Origins
This was the original name of the Collaboratory before it became... well, The Collaboratory
Dokimoi Ergatai
Our vision? It's in the name: Students, Professionals, and Partners from Multiple Disciplines Collaborating to...
increase hope and transform lives
One of the earliest site-team trips took place in this year--a field study in West Africa with a group of 3 faculty and 2 students.
1996
Here's a freebie: name any country a site team trip has taken place.
Answers may vary, but there are definitely wrong ones
A freebie: what project team are/were you on?
Answers vary, but there are definitely wrong ones
The Collaboratory unofficially began in this year; also, Mission Impossible hits theaters.
1996
This is where the original name of the Collab comes from: "Do your best to present yourself to God as one..."
2 Timothy 2:15 ("Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.")
The Collaboratory's interest in solar-powered technology spans far back into the early 90s with this national competition.
Sunrayce
The number of countries site team trips have been successfully launched to; coincidentally, the "official" age of the Collaboratory, as of this year.
24
The largest Collaboratory site team trip: 3 teams, 20 people, 8,418 miles away.
Rays of Peace, India
The meaning of the first official name of The Collaboratory--it's all Greek to me
approved workers
The founding idea behind the Collaboratory's "type" of service: "the gift of material goods makes people dependent, but the gift of knowledge makes them free."
appropriate technology
In this year, the first wheelchair-adjacent "project" took place wherein a hand-powered tricycle was cut up and taken to West Africa as carry-on luggage.
2000
The "first" Frey 70--around the world, or should we say, around Frey
a shed behind Frey Hall
The Collaboratory currently has projects in these four sectors, one for (almost) every engineering major.
Mechanical, Electrical, Biomedical, Civil
This faculty professor was a key part of the founding of the Collaboratory
Dr. Vader
This Collaboratory founder's vocational mission: "To strengthen the Church by helping students commit their work in faith to Kingdom service; to love and serve God by practicing engineering with exceptional skill; to use these abilities to love neighbors around the world suffering poverty and persecution."
Dr. Vader
This was the Collaboratory's largest project; think twice before talking down on civil engineers.
90-foot truss bridge in Panama
The first country The Collaboratory worked in, designing and installing a solar system
Burkina Faso (Mahadaga)
The number of projects currently ongoing in the Collaboratory... give or take a couple (as of June 2024)
18
The possibility of engineering-focused missions came about when Messiah Engineering met with this group in 1995
Serving in Missions (SIM)
Recite the mission statement or lose 500 points: go!
to foster justice, empower the poor, promote peace and care for the earth through applications of our academic and professional disciplines
Another early project completed by the early Collaboratory in partnership with SIM and micro-enterprise farm Handicapes en Avant; a similar project still exists today.
human-powered water pumps
The second country the Collaboratory worked with; in this case, students and faculty partnered with a hospital in Luampa to design a solar-powered electric system.
Zambia
Starting from just a handful of partners in Western Africa, now, the Collaboratory serves this many NGOs and business partners across the globe
16