9:00 AM
to 10:30 AM
Commercializing Service-learning Projects
5 Attendees
Location
Mason II
We received a 2008 Sustainable Vision grant from the NCIIA for a proposal titled "Pico-hydropower franchises: a test bed in rural Honduras." This grant enabled us to establish two village-level electricity companies in north-central Honduras, which have become development laboratories to determine best practices for both our technical and business operations. Our goal has been to refine our engineering and operations tasks with sufficient detail that future systems can be established as true franchises. The "business-in-a-box" aspect of electricity companies as franchises enables rural agricultural workers to operate and maintain electrical generation and distribution equipment and provides the necessary business structure for success. Villagers enter the franchise without cash and ultimately share a portion of the profits after capital expenditures have been recouped. Villagers and investors earn income from the franchises, which also generate environmental and social benefits resulting from decreased usage of fossil fuel-burning lanterns and increased quality of light.
Tags Thurs 1C2
9:00 AM
to 10:30 AM
Development of a Business Model for the Implementation of a Sustainable Point of Use Water Filter Program in the Dominican Republic
4 Attendees
Location
Mason II
The lack of clean water remains a critical public health challenge throughout the developing world, and developing viable, sustainable programs is part of this challenge. This presentation describes a business model that was developed in partnership with a Dominican Republic NGO through a NCIIA Sustainable Vision grant. The program incorporates elements of health promotion, social marketing, microfinance and local entrepreneurship to help the rural poor purchase point-of-use water filters. The presenters will share their experiences and lessons learned.
Tags Thurs 1C3
9:00 AM
to 10:30 AM
The Twig Light: Ultra low-cost lighting in Ghana
2 Attendees
Location
Mason II
This session describes the development of a new, low cost, sustainable light source for poor villagers in developing countries called the Twig Light. The light makes use of a compact thermoelectric generator sandwiched and providing a thermal bridge between two pieces of ten-centimeter aluminum channel approximately fifteen centimeters in length. The lower section is cooled by sitting it in a small amount of water, while the upper section serves as a combustion chamber in which small pieces of wood or other combustible materials are burned. The subsequent temperature difference across the thermoelectric generator results in enough power to light a bank of LEDs sufficient to illuminate a small room. The technology was distributed in the rural Ghanaian village of Domeabra in the summer of 2009, and the performance will be evaluated during a return visit in 2010.
Tags Thurs 1C1
2:30 PM
to 4:00 PM
For Whose Benefit?
3 Attendees
Location
Montgomery
Engineering student projects that address problems in the developing world are becoming increasingly common. Difficulties that arise from collaboration with remote communities and academic institutions raise important ethical questions, e.g, the degree to which meaningful input from the stakeholders is incorporated into the technical component of the project and the quality and duration of the interaction between the constituent groups.
To ensure maximum benefit to both parties, this panel believes that searching questions need to be asked that specifically address these issues and the question of for whose benefit is the work being undertaken.
These enquiries extend to every aspect of the project, from the possibility of exploitation of the communities in the developing countries to the perception by North American engineering students that technical projects can be formulated without a deep understanding and assessment of the environment within which the solution is to be implemented.
To ensure maximum benefit to both parties, this panel believes that searching questions need to be asked that specifically address these issues and the question of for whose benefit is the work being undertaken.
These enquiries extend to every aspect of the project, from the possibility of exploitation of the communities in the developing countries to the perception by North American engineering students that technical projects can be formulated without a deep understanding and assessment of the environment within which the solution is to be implemented.
Tags Thurs 3B
9:00 AM
to 10:30 AM
L-RAMP Presentation and Discussion
2 Attendees
Location
Mason II
Villgro (formerly Rural Innovations Network) is a social enterprise established in 2001 and based in the Chennai District of Tamilnadu State in India. Its mission is to identify and incubate grassroots technological innovations that can have a significant impact on rural lives and enable these innovations to reach rural markets. Villgro identifies these innovations and helps to develop and market them. Villgro believes that many rural innovations can be successfully commercialized as micro-enterprises benefiting rural consumers and contributing to sustainable wealth creation. Once a model is established to transform ideas with potential into reality, a virtuous cycle comes in to operation, encouraging further innovation and wealth creation in rural areas. As an incubator, Villgro impacts all aspects of this cycle: innovation, rural enterprise, rural users and wealth creation. The panelists are interested in sharing their experiences with innovation, enterprise and development with attendees, with an aim to initiate a dialogue on technology, creativity and the synergies needed to enable the rural poor to overcome poverty.
