PROFESSOR JIM O’BRIEN: VESL’S BACKBONE CALL TO ACTION! Alumni have contributed to the College’s international engineering projects through the University endowment program, which provides support to students and program partners in perpetuity. Please contact Jordan.Ermilio@Villanova.edu or Cynthia.Rutenbar@ Villanova.edu to learn how you can contribute to these efforts. Volunteers are always welcome and are encouraged to support this work by participating in an engineering service learning project. Special thanks to our endowed sponsors: Karl ’78, ’82 and Nancy Schmidt Tom ’71, ’83 and Anne Caramanico The Hartner Family The Dooley Family The Ermilio Family in loving memory of Frank and Julia Ermilio Joe ’68 and April Denny Thomas Portland ’69, ’72 in loving memory of Sarah E. Portland
2013 New partnerships include water projects with Profugo in Wayanad, India, and Lifetime Wells in Ghana
2014 Research project on sustainable water infrastructure with CRS in Madagascar
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hen it comes to the Villanova Engineering Service Learning program, there are always plenty of incredible stories to tell. The one story that had yet to be written, however, is about Professor Jim O’Brien. “Jim is the backbone of the VESL program and his commitment to working with students and program partners is absolutely inspiring,” says Dr. Ermilio. Jim O’Brien ’71 CE, ’77 MSME, an assistant professor of Mechanical Engineering since 1982, has been serving internationally with Villanova students since the very beginning. “My first project was in Panama over winter break, 1992–93,” he says. In the 27 years since, O’Brien has traveled to Nicaragua, Haiti, Thailand, Madagascar and Ghana—about 35 trips in all. “Jim is selflessly always ready and willing to go wherever he’s needed,” acknowledges Dr. Ermilio. The admiration is clearly mutual. “I want to be sure that everyone understands that Jordan is the force behind Villanova Engineering Service Learning,” O’Brien emphasizes. “His dedication and hard work have developed VESL into an exemplary program—in my opinion, one of the best in the country—benefitting a great number of Villanova engineering students, as well as many communities and organizations worldwide.” When asked about his most memorable VESL experience, O’Brien struggles to name just one. “Most are connected to the wonderful people we
2016 Sustainable Engineering for International Development track furthers graduate student involvement, leading to new projects in Tanzania with CRS; Aqua America partnership creates mentoring opportunities for water sector professionals to support humanitarian projects internationally
Jim O’Brien, Waslala, Nicaragua, 2009
have met in the communities.” He recalls a local farming family taking him into their home when he was not feeling well and offering him what little they had in the way of food and drink, racing the local priest on horseback across a field in a rural community (and losing badly), and women lined up to fill their water containers with newly available clean water. The most important and enduring image, however, is “students using their engineering education to solve problems with creative local solutions.” O’Brien says: “At Villanova we want students to graduate understanding that they have a moral responsibility to improve the world and the lives of the people in it. This is especially important for engineers. These trips and the work associated with them give students experience using engineering for the betterment of mankind, and in the process of serving, they generally find that they gain more than they give.”
2017 New partnerships include sustainability projects with Bogor Agricultural Institute in Indonesia, STEM outreach with Himalayan Hope Charitable Foundation in northern India, and STEM projects with ULACIT in Costa Rica through Villanova’s chapter of Society of Women Engineers
2018 Initiatives to address solar energy and capacity building in Ecuador and urban sanitation in Liberia
2019 Projects explored in Peru with WindAid and Water for People, and in Guatemala with CRS