What Engineers Without Borders Purdue University does

Engineers Without Borders at Purdue University is a student-run engineering organization operating within the university's EPICS (Engineering Projects in Community Service) program. The organization's principal initiative is the GAQT (Global Air Quality Trekkers) undergraduate team, which addresses high rates of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) among women in Nandi, Kenya caused by indoor air pollution from biomass cookstoves emitting PM2.5 particles. The team works alongside community partners to engineer kitchen ventilation modifications — including chimneys, raised roof gaps, and window placements — that build on modifications the Nandi women had already self-initiated.

Core technical work includes field data collection during trips to Kenya, CAD-based kitchen reconstruction, ventilation simulation, and a physical test kitchen facility built at Purdue University for iterative experimentation. The organization has also expanded into alternative fuels research covering solar PV panels, biogas digesters, and LPG as long-term replacements for wood stoves. All engineering deliverables are provided free of charge to the Nandi community under a service-learning model; the organization has no commercial revenue, no pricing model, and no paying customers.

Leadership includes academic advisors Assistant Professor Brandon Boor and PhD student Danielle Wagner (Head TA Advisor), with roughly 15+ graduate and undergraduate members holding roles such as Project Manager, Kenya Team Design Lead, Miller School Team Design Lead, Financial Officer, and Communications Officer. The organization's primary strategic partners are AMPATH (one of Africa's largest healthcare systems, partner since 2016) and Moi University School of Engineering (partner since May 2019). Awareness and educational content are distributed through a Twitter account (@airqualityepics), YouTube channel, and infographics targeted at the Kenyan community.

Name

Engineers Without Borders Purdue University

Website

https://epics.ecn.purdue.edu

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Engineers Without Borders Purdue is a university student organization under the EPICS program whose GAQT team designs kitchen ventilation modifications and researches alternative fuels to reduce indoor air pollution and COPD among women in Nandi, Kenya. Non-commercial.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Humanitarian Engineering Services

NAICS

Engineering Services (541330), Environmental Consulting Services (54162)

SIC

Services-Engineering Services (8711), Services-Testing Laboratories (8734)

akta.pro primary industry

Technical Universities with Specialized Engineering Domains (EDAHAEAI)

akta.pro secondary industry

Technical Universities with Energy, Materials & Sustainability Focus (EDAHAEAL)

Keywords

• Humanitarian engineering services
• Indoor air quality improvement
• Kitchen ventilation design
• Biomass cookstove solutions
• Community service engineering

Headquarters

HQ city

West Lafayette

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Academic/Non-profit: This is a university student organization (EPICS program) focused on community service and humanitarian engineering projects. No commercial revenue generation.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Engineers Without Borders Purdue University is a student-run humanitarian engineering organization within Purdue University's EPICS (Engineering Projects in Community Service) program. Its primary featured team, GAQT (Global Air Quality Trekkers), partners with the Nandi community in Kenya to develop improved kitchen ventilation system designs and alternative fuel solutions (solar PV, biogas, LPG) that reduce indoor air pollution and COPD rates among women caused by biomass cookstove emissions.

Product overview

Engineers Without Borders Purdue University operates under the EPICS (Engineering Projects in Community Service) program, which is a collection of undergraduate engineering teams that partner with communities to develop engineering solutions. The primary featured team is GAQT (Global Air Quality Trekkers), which focuses on addressing Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) in Nandi, Kenya caused by indoor air pollution from biomass cookstoves. The program includes a test kitchen facility at Purdue for experimentation and multiple subteams working on ventilation improvements, alternative fuels, and education initiatives.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• GAQT (Global Air Quality Trekkers) Indoor Air Quality Project An undergraduate engineering service project under Purdue's EPICS program that addresses indoor air pollution in Nandi, Kenya by developing improved kitchen ventilation systems and alternative fuel solutions for homes using biomass cookstoves, working directly with community members.
• Ventilation System Designs for Nandi Kitchens Kitchen modification design deliverables (chimneys, raised roofs with gaps, windows) developed through CAD modeling and ventilation simulations to improve indoor air quality in Nandi, Kenya homes using biomass cookstoves, built upon community-validated modifications.
• Test Kitchen Research Facility A testing facility constructed at Purdue University used by GAQT team members to conduct experiments and data collection for improving air quality in traditional Nandi kitchens with biomass cookstoves.

