post-graduation. I have been impressed by the dedication, commitment, and talent of our engineering students. The students have challenged me as a teacher and mentor and I look forward to growing with our students going forward.
"This college is a special place and gives the students the incredible opportunity to incorporate their faith, a broad-based liberal-arts education along with a rigorous technical education that will serve them well in the future. I have always looked at my primary job as a professor being to help young people succeed, and I am grateful that I have a tremendous opportunity to do that here at Carroll College.” ~ Ronald Breitmeyer, Ph.D.
~ Shaye Bodine, Ph.D.
Senior Design Projects
For over a decade, we have been dedicated to providing students with hands-on experience through real-life projects in our Senior Design Project course. Our senior students engage with volunteer mentors to consider the scopes, specifications, and constraints of the projects at hand.
Our senior project design courses follow a structured path, beginning with the solicitation of real-life projects and mentorship from experienced engineers. Throughout the fall semester, students conduct research and develop design alternatives, which are carefully evaluated and presented. In the spring semester, the chosen project undergoes detailed analysis, design realization, and budget determination. The culmination of this process is the presentation of the final project to both internal and external stakeholders, ensuring our students are equipped to address any questions or challenges.
Over the years, our students have tackled a diverse range of projects, from the design and expansion of student parking lots to wastewater nitrogen studies. This year, our students are immersed in exciting projects, including a wind turbine installation and various improvement and renovation projects at small airports in the area. These hands-on experiences not only enrich their learning but also prepare them for the challenges of the professional world.
Thank You Senior Design Project Mentors!
We extend our heartfelt thanks to all who have supported our program as project mentors. If you are interested in working with students as a project mentor, please reach out to Ron Breitmeyer.
Order of the Engineer
It is an annual tradition for graduating Engineering students to be inducted into the Order of the Engineer. Some of you may have been inducted into The Order at your own graduation, and some may have graduated before this tradition began at Carroll.
We are proud of our graduates and the oath they take and wanted to simply share some information with you about The Order of the Engineer.
The Order of the Engineer was initiated in the United States to foster a spirit of pride and responsibility in the engineering profession, to bridge the gap between training and experience, and to present to the public a visible symbol identifying the engineer.
The Obligation is a creed similar to the oath attributed to Hippocrates (460-377 B.C.) that is generally taken by medical graduates and which sets forth an ethical code. The Obligation likewise, contains parts of the Canon of Ethics of major engineering societies. Initiates, as they accept it voluntarily, pledge to uphold the standards and dignity of the engineering profession and to serve humanity by making the best use of Earth’s precious wealth.
The Engineer’s Ring in the United States is a stainless steel ring, worn on the fifth finger of the working hand by engineers who have accepted the Obligation of an Engineer in a Ring Ceremony.
Here’s the Obligations of an Engineer oath the students are asked to take:
“I am an Engineer. In my profession I take deep pride. To it I owe solemn obligations. As an Engineer, I pledge to practice integrity and fair dealing, tolerance and respect; and to uphold devotion to the standards and the dignity of my profession, conscious always that my skill carries with it the obligation to serve humanity by making the best use of the Earth’s precious wealth. As an Engineer, I shall participate in none but honest enterprises. When needed, my skill and knowledge shall be given without reservation for the public good. In the performance of duty and in fidelity to my profession, I shall give my utmost.”
Student ASCE Chapter
By David Wassmuth, Current ASCE President
Carroll College ASCE has been busy this year preparing for our second consecutive concrete canoe competition. We wanted our design to stand out both technically and visibly, so this year we chose to stain our canoe bright pink and name it the Pink Panther. It is nearly finished curing and we will soon be finishing and prepping for travel in early April. We are traveling this year to Vancouver, BC, where we will present, race, and hopefully win with our design.
In addition to concrete canoe, we have students competing in writing and oral presentations, and we are planning a welding clinic later in the semester. This will be open to the whole student body, and will at least introduce students to a skill that is essential to the engineering world.
Wish the students luck as they showcase their creativity and technical competency with their vibrant “Pink Panther” design!
Cornhole Tournament
Thank you to all who supported and participated in the fall Cornhole Tournament! The weather and company made for a great afternoon. We hope to host another tournament in the fall. Watch for more information!
Engineers Without Borders Update
Following a long break from travel during the COVID years, both teams were able to travel again in the last year! Thank you to Carroll faculty, Dr. Tony Szpilka, Dr. Shaye Bodine, and Dr. John Rowley, who made this possible.
