Cal Poly Journalism Professor, Brady Teufel, Brings Skills to Thailand
Brady Teufel, assistant professor of Journalism at Cal Poly, is accompanying the university’s student chapter of Engineers Without Borders to the village of Huai Nam Khun, Thailand, through Dec. 28.
The trip is part of the final phase of a five-year Engineers Without Borders effort working with the residents of six remote mountain villages on sustainable water filtration systems. The villages – with a total population of 5,540 – represent the only settlement of Akheau people in all of Thailand.
Teufel was invited to accompany the team to assist in documenting the experience through multimedia storytelling, which he teaches in Cal Poly’s Journalism Department. Teufel also teaches courses in visual communication, multimedia reporting, photojournalism and writing for the media, and he is the adviser for Mustang Daily – Cal Poly’s student-run newspaper.
“As part of my contribution to the team,” Teufel said, “I plan on applying the techniques that I teach in my journalism classes to accurately capturing the spirit of the community, its people, the project, and the Cal Poly team’s ongoing efforts.”
In addition to establishing new avenues of collaboration between the journalism and engineering disciplines, Teufel said the benefits of his participation include providing important infrastructure to a region of Thailand that has been heavily impacted by increased numbers of refugees fleeing Myanmar.
The team will also submit a video about the experience in a national Engineers Without Borders contest in hopes of inspiring innovative and sustainable engineering designs.
“Brady’s participation in this project is an example of the breadth of experience present and taught within Cal Poly’s Journalism Department, including writing, documentary, video and international and intercultural communication,” said Harvey Levenson, interim chair of the department. “It is also indicative of Cal Poly’s distinction as a comprehensive polytechnic university where the liberal arts are of equal importance to technical education.”
Five years of working with the residents of a remote village in Thailand on a water filtration system earned Cal Poly’s Engineers Without Borders chapter two awards totaling $5,000.
“The Thailand project was selected to be funded by these awards because of its uniqueness and commitment to the community of Huai Nam Khun,” said Aaron Opdyke, director of Engineers Without Borders on campus. “The team showed exceptional work in creating a scalable technology sand filter that fits the surrounding communities and region. In addition, the system was designed with a user interface that makes maintenance and repairs possible from the local community.”
About Cal Poly’s Journalism Department
Cal Poly’s Journalism Department ( http://cla.calpoly.edu/jour.html ) offers a professional program leading to a bachelor of science degree in journalism with emphases in broadcasting, multimedia, news-editorial and public relations. Journalism majors serve as staff members of departmental communications media, including the Mustang Daily, the student newspaper; CCPR, the student-run public relations firm; KCPR, the FM-stereo radio station; or the news and programming operations of CPTV, Cal Poly’s TV station. The department also sponsors student chapters of the Society of Professional Journalists, Radio-Television News Directors Association, and the Public Relations Student Society of America. Graduates have reached positions of responsibility and authority nationally in corporations and media outlets, including major publications, networks and affiliates.
About Engineers Without Borders
Engineers Without Borders is a nonprofit, humanitarian organization established to support community-driven development programs worldwide through partnerships that design and implement sustainable engineering projects. EWB-USA maintains 225 dedicated chapters, including chapters at 180 universities in the U.S. For more information, visit www.ewb-usa.org .