November 03, 2008

Contact: Amy Hewes
College of Engineering
805-756-6402
ahewes@calpoly.edu

Cal Poly Grad Student Awarded Prestigious Clinton Initiative Award

Tricia Compas has dedicated over 2000 hours to her civil and environmental engineering thesis project, the Polytech Waterbag. All her time and effort paid off this October when Compas was awarded a grant by the Clinton Global Initiative and the Wal-Mart Foundation.

With a team of students and an advisory panel of professors and business professionals, Compas created the Polytech Waterbag, a revolutionary water treatment system for disaster relief zones. It stands out from other methods because it can treat murky floodwater in one container, transforming it to water that meets the World Health Organization’s emergency standards.

Its unique cylindrical shape means it can be filled in as little as three inches of water. Relief organizations can get the bags to survivors quickly and one bag comes with enough water treatments packets to last ten days for a family of four.

Awards were given based on innovation and commitment to a global issue and the ability to create lasting social change. The award came with a grant from the Wal-Mart Foundation that will allow Compas and her team to complete the project and distribute the Polytech Waterbag to relief organizations.

To accept her award, Compas was invited to New York City where she attended a three-day meeting. The recipients got the chance to hear talks and engage in discussions with President Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, John McCain, Bono, Lance Armstrong, Al Gore, Tom Brokaw, Madeleine Albright, and Muhammad Yunus.

“I was honored to represent Cal Poly, and both humbled and inspired by all the leaders working on these issues day in and day out,” said Compas.

Compas was particularly excited to meet Dr. Greg Allgood, the lead scientist for PUR®, maker of the chemical packets that treat contaminated water in the Polytech Waterbag. Allgood is an advisor for the project and although Compas has been on several conference calls with him, it was the first time she had the opportunity to meet him in person.

Compas’ involvement with Engineers Without Borders (EWB) led her to the Polytech Waterbag. For three years Compas worked with EWB on a water treatment system for a village in Thailand. During this experience she was introduced to Dr. Tryg Lundquist, a professor in Civil and Environmental Engineering. He offered her the opportunity to take on the Polytech Waterbag as a master’s thesis project.

“He told me it was just the kind of project for me as it prodded my interest in designing technologies for developing communities, this time focused on disaster relief situations,” said Compas.

Research and development will continue on the Polytech Waterbag with the hopes of assisting 100,000 families during 2009 and 500,000 families in 2010.

Although the Waterbag may have won an individual award, this project is truly a collaborative effort. Compas said, “I would like to thank all of my advisors and team members for the continued efforts and support of this project. It has been a great experience for me and I am thankful for this opportunity.”