Clayton Bartczak (Living Walls in the Built Environment): One innovative system for improved indoor environmental quality is the use of large scale living walls. The quantity of plant life in a living wall can be sufficient to supply a buildings fresh air needs while additionally providing cooling during the summer and humidity in the winter. In addition to improved air quality, living walls can also provide increased human connection to nature and decrease energy consumption- all of which are essential elements of sustainable buildings.

Brandon Kelly (Improving Cathodes in Batteries): One of the most promising technologies to store the excess power produced during sunny and windy times for peak hour use is lithium ion batteries. Lithium ion batteries have high efficiency and low self discharge and are often used in electric and hybrid vehicles. The objective of this research is to create improved batteries through transition metal doping of several different systems of cathode materials.

Teams Awarded Research Funding

Robby Ketchall, Alex Villiano, Eliza Finney (Efficient Harnessing of Human Energy for Electrical Power): Approximately 1.6 billion people live without electricity. In communities without electricity, lighting is provided primarily by open flame and kerosene lanterns, the use of which has numerous adverse effects on health and the environment. One solution to this global health problem is to provide electrical power for lighting via human movement using a Pull-Cord Generator. Through human movement, enough electricity can be produced and stored to provide LED lighting and/or charge small electrical devices. This availability of electricity in these areas may improve personal and environmental health, enhance communication, stimulate economic development and provide educational opportunities via low-power computers.

Doug Robinson and Team (Indoor Cookstoves): More than half of the world’s population relies on biomass combustion to meet basic domestic energy needs. Indoor cookstoves can result in extremely high levels of indoor air pollution which contribute to greenhouse gas emissions. Improved stoves designs have the potential to substantially reduce pollutant emissions and indoor air pollution exposures; however, evaluations of improved stoves are limited. Studies quantitatively assessing both indoor air pollution levels and health effects are needed to fully evaluate the effectiveness of stove interventions.

Mitesh Gala, Angelina Pramatarova, Krupa Ventrapati, Josh Schmitt (Small Engines for Economic Development): If poor smallholder farms at the base-of-the-pyramid have access to affordable and fuel efficient smaller 2 horsepower engine pumpsets it will save them money from fuel efficiency and lower maintenance costs while significantly improving their ability to generate income, provide education for their children, move out of poverty and improve