David Sabatini Joins OU Team in Uganda and Rwanda

OU Team and Hosts

CEES Professor and WaTER Center Director David Sabatini joined an interdisciplinary team of OU colleagues on an exploratory trip to Gulu, Uganda and Kigali, Rwanda in April.  The team consisted of representatives from the colleges of Architecture, Arts and Sciences, Business, Education, Engineering, International Studies and Medicine and the Center for the Creation of Economic Wealth. Sabatini represented CEES, the WaTER Center and the College of Engineering

The first objective of the trip was to explore options for interdisciplinary service learning projects at St. Monica’s Vocational School in Gulu while also connecting with the local university, local water companies and area NGO’s.  The second objective, while in Kigali, was to explore similar project opportunities with representatives of the local university, NGO’s and government organizations.

The group was hosted by 2014 TIME 100 Most Influential and 2007 CNN Hero Sister Rosemary Nyirumbe and the Saint Monica’s Vocational School in Gulu, which is a six hour van ride north of the capital of Kampala.  Potential projects identified while at St Monica’s include a master plan for the school that would include water and sanitation facilities with a water/sanitation/health kiosk built into an exterior wall that would also serve the community, as well as solar and biofuel potential.  The team also visited Atiak, about an hour north of Gulu, to explore potential water and sanitation projects where Sister Rosemary is establishing a new school. 

Sabatini and Sister Rosemary Nyirumbe

After five days in Gulu, four team members traveled on to Kigali where they visited with representatives from Bridge2Rwanda, a training program to assist high school graduates that want to attend college in the US; several University of Rwanda faculty members from engineering, architecture and business; native Rwandan graduates of Oklahoma Christian College that have returned to their homeland to pursue their careers; a sanitation/biofuel startup installation initiated by a UC-Berkley graduate; an architecture firm designing learning/health centers in rural villages; the Minister of Infrastructure; and the Water/Sanitation Corporation.  Many needs and opportunities for water and sanitation initiatives were identified.  Certain elements look more advanced such as roads and businesses but others show that great needs still exist in such basic areas as wastewater treatment and availability of drinking water. 

David Sabatini

While in Kigali, the team also took the opportunity to visit the Kigali Genocide Memorial Centre and ate dinner at Hotel Des Mille Collines, the hotel featured in the movie Hotel Rwanda.

"The trip was very illuminating", said Sabatini. "Representatives in both countries expressed great interest in collaborating with OU, and the team identified many opportunities to engage our students in service learning opportunities while also meeting needs and advancing development in these countries through capacity building, student/faculty exchanges and training courses among others."  The OU team is in the process of evaluating the range of opportunities and developing a plan for next steps.   

Stay tuned!

Austin Messerli Named 2015 Outstanding Senior in Civil Engineering

Austin Messerli of Norman, Oklahoma was named the 2015 Outstanding Senior in Civil Engineering.  Messerli grew up in Norman and graduated from Norman North High School in 2007. He played both basketball and baseball, participating in multiple state tournaments in both sports. Messerli earned both academic and athletic scholarships to attend Oklahoma City University, where he was the first graduate with a Bachelors of Science in Environmental Studies and also played for two baseball national championships. While at OU, Messerli was an active member of Chi Epsilon and served as the 2014-2015 president of the ASCE student chapter.  After graduation, Messerli plans to work under the guidance of Dr. Jeffery Volz in pursuit of his Master's degree, and will continue to work for Garver. 

Jessica Johnston Named 2015 Outstanding Senior in Environmental Engineering

Jessica Johnston of Ponca City, Oklahoma was named the Outstanding Senior of 2015 in Environmental Engineering.  “I chose environmental engineering as my major in order to combine my love of math, science, and protecting the environment.”  While at OU Johnston has been the Secretary of Chi Epsilon, the Civil Engineering Honor Society, as well as a member of Tau Beta Pi, Phi Kappa Phi, Sooners Without Borders, and the OU Cube Club. She also was the recipient of the Oklahoma Regents, Jimmy F. Harp, Joakim G. Laguros, and Guy Bradford Treat Scholarships. Johnston also volunteered at Manos Juntas, a free health clinic in Oklahoma City, as well as Angel Food Ministries in Norman.  She enjoys playing clarinet and piano, backpacking, archery, and occasionally sword fighting and acting on the human chessboard at the Norman Medieval Faire. After graduation, Johnston will attend UC Berkeley in California for graduate school where she will continue studying environmental engineering.

