UTSA engineering students build Witte Museum exhibit

(May 26, 2005)--A project designed and built by UTSA civil engineering students to demonstrate how Edwards Aquifer water travels to consumers is part of the Witte Museum "World of Water" exhibit, which runs through September.

The tower features several pumps pushing water from the ground into an orange, eight-foot water tower displaying the UTSA logo.

"It was a great learning experience," said UTSA civil engineering student Gabriel Shelton. "We had a few glitches with the pumps, but after consulting with some UTSA mechanical engineering professors, we were able to solve the problems."

The community-service project was designed to show the public the weight of water and the difficulties involved in pushing water from the ground into the water tower. The students designed the project in the fall and finished building it ahead of schedule and below the $5,000 budget given to them by the museum.

Under the supervision of UTSA civil engineering professors Enos Inniss and Carlos Arroyo, the students were able to save money doing the work themselves and utilizing equipment from the UTSA maintenance department's vinyl cutting shop.

The tower team included fall 2004 civil engineering graduates Paul Mathis and David Shaw, and spring 2005 graduate Sam Edwards.

--Kris Rodriguez