Tags Fri 1C
11:00 AM
to 12:30 PM
Design With the Majority: The collaborative design of a cargo bicycle for Uganda
6 Attendees
Location
Mason II
This session describes the exciting and rewarding process of designing a bicycle that was created in collaboration with Ugandan bicycle couriers. In Uganda, many residents use low cost, poor quality bicycles for their primary means of transportation. The design process started with a connection to an American resident of Uganda. This mediator formed a "design team" of Ugandan couriers who gathered regularly and discussed the ideas the designer had for a new cargo bike design. After several iterations on paper, and communication through email, a design was finalized and an initial prototype was made. The designer then traveled to Uganda to meet the couriers and to have the bike tested and critiqued. Through the successes and failures, valuable lessons were learned regarding the design of products for people in developing nations.
Tags Fri 2A3
11:00 AM
to 12:30 PM
Lead Battery Manufacturing Certification in the Developing World: Applying BEST standards in India and Vietnam
5 Attendees
Location
Mason II
The lead battery industry in developing countries is growing rapidly as a result of rapid motorization, increases in off-grid power technologies, and requirements for backup power supplies. Unfortunately, sustainable collection policies and recycling practices have not been adopted by most nations. As a result of the lack of formal recycling infrastructure and relatively high values of lead, lead batteries are often recycled in informal backyard smelters, creating high levels of environmental and occupational pollution. This paper discusses the Better Environmental Sustainability Targets (BEST) certification for battery production. BEST is a voluntary certification that battery manufactures can opt for, ensuring that they meet minimum requirements for occupational safety and used battery recovery. BEST certification has been initiated in India and Vietnam. This paper discusses the potential for BEST certification to reduce lead exposures in the developing world.
Tags Fri 2A1
11:00 AM
to 12:30 PM
Sustainable Design for Sub-Saharan Africa
7 Attendees
Location
Mason II
This presentation describes a multi-year collaboration between Malian and American schools of engineering, business and agriculture in the design of an evaporative cooler to efficiently cool a small building in sub-Saharan Africa. Highlights include an innovative water delivery system that can simultaneously cool beverages, easy-to-use pad holders designed to fit indigenous pad materials, and a decorative, culturally inspired exterior. Technical work included fan sizing,water usage, Solid Works drawings,an extended field test, and analysis of the in-country manufacture and assembly of the unit. A revised design will be installed in a classroom at the National School of Engineering in Bamako Mali this year to encourage diffusion of the low energy cooling technology. A business plan and market analysis were also performed.
Tags Fri 2A2
11:00 AM
to 12:30 PM
Self Reliant and Carbon Free: Developing an economically and environmentally sustainable community in DR Congo
3 Attendees
Location
Montgomery
An economic model based on self-reliance introduced in the Democratic Republic, Congo has in three years transformed a community of 4,000 people from abject poverty into one of Congo's largest rice producers. Our class series develops "leapfrog" technologies, allowing developing countries to bypass the carbon-rich step taken by the West. Our goal is a high standard of living that neither damages the environment nor subordinates the community to conventional energy supplies. We offer this model to faculty working to bring technical solutions to global problems for people at the base of the pyramid. We will discuss the economic model as well as the development of renewable energy technologies with a strong emphasis on efficiency and restraint of excess. In particular we will discuss several different kinds of solar technologies, ox power, and the use of biomass, including building materials, fuel for burning, and methane gas.
Tags Sat 2C2
11:00 AM
to 12:30 PM
Sustainable Design Projects in Capstone Design Courses
5 Attendees
Location
Montgomery
Experiential learning has been emphasized in the School of Engineering at the University of Dayton for over twenty-five years. The evolution has gone from individual projects to team projects and from single discipline to multidisciplinary teams. Industry-sponsored projects were formalized in 1996 with the formation of the Design and Manufacturing Clinic. Further, innovation and entrepreneurship were better integrated in 2004 with the formation of the Innovation Center. The percentage of projects related to design for the environment, design of thermal systems and renewable energy systems reached about one-third of the capstone design projects. Simultaneously, emphasis on innovation and entrepreneurship has increased in the same proportion. The purpose of this paper is to share the experiences of entrepreneurship and sustainability over these last five years. Thus, this session covers the applied aspects of sustainability and entrepreneurship in design education.
Tags Sat 2C3
11:00 AM
to 12:30 PM
The Co-design of Eco- and Culturally-inspired Housing with the Pinoleville Pomo Nation
4 Attendees
Location
Montgomery
The Pinoleville Pomo Nation (PPN) of Ukiah, California and the Community Assessment of Renewable Energy and Sustainability (CARES) have formed a partnership to design eco-friendly buildings that utilize sustainability best practices and renewable energy technology, as well as reflect the long-standing culture and traditions of the PPN. We present the yurt-style house design created by this partnership and illustrate how Native American tribes can partner with universities and other organizations to utilize engineering expertise to develop solutions that address the needs of the tribes. As a result of this partnership, the yurt-style house design created can be used to create centralized housing and office buildings in Ukiah that will aid in the unification and economic advancement of the PPN. The buildings will also let members take advantage of job training and other educational services provided by the PPN. Construction of the design began in July 2009.
Tags Sat 2C1
