Front row, from left: Stephanie Wall, Maureen Long, Allison Matfin.
Back, from left: Clayton McBride and Brenden Vissers – photo courtesy UNBC

Prince George, B.C. – Five UNBC Environmental Engineering students placed third in a recent global engineering conference.

The students – Allison Matfin, Maureen Long, Clayton McBride, Brenden Vissers and Stephanie Wall- earned the third place showing at the Water Environment Federation’s Annual Technical Exhibition and Conference (WEFTEC) in Chicago.

They qualified after winning the BC Water and Waste Association Design Competition in April for their design of an anaerobic digester.

“Basically it’s a large silo that is filled with waste water and microorganisms that work in an oxygen free environment to breakdown sewage sludge in a waste water treatment plant to produce methane,” says Vissers.

“What ends up happening is the solid waste in there is broken down so you end up with less solid waste to deal with at the end of your process and a clean renewable energy source to produce heat and electricity.”

Matfin adds it was a great learning experience.

“It was a good opportunity to learn as well as to work as a team at a complex problem and really dive into something and learn it really fully,” she says.

“The trip to Chicago was really great to see all these different teams and the conference exposed us to technologies and people who work in the industry and other students.”

The experience has also helped Matfin, who hails from 100 Mile House and graduates in a month and a half, land a job.

“I’m working for an engineering consulting company in Burnaby.They do all aspects of water engineering – water resources, waste water treatment and water treatment.”