Gaia's Competitive Expedition to Peru 2024: A Visual Journey Through Captivating Moments

In 2024, GAIA launched an impactful journey by sending The 2024 GAIA Competition winners from the Cornell University student team to Peru. This experience was more than a competition—it was an opportunity to engage with Peru’s rich cultural heritage, breathtaking landscapes, and real-world engineering challenges. Join us in this visual recap of the most memorable moments from a trip that blended innovation, service, and cross-cultural exchange.

Landscapes of Peru

Sheep graze peacefully in the rugged Peruvian mountains, surrounded by breathtaking vistas and verdant landscapes.

A small wind turbine stands beside a rustic house in the remote mountains of rural Peru, surrounded by dense trees and rugged terrain.

Building the Wind Turbine

This section highlights the hands-on process of constructing small-scale wind turbines, featuring photos that capture each stage—from assembling blades and wiring electrical components to on-site installation in rural communities. These images showcase the teamwork, engineering skills, and cross-cultural collaboration that bring sustainable energy solutions to life.

Iris Ren and Alyssa Xu smile for a photo in a rural landscape.

Iris and Alyssa working with the WindAid team in Peru to build the Wind Turbine.

GAIA Project Team from Cornell building electrical circuits for their Wind Turbine design,

Reflections on the Expedition

The 2024 trip to Peru marked a powerful culmination of GAIA’s mission: to empower the next generation of engineers to design and implement sustainable technologies that directly serve rural and under-resourced communities. By working alongside local partners and deploying their own wind turbine designs, the Cornell competitors not only applied their technical skills in a real-world setting, but also gained a deeper understanding of the social impact of engineering. This experience reinforced GAIA’s belief that meaningful innovation happens when students are given the tools, guidance, and opportunity to collaborate with communities and drive change from the ground up.

Cornell team members pose cheerfully at the WindAid Institute, showcasing collaboration and innovation alongside the Universidad Nacional de Trujillo.

Iris and Alyssa share a joyful moment, smiling and posing with peace signs in a scenic landscape.