Christian Brodbeck, P.E.
Personal Bio
Christian Brodbeck is a Research Engineer with the Biosystems Engineering Department at Auburn University. Christian holds a B.S. degree in Biosystems Engineering and an M.S. degree in Civil Engineering is a registered Professional Engineer and currently working on his Ph.D. He has worked for Auburn University since 2005 focusing his first four years of research on Precision Agriculture. Christian spent the next six years working in the area of bioenergy, in particular conversion technologies of woody biomass and harvesting logistics. Since 2017, Christian has had the opportunity to shift some of his research focus back to Precision Agriculture and has been working on developing an Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) program for the College of Agriculture. He is a Part 107 licensed remote pilot with over 300 recorded flights. His UAS research areas are primarily in the applications of UAS for use as a management tool in agricultural and natural resource systems.
EWB Role
Christian Brodbeck has been active with the Auburn University Chapter of EWB since 2016. During the first implementation trip to Rwanda, he served as a mentor to the Team assisting with the collection of imagery from unmanned aerial vehicles.
Since returning from Rwanda, Christian continues to advise the Guatemala Team as well as serve as the Responsible Engineer in Charge. Christian has extensive knowledge in GIS/GPS systems, as well as holding practical knowledge about hands-on engineering projects and working with people of different cultures.
Thomas E. (Tom) Burch, Ph.D., P.E.
Personal Bio
Dr. Tom Burch received his BSME and MSME degrees in Mechanical Engineering from Auburn University and after completion of his Ph.D. from Louisiana State University, he returned to Auburn and began his teaching career in 1992. He is currently a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Mechanical Engineering. He has also been a principal in the Boiler Efficiency Institute (BEI) since 1990. His consulting work in energy conservation and usage has spanned four decades, three continents, and eight countries. During this time he has delivered hundreds of workshops and seminars on energy-related topics and consulted with numerous industries, institutions, and government agencies. He is a registered Professional Engineer in the state of Alabama.
EWB Role
Dr. Burch has been directly involved with Engineers Without Borders (EWB) since 2015 and has served as Faculty Advisor for the Auburn University student chapter since 2016. He has traveled to Bolivia with the EWB student group every year since 2015. Dr. Burch is also the father of three children. You are welcome to ask about the children.
Joseph Ragan, Ph.D., P.E.
Personal Bio
Joseph (Joe) Ragan is a lecturer in mechanical engineering at Auburn University. He has taught a wide range of undergraduate engineering courses. Additionally, he is a consulting engineer specializing in boiler safety and energy utilization. Joe has also designed and built several residential homes. Joe enjoys teaching, designing, and working with his hands.
EWB Role
Joe became active with the Auburn University Chapter of EWB in the fall of 2016. He traveled with the Bolivia team during the summer of 2017. During this trip, he oversaw the surveying team and helped collect elevation/distance data needed for the irrigation system design. Currently, Joe is assisting with the design and working with students to build survey competence for the upcoming trip to Bolivia.
Jose Vasconcelos, Ph.D.
Personal Bio
Dr. Jose Vasconcelos (Dr. V) is a Professor with the Department of Civil Engineering at Auburn University. Dr. V obtained his B.S. in Civil Engineering and M.Sc. in Environmental Technology and Water Resources at the University of Brasilia, Brazil. He obtained his Ph.D. degree in Environmental Engineering at the University of Michigan in 2005. Jose’s working experience includes 6 years in stormwater and drinking water system design, and 14 years of teaching experience His teaching/research interests are in the context of Urban Water Systems, and unsteady conditions in pipe/channel flow. While at Auburn, Jose has been the chair of 10 graduate student committees and currently advises 4 graduate students. Among his service to the engineering community, he serves as the chair of the Hydraulics Structures Committee at the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) and is one of the associate editors for the Journal of Hydraulic Engineering (ASCE).
EWB Role
Dr. V has been active with the Auburn University Chapter of EWB since the Fall of 2016. He has served as a mentor to the Rwanda and Guatemala team and participated in the January 2017 assessment trip, as well in the August 2017 implementation trip. His main role is to help the design team to develop designs for the proposed water systems, as well as to help in the assessment of existing water systems in the Kabaya Sector, Rwanda. Dr. Vasconcelos has an extensive background in hydraulics, thus serving as an important resource for the team in the design phase. He brings unique skills in the utilization of computer software to analyze hydraulic data.