Nathan Ferraro Named 2015 Outstanding Senior in Architectural Engineering

Nathan Ferraro

Nathan Ferraro, Senior from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, was named the 2015 Outstanding Senior in Architectural Engineering.  He will remain at the University of Oklahoma for one more year to pursue a master's degree in civil engineering. Graduating in May with an overall 4.0 GPA Ferraro has been the recipient of numerous honors and awards, including the Roland Lehr Phi Kappa Phi Award for Distinguished Undergraduate Research, Penn State's President's Freshman and President Sparks Awards, the President's Outstanding Transfer Student, PE-ET - Top 10 Senior Honor Society, and the Letzeiser Honor List. He is also the recipient of various scholarships including the Society of American Military Engineers, the Guy Bradford Treat, the McNair Scholars Program, and the Terracon Foundation Scholarships. His research topics include multiple geotechnical engineering projects under Dr. Amy Cerato. 

Ferraro is a veteran of the United States Navy, having accumulated over 1000 flight hours on the E-6B Mercury aircraft from 2008 to 2012. He currently serves as the Program Director of the Warrior-Scholar Project at the University of Oklahoma. The WSP serves as a gateway program for college-bound veterans by preparing them for the rigors of a four year degree. He also contributes in various capacities to multiple CEES organizations, including the Architectural Engineering Institute Student Chapter, the American Society of Civil Engineers Student Chapter, the ASCE Concrete Canoe Competition Team and Chi Epsilon, the Civil Engineering Honor Society.

CEES Student Recipient of 2015 Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship

Ben Toms

CEES Student Recipient of 2015 Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship
Ben Toms, a senior from Aurora, Colorado, is one of two OU students to receive the Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship for 2015.  The Barry Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Program was established by Congress in 1986 to honor Senator Barry Goldwater.  The purpose of the Foundation is to provide a continuing source of highly qualified scientists, mathematicians, and engineers by awarding scholarships to college students who intend to pursue research careers in these fields.

Toms is double majoring in civil engineering and meteorology and plans to graduate in May 2016.  He is currently working on a field campaign through the School of Meteorology entitled "PECAN", which stands for Plains Elevated Convection at Night.  “We'll be sampling overnight convective complexes in hopes of better understanding how convection is formed and/or maintained during nighttime.  In the future, I want to research the interactions between terrestrial water systems and the atmosphere, most specifically how changes in surface and sub-surface water characteristics influence atmospheric phenomena”, Toms said.

Though he has not decided on which graduate school he plans to attend, we are all hoping that he remains with us here at OU!

Congratulations, Ben!

CEES to Co-host Water Reuse Forums

Water reuse in Oklahoma is the topic for three upcoming educational outreach forums open to the public at no cost.  Meetings are designed to inform the public and allow people to provide input for Oklahoma’s future water resource planning.  Wastewater recycling, reclamation and reuse may be an option for many communities to augment their drinking water supplies, especially in areas where fresh water resources are limited.

The forums are sponsored by the Oklahoma Water Survey together with faculty at the University of Oklahoma, the Oklahoma Water Resources Board, Oklahoma Dept. of Environmental Quality, the City of Norman and Garver Engineering.

Three sessions have been scheduled for 6:00 to 8:30 p.m. on:

Thursday,  April 23

Thursday, May 14

Thursday, June 18

The location for all three meetings will be the National Weather Center, 100 David L. Boren Blvd., Room 1313, Norman, Oklahoma.  Click here for a full copy of the agenda.

While the forums are free and open to the public, sponsors are requesting that participants register at http://oklahomawatersurvey.org/