Assessment Trip to Uganda May 2023 – Plan for May 2024
Seven Saints Traveled with EWB to Uganda – May 2023
Seven Saints' students from the Engineers without Borders (EWB) student chapter and three professional mentors from Helena, Montana, traveled to the village of Kawango in Uganda, in May 2023. Carroll’s EWB student chapter has been working to help the development of Holy Trinity Senior Secondary School in Kawango since 2015, but had been unable to travel to Uganda since January 2020 because of the Covid-19 pandemic and a subsequent Ebola outbreak. The objectives of the current visit were twofold: (1) to inspect the operation of the projects most recently completed (the introduction of electric power to the village, and the operation of a piped water distribution system at the school); and (2) to assess the state of the school’s sanitation system and study alternatives for its improvement. Additionally, the EWB team was eager to see how the recent extension of electric power lines from the nearby town of Nkozi to the school (undertaken by The Julius Foundation) has improved life in the village and at the school.
The water distribution system installed by Carroll’s EWB chapter during their 2020 trip continues to provide clean water to the school as designed. This system consists of a solar-powered submersible pump that pumps water from the school’s borehole into two 10,000-L elevated storage tanks, from which the water flows under the influence of gravity to spigots located near the school’s kitchen and latrines. (A lightning strike from a strong thunderstorm in November disabled the submersible pump, but the school manages to continue accessing water with a hand pump until a replacement pump can be installed.) Villagers from the area around the school were invited to a community meeting, where they had an opportunity to voice their current needs and concerns. Villagers hope for an enhancement of the water supply available to them (which currently consists of three boreholes in the village, fitted with hand pumps).
The EWB travel team from Carroll College also determined that Holy Trinity School’s current sanitation system is in critical need of upgrades to remain in compliance with Ugandan government requirements. Currently, the girls’ latrine gathers waste into a lined tank that can be periodically pumped out, while the boys’ latrine must be moved every few years because it is built over a pit that cannot be pumped out. Both waste pits drain to open-air soak pits that foul the surrounding air and breed insects, so there is an urgent need to replace the current system with one that moves the soak pits underground and treats the waste more effectively.
Our project is now to design a sustainable sanitation system for the school that will be able to handle the increase in student population from its current level of 430-440 students to a projected enrollment of 600 within the next few years. The first phase of this project will be undertaken during our next trip to Uganda in May 2024, at which time we will work with a local contractor to install a rainwater catchment system at the school, consisting of gutters along the roofs of the school buildings, feeding into a series of storage tanks fitted with pumps. This system will increase the amount of water available to the school, in the hope of eventually attaining a water supply able to power flush toilets.
Many, many thanks to those who make EWB work possible!
- Emirates Airline Foundation
- The Julius Foundation America (USA); The Julius Foundation Uganda
- And the many who supported EWB through local events or Saints Giving Day!
Assessment Trip to Guatemala – January 2024
Students travel to Santa Thomás La Unión to assess the earthquake resilience of school buildings.
Carroll College Engineers Without Borders (EWB) Guatemala team traveled to Santa Thomás La Unión in January 2024 to assess the earthquake resilience of several school buildings. EWB projects bring together student volunteers and community members to find appropriate and long-lasting solutions for infrastructure needs. After a pause due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this trip was our first step at reestablishing our 15 year collaboration with the Centro Educativo Santiago de la Asuncón to address structural concerns of campus buildings.
“Going into this trip I was really worried about the possibility of it being voluntourism that was meant more to be an experience for the volunteers rather than effectively serving the community we were traveling to. However, through meeting many community members it was made very clear that the people at La Asunción school wanted us to be there. We were told that the building we finished seismic retrofitting in our last trip had been holding up very well in the recent earthquakes and that they were quite happy with it. In our meetings, community members expressed their gratitude for our presence. I was happy to learn that our future work on the school will be both beneficial and welcome.” ~ Olivia St. Marie, Engineering ‘26
The project assessment team consisted of four Engineering students, one professional Engineer, and one Biochemistry & Molecular Biology/Spanish major. Our students displayed professionalism, cultural sensitivity, curiosity, and a deep compassion for others. Based on our findings, future projects will involve retrofitting school buildings with additional walls to improve structural integrity.
“I would recommend EWB to other students because it is a real authentic experience. You get to engage with a real community that has vastly different experiences from what you are probably used to, and experiencing these things as in depth as we did is far more valuable than the outside view of tourism.” ~ Tristan Gallagher, Engineering ’24
Our mission statement calls us to be “Serving all with humility, especially our neighbors who are poor and marginalized.” The Carroll College EWB program is an excellent way for students to live out our mission while gaining leadership experience and making lifelong friends.
“I think EWB is a great organization to join because it gives students experiences, lessons, and memories that they will take with them throughout the rest of their college career and careers after college.” ~ Chloe Gallagher, Engineering ‘24
We hope this newsletter from Carroll Engineering gave you a glimpse of what is happening in our world.
~ Carroll Engineering Department
Mary Keeffe, Tony Szpilka, Shaye Bodine, Recep Birgul, Ron Breitmeyer, Stephanie Metzger