Twenty-four students from Missouri University of Science and Technology will spend their spring break exploring Peru.

The students – 15 undergraduates and nine graduate students – will visit Lima, Peru’s capital, as well as Cusco and the fabled mountaintop Incan city of Machu Picchu during spring break, March 23-April 1. While there, they will conduct “field trips focusing on geological engineering of the Cuzco-Machu Picchu corridor, including the interrelationships between geology, climate, archaeology, and history,” says Dr. Neil Anderson, professor of geological sciences and engineering at Missouri S&T.

Anderson and Dr. Ronaldo Luna, professor of civil, architectural and environmental engineering, coordinated the trip through two courses, GE 207 and GE/CE 401. These courses were offered through S&T continuing education and students were assisted with appropriate documentation, such as medical coverage, through the S&T international affairs office.

During the 10-day trip, the students will visit the capital city of the Inca Empire, Cusco, and tour archeological sites. “The Inca constructed sprawling earthquake-proof temples, palaces and fortresses using hand cut form-fitting block of sculpted rock that weighed up to twenty tons,” Anderson says. “The rocks were cut and polished without the aid of metal tools and moved without the aid of pack animals.”

The students will also visit agricultural terraces that extend hundreds of feet up the sides of steep mountains, ancient quarries and the ruins of Machu Picchu, the ancient mountaintop “lost city” known as an architectural and engineering marvel.

“Engineering students and faculty enjoy learning about other cultures and the solutions that the Incas came up with in ancient times,” Luna says. The feats the Incas accomplished were pretty amazing, Anderson agrees, and S&T students will experience them firsthand during their global learning trip to Peru.

S&T students traveling to Peru are:

Sarah Bey of Cape Girardeau, Mo., a senior in civil engineering
Emma Bradford of St. Louis, a junior in geological engineering
Ryan Damery of Fenton, Mo., a senior in geological engineering
Colin Easterday of Papillion Neb., a sophomore in geological engineering
Eleanor Kester of Wentzville, Mo., a sophomore in geological engineering
Joshua Matyi of St. Charles, Mo., a junior in geological engineering
Joshua Noeldner of Granger, Ind., a sophomore in geological engineering
Johanna Pavlowsky of Nixa, Mo., a junior in geological engineering
Kelsey Rutledge of St. Charles, Mo., a junior in geological engineering
Kayla Speidel of DeSoto, Mo., a senior in geological engineering
Catherine Standley of Osage Beach, Mo., a freshman in geological engineering
Emily White of St. Peters, Mo., a junior in geological engineering.