Katrina Recovery Clinic Project: an Engineering Service Learning Experience

This paper presents the experience of service learning in the engineering design curriculum through recovery effort projects after Hurricane Katrina. A brief context for Rowan´s Engineering Clinics and the mechanics and logistics of defining and executing such a project will be discussed. This type of project offers far more than technical aspects of design and fabrication; engineering management, writing, public speaking, and ethics are additional parts of the puzzle and contribute to making this a valuable experience. A range of pros, cons, and recommendations are presented as well as a new model engaging other disciplines on our campus in this endeavor. We hope that our experiences will encourage others to include this type of project as one component of the engineering curricula and service learning opportunities provided for students