{"60764":{"#nid":"60764","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Georgia Tech\u2019s New Humanitarian Design Studio Tackles Water, Energy, Public Health","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EGeorgia Tech undergraduate seniors in architecture, industrial design and mechanical engineering recently captured first through fourth place for their humanitarian inventions at the Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering\u2019s Senior Capstone Design Expo, a competition that featured 40 team projects representing more than 200 students.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EThe inventions\u2014ranging from a water acquisition and distribution system in Nicaragua to a birthing kit for Papua New Guinea\u2014were the result of a first-of-its-kind course taught by Jon Colton and Sabir Khan, professors in the Colleges of Engineering and Architecture, respectively.\u003C\/p\u003E \n\n\u003Cp\u003EAssignments were guided by actual project coordinators from the World Health Organization; UNICEF; Project Optimize of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation; and Amigos for Christ, an NGO focused on water in Nicaragua founded by Georgia Tech alumnus John Bland (MgtSci 1983). In addition to project objectives, these \u201cmentors\u201d provided continuous feedback and direction throughout the semester.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EProjects included:\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cul\u003E\n\u003Cli\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.me.gatech.edu\/jonathan.colton\/detm\/waterfinalpresentation.pdf\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003EDawn System (first prize)\u003C\/a\u003E: A water acquisition and distribution system for a Nicaraguan village. The system is powered by a solar- and biofuel-driven steam engine. \u003C\/li\u003E\n\n\u003Cli\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.me.gatech.edu\/jonathan.colton\/detm\/clinicfinalpresentation.pdf\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003ENZEHC\u003C\/a\u003E: A health care clinic for Tunisia. Using solar photovoltaic cells and geothermal energy, this grid-tied system generates more energy than it consumes, allowing it to sell excess energy to the grid and hence is energy and cost neutral. \u003C\/li\u003E\n\n\u003Cli\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.me.gatech.edu\/jonathan.colton\/detm\/immunizationkitfinalpresentation.pdf\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003EImmunization and Wellness Kit (second prize)\u003C\/a\u003E: A portable health care worker post to support immunization and well-being outreach programs in tropical climates, such as Papua New Guinea. The kit consists of a banner-like structure which holds the equipment and supplies on one side and provides a chalkboard-like surface on the other for communication and education. \u003C\/li\u003E\n\u003C\/ul\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u201cMulti-disciplinary design teams are the hallmark of innovative commercial and government initiatives globally,\u201d said Khan, associate dean for undergraduate education in the College of Architecture. \u201cProfessor Colton and I challenged the students to work within and across disciplines in order to tackle complex, large-scale problems through both clear design thinking and rigorous analysis.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EOther projects included a novel vaccine cool box; a birthing kit for Papua New Guinea (third prize); and a net zero energy standalone vaccine cold room for Tunisia. \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.me.gatech.edu\/jonathan.colton\/detm\/\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003EFull project reports and presentations are available online.\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EThe course was a section of the ME 4180 Senior Capstone Design class, which culminates each semester with the Expo to showcase team projects in a competition. The judges, including Georgia Tech faculty and practitioners from sponsoring organizations, review projects based on innovation, utility, quality of analysis, proof of concept and communication skills.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EAccording to Dr. Bill Wepfer, Eugene C. Gwaltney Jr. Chair of the Woodruff School, \u201cthese projects not only captured the imagination and passion of our students, they also provided a truly integrative experience that challenged them to make critical tradeoff decisions.\u0026nbsp; I do not think any of these students wanted to see their projects end.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EColton and Khan are calling for ideas and mechanisms to transfer the work into practice. \u201cThe keys to the projects\u2019 successes were the dedication of our students and the interdisciplinarity of the teams, which allowed them to develop innovative and appropriate designs. We look forward to hearing suggestions from our colleagues, alumni or business leaders for follow-up projects or for new projects,\u201d said Colton. \u201cWe are committed to building on this success and will be teaching the course in the fall to a new group of seniors.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EFor more information on the Humanitarian Design Studio:\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:sabir.khan@coa.gatech.edu\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003ESabir Khan, Associate Dean for Undergraduate Education, College of Architecture\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:jcolton@gatech.edu\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003EJonathan Colton, Professor of Mechanical Engineering\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EFor more information on the Capstone Design Expo:\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:cforest@gatech.edu\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003ECraig Forest, Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"Interdisciplinary innovation springs from the intersection of architecture, industrial design and mechanical engineering"}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EGeorgia Tech undergraduate seniors in architecture, industrial design and mechanical engineering recently captured first through fourth place for their humanitarian inventions at the Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering\u2019s Senior Capstone Design Expo, a competition that featured 40 team projects representing more than 200 students.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":"","uid":"27213","created_gmt":"2010-09-01 17:25:06","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:07:19","author":"Teri Nagel","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2010-09-01T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2010-09-01T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"58111":{"id":"58111","type":"image","title":"Dawn System","body":null,"created":"1449176204","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 20:56:44","changed":"1475894512","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:41:52","alt":"Dawn System","file":{"fid":"190763","name":"Humanitarian_Design_Studiojpg.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Humanitarian_Design_Studiojpg_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Humanitarian_Design_Studiojpg_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":145065,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/Humanitarian_Design_Studiojpg_0.jpg?itok=nl1vbBEr"}},"60954":{"id":"60954","type":"image","title":"New Guinnea Wellness Kit","body":null,"created":"1449176296","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 20:58:16","changed":"1475894523","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:42:03","alt":"New Guinnea Wellness Kit","file":{"fid":"191245","name":"New_Guinnea_Wellness_Kit.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/New_Guinnea_Wellness_Kit_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/New_Guinnea_Wellness_Kit_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":781713,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/New_Guinnea_Wellness_Kit_0.jpg?itok=KWD_CzcS"}}},"media_ids":["58111","60954"],"groups":[{"id":"1221","name":"College of Design"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ETeri Nagel, Georgia Tech College of Architecture\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["teri.nagel@coa.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}