Quantifiable outcome

• Improved ventilation in Nandi kitchens to decrease COPD rates

Named customers1 record

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Moi University School of EngineeringcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 May 2019During the team's trip to Kenya in May 2019, they connected with professors and students at Moi University School of Engineering in Eldoret, Kenya to share research and establish collaboration. The team is currently working with Moi University professors to assemble an indoor air quality improvement team similar to GAQT.
• AMPATHcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2016GAQT's main project partner located in Eldoret, Kenya. AMPATH was started as a collaboration between the Indiana University School of Medicine and the Moi University School of Medicine in Kenya. In 2016, AMPATH reached out to Purdue Engineering to assist with the indoor air pollution issue affecting women and children in the Nandi community, leading to the formation of GAQT. AMPATH is one of Africa's largest healthcare systems providing care for HIV/AIDS, maternal health, nutrition services, and counseling.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• ATEC* Biodigesters: Provides biogas biodigester systems for Cambodian and other developing-country households as a clean cooking and fertilizer solution — one of the alternative-fuel paths GAQT is researching. Comparable end-use (household cooking fuel replacement) and target market (off-grid rural communities).
• SolarCookers International: Non-profit promoting solar cooking as a clean alternative to biomass in developing regions. Comparable in mission (replacing biomass cookstoves with solar alternatives), target beneficiaries (rural communities), and health/environmental thesis around indoor air pollution.

Direct peers

• Envirofit International: Designs and distributes clean cookstoves for households in developing countries to reduce indoor air pollution and fuel consumption. Directly comparable in addressing biomass cookstove emissions, target end-user (rural households), and health-outcome thesis.
• Engineers Without Borders USA: The national parent organization of the Engineers Without Borders student/staff chapter network that the subject company belongs to. Directly comparable in mission (humanitarian engineering in developing communities), organizational model (university-affiliated chapters), and partner community engagement approach.
• EcoZoom: Sells efficient biomass and gas cookstoves across Africa, Asia, and Latin America to reduce indoor air pollution and fuel use. Comparable in product (improved cookstoves), customer (off-grid households), and distribution model (last-mile retail in developing markets).
• Purdue EPICS Program: The parent service-learning program at Purdue that houses GAQT and dozens of other student engineering teams tackling community projects. Directly comparable in organizational model (student-led teams with faculty advisors, on-campus design + off-campus deployment) and pedagogical approach.
• BURN Manufacturing: East Africa-based clean cookstove manufacturer selling improved biomass and solar cookstoves to households facing the same indoor air pollution and COPD challenges GAQT addresses in Nandi. Directly comparable product category, target customer, and geography.

Broad incumbents

• Clean Cooking Alliance (formerly Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves): Multi-stakeholder initiative hosted at the UN Foundation focused on universal access to clean cooking solutions. Operates broadly across the same indoor air pollution / clean cookstoves space GAQT works in, with vastly greater resources, partnerships, and geographic reach.
• MIT D-Lab: MIT's development-focused research and education program working on energy, water, and health technologies for low-income communities. Comparable mission (humanitarian engineering with focus on energy/health), academic institutional model, and partnership with international NGOs.
• Practical Action: International development charity that uses technology to tackle poverty in developing countries, including household energy and clean cooking. Comparable mission (technology-for-development), target end-users (rural communities in Africa/Asia), and partner-engagement model.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/engineers-without-borders-purdue-university

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Engineers Without Borders Purdue University