March 6, 2012

Engineers Without Borders' Carmen Cejudo

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The president of the local chapter of Engineers Without Borders, Carmen Cejudo, is also an engineering assistant who uses cool toys like flow hoods and thermal imaging cameras to find energy leaks. (Courtesy of Carmen Cejudo)

What do you do? I’m an engineering assistant at Ecotope, Inc., where we design mechanical and plumbing systems for super-efficient buildings. Ecotope’s focus on sustainability is directly applicable to my role as president of the Engineers Without Borders USA Puget Sound Professionals chapter. EWB's community-driven development programs allow volunteers like me to apply our technical skills to benefit others.

What's a typical day like? My days can range from design and CAD work at my desk to meetings with clients or performing building energy audits. In the evenings, I often find myself at one of the various EWB-USA PSP meetings to catch up on the cool projects our teams are working on in Nicaragua, Jamaica, Tanzania and Nepal. One example is the Jamaica Biodiesel team. With a grant from Boeing, they’re helping firefighters in Negril build a reactor to process waste vegetable oil from local hotel resorts into low-cost biodiesel. Not only does the project save the fire brigade money, it also improves the environment by reducing fats that are flushed down sewers, protecting the coral reefs.

How does someone get a job like yours? I happened to be in the right place at the right time to land my job in the winter of 2008. I think it helped that I was prepared and open to possibilities. I’m also up to new challenges and taking on tasks outside of my job description.

What's the best part of the job? I work with an incredible group of people who care energy efficiency (did you know buildings account for about 40 percent of all energy use?). I love solving problems, especially in the field, where I can use cool toys like flow hoods and thermal imaging cameras to find energy leaks. Energy audits of existing buildings are especially educational. I enjoy getting to go “behind the scenes” to see the workings of a building.

What surprises people about your job? With EWB, that I haven’t yet traveled to a project site in another country. I mainly support those brave few who can spend their vacation days helping others. Also, I can’t change the laws of thermodynamics to make a seemingly cool design “energy efficient” without some thought.

--NWjobs staff

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