Public Safety is tracking a significant snowfall that will be arriving in our area late Sunday morning (Jan. 25). It will snow heavily throughout the day and evening eventually tapering off Monday (Jan. 26) with 10-14 inches expected statewide. A sleet and freezing rain mix is also possible along the shore. Temperatures will be in the teens and twenties.
Due to this significant winter storm and the extensive campus clean-up operations that will need to take place, all in-person day and evening classes scheduled for Monday, January 26, 2026 have been cancelled. All scheduled in-person classes will transition to being held online or remotely. Additional information on the virtual format for each class will be provided by your instructor.
Faculty have been asked to prepare for Online or Remote sessions in the event of in-person meeting cancellations. These options will be determined by the Faculty member and all questions should be directed to the Faculty teaching each course section. Faculty also have been asked to be very understanding and accommodating of the individual situations of their students who may have difficulty managing these alternative online or remote class meetings on short notice.
Please note that only essential employees, as previously determined by their respective department leaders, should report to campus. All other employees should fulfill the requirements of their role remotely.
Campus operations for residential students, unless otherwise noted, will operate as scheduled, though hours may be modified or changed based on the conditions. Separate messages will be sent from the Peterson Library, the Beckerman Recreation Center, and Dining Services regarding any changes to their normal hours of operation. The Bergami Center for Science, Technology, and Innovation will remain open for residential students to use for study space and to participate in online classes.
Off-campus students that live in the City of West Haven should abide by the city’s parking ban during inclement weather to avoid having their vehicle tagged and towed. Please check the City of West Haven’s website for further information on their snow parking ban.
The Charger Blog
Students in the University of New Haven’s chapter of Engineers Without Borders are working to create a water filtration system that would treat drinking water in rural Ecuador.
December 10, 2018
The instructions for the wooden mold that would eventually become a concrete BioSand Filter were 60 pages long and full of diagrams and charts. They were complex and, at times, a bit unclear.
The members of the Tagliatela College of Engineering chapter of the Engineer Without Borders (EWB) did what engineers do: they worked as a team to solve the problem. They built the mold; they disassembled part of it and built it again. "Trying again, that’s been a big part of this," said Cory Senney, a senior civil engineering major and EWB chapter president.
Their goal: to construct and test a BioSand Filter that would provide a sustainable method for treating drinking water for 26 communities in the parroquia of San Lucas, Ecuador. Residents living in the farming communities in the Andes Mountains have lacked access to clean water. This has caused illness among residents and has often forced residents to miss work, said Jean Nocito-Gobel, civil engineering professor and EWB chapter advisor. "The way they resolve the problem right now is by giving pills to elderly residents, children and pregnant women," Nocito-Gobel added.
Developed by O Horizons, an international non-profit organization at work on projects in the areas of clean water, agriculture, energy and economic development, the BioSand filter uses sand, gravel, and biological processes to filter out contaminants in water, making it safe for drinking. According to the O Horizon website, the BioSand Filter can "effectively eliminate cholera, typhoid, E coli, amoebic dysentery, and many additional pathogens that are harmful to humans."
"We’re using what we’re learning in the classroom and doing what we love – engineering – working on a project that could make a real impact on people’s lives."Skyler Szerszen
The filters – which can fit inside or just outside a house – don’t need electricity to run. "They can be constructed using local materials and the mold can be used 25 times, so communities can share minimal costs," Nocito-Gobel said.
The process of creating the mold and the filter "has been a real learning curve," Nocito-Gobel said. But the club members – Senney, Skyler Szerszen, Emann Stennett, Glen Craig, Pedro Martinez, Rebecca Giedraitis, Reinaldo Buitron, Michael Bond, Sam Zurowski and Sophia Oselador – were undaunted. "We broke the process down step-by step," said Martinez, a senior civil engineering major.
Originally, the chapter planned to build a very large sand filter but Nocito-Gobel said costs would be prohibitive for the economically-challenged community. A fortuitous moment occurred when EWB chapter members attended the Maker Faire in New York last year and met representatives from O Horizons who shared their insights into the BioSand Filter as well as their designs.
Club members said they liked how the project continually stretched their skills and they liked how purposeful the project is. "I learn best doing hands-on projects and I’ve learned so much," Szerszen said.
"We’re using what we’re learning in the classroom and doing what we love – engineering – working on a project that could make a real impact on people’s lives."
"We rely on the generosity of the university and donors to provide the financial resources needed to allow us to implement this sustainable drinking water strategy in San Lucas." Jean Nocito-Gobel
"When I heard that our work could help people halfway around the world, I was all in," Bond said.
In April, they showcased the project at the University’s Scholarship Ball. "Everyone was very excited about the work we were doing," Senney said. "It was very rewarding."
This fall, they’ll submit their plan and drawings to the national offices of EWB-USA and an advisory committee of engineers will review the project. "They want to make sure that the design, the logistics and the construction plans are all very sound," Nocito-Gobel said. "They want to ensure that the project will work."
Once the project is approved, six members of the club, Nocito-Gobel and a program mentor will travel to Ecuador next spring to teach community leaders how to construct the molds. The student chapter must raise the funds to cover the expenses. Financial support provided by the Provost’s Discretionary Fund, the Tagliatela College of Engineering, John Falconi of the University’s Board of Governors, and alumni has allowed the student chapter to travel to Ecuador in the past, Nocito-Gobel said. "We rely on the generosity of the university and donors to provide the financial resources needed to allow us to implement this sustainable drinking water strategy in San Lucas," Nocito-Gobel added. Szerszen is exploring crowdsourcing.
Emann Stennett, a sophomore mechanical engineering major, said she was drawn to the organization "because I loved the name – Engineers Without Borders," she said. "It seems limitless."
So too are the possibilities for the project to create positive change, say EWB club members. "We can teach one community how to build the molds," Senney said. "And they can pass what they’ve learned onto the next community and the next. We hope it will help many, many people."
University News
New University-wide council will advance strategic partnerships, immersive student opportunities, and innovative research, supporting the University’s strategic plan the development of its pioneering Center for Innovation and Applied Technology.
The Charger Blog
Entrepreneur David Sussman, Pompea College of Business Advisory Board Member and chief visionary officer of The Family Security Plan®, is collaborating with University of New Haven students, faculty, and staff to create a program and app that helps Chargers support each other to achieve academic, personal, and professional goals. It’s called Uccountability.
University News
Vice President for Innovation and Applied Technology Paul Lavoie will serve on the Board of Directors and as America’s Chief Manufacturing Officer for the newly launched American Manufacturing Futures Institute.