Design Team

CONGRATULATIONS

1st PLACE -- MONTANA TECH

Montana Tech's 2009 Environmental Design Team -- Task 1 took First Place at the WERC International Design Team Contest held in Las Cruses, New Mexico on their design entitled Sulfate Removal from Groundwater. Further details on the competition can be found at 2009 Design Teams.

WERC is a consortium of universities and scientific labs researching energy. Federally funded, with a mandate to educate as well as perform research, consisting of 20-25 colleges and universities:  Mesa Community College to MIT, Stanford, Cal-Poly. Tasks are distributed in September with reports due mid-March. The contest, held early April, requires:

• Bench scale model
• Oral presentation
• Poster presentation prepared by students from the Professional & Technical Communications Dept.
• Bench scale model resonation to the judges
• Safety appraisal prepared by students from the Safety, Health and Industrial Hygiene Departments
• Report

Teams are made up of undergraduates and graduates—usually juniors, seniors, and grads. A Butte resident is always included. This is an interdisciplinary team of problem solvers from Chemistry, Environmental and General Engineering, Mining, Petroleum, Technical Communications, Metallurgy, Occupational Safety and Health, and Industrial Hygiene disciplines. Students use non-academic skill such as welding, machinist, computer graphics, and AutoCAD as well as academic theories.

The Design Team adheres to the following development process:

• Research problems and current solutions
• Interact with faculty and community scientists
• Brainstorm within the team
• Plan and build bench scale models
• Raise funds for the tasks and trip

Click for more information on:

• 2006 Design Team
• 2007 Design Team
• 2008 Design Team
• 2009 Design Team
• 2010 Design Team

Environmental Engineering Questions or Comments:
Shelley Reed • 406-496-4115 • Faculty Contact Information