12th ESW Annual Conference
Accelerate
The 2017 ESW Annual Conference was hosted at UT Austin, and was centered on the theme of "Accelerate". Over 250 people gathered in Austin, Texas, to explore how we can best "accelerate" our work to build a more sustainable world through innovation and entrepreneurship.
Speakers & Sessions
Conference Content
Diversity, Competency...Wait! What? Institutional Racism!
Solar Power
Collaborating Across Engineering
Your Own Sustainable Lifestyle Action Plan
The Beauty of Renewable Energy
Sustainable Design
ESW-UT President's Panel: Approaches for Effective Leadership
Turning the Titanic: Creating Change on Campus
Build an Effective Team
Effective Communication for Sustainable Engineering
Accelerating Projects
How to Make an Impact: Leading Real World Change from your Desk
Energy Storage: A Glimpse into the Industry
Create the Future. Drive the Change. Lead the Way!
Sustainability Buildstorm
How to Realize your Startup is Failing and Instigate its Recovery
Media, Arts and Graphics: HQ Branding
Chapter Leadership Summit
Influencing Project Sustainability through Change Management
Passive Design and Energy Efficiency
Chapter Project Showcase
Design Challenge
Sustainable Olympic Village
Teams were tasked with designing a preliminary vision for their city’s Olympic Village. Their solutions were designed to house thousands of athletes, officials, and trainers that would hypothetically pour into the area during the Games. The designed also secured facilities that would protect and serve the athletes, as well as connect them with the surrounding culture. Proposals addressed: energy, water, waste, transportation, air quality, materials, and cost.
Vienna, Austria
The winning solution
Energy & water: Low head hydroelectric power (69% of Vienna’s power is already hydroelectric) and locally-sourced food
Waste: Anaerobic digester
Air Quality: Build vertical green roofs & green space between buildings
Materials: Locally-sourced manufactured goods
Innovative Food Packaging.
The second challenge tasked teams with redesigning the food delivery process from chef to athlete for the Olympics. Solutions focused on minimizing waste, reducing carbon footprint, and maximizign water conservation. The redesign required teams to utilize a physical product using Autodesk Fusion 360, generously provided by our sponsor, Autodesk.
Order Food on the Go
The winning solution:
An app that Provides athletes with all food facility information, creates personalized meal plans, and provides nutrition and sourcing information. Th design also included facilities that had multiple dining halls with kitchens below. Food was to be prepared then delivered via conveyor belts up to dining level. Screens would display which order numbers are coming up the belt next and food would be in compostable to go containers with compostable utensils.
Conference Highlights

Thank You to Our Sponsors

