The WPI Podcast
E23: Engineering a Cultural Connection | Sophia Gross | Sarah Gardner | Engineers Without Borders
E22: Athletics and Academics | Dana Harmon| WPI Athletics
E21: Thinking with AI | Erin Solovey | Computer Science
E20: Decoding Pain | Benjamin Nephew and Emmanuel Agu | NIH IMPACT Study
E19: College Connections | Em Beeler | Class of 2022
E18: Explosion Protection Engineering | Hannah Murray, explosion protection engineering PhD candidate, and Prof. Stephen Kmiotek, co-director of explosion protection engineering program
E17: Fintech, AI, and the Future of Finance | Kwamie Dunbar, Interim Dean, The WPI Business School
E16: Rest Matters | Stacy Shaw, Assistant Professor Social Science and Policy Studies
E15: Wildfire Research, Part Two | Nan (Nancy) Ma, Assistant Professor, and Rachel Hurley, PhD Candidate, Civil, Environmental, and Architectural Engineering
E14: Unpacking Campus Life | Matthew Foster, Director, Housing & Residential Experience
Engineering a Cultural Connection
In a new episode of The WPI Podcast, we explore how a group of Worcester Polytechnic Institute students are making a global impact and connections with a community in Ecuador. As part of a multiple-year project, WPI’s student chapter of Engineers Without Borders USA spent a week in May 2025 working with residents in Shungubug Grande to upgrade their aging water system and address water quality challenges.
Sophia Gross writes about the experience for an article in WPI Journal, the university’s magazine. Gross and Sarah Gardner, both members of the student organization, join the podcast to reflect on their time in South America, the extracurricular project that allowed them to exercise their engineering and problem-solving skills for the enhancement of society, the lasting memories they made with community members, and what it was like to document the trip for the magazine in writing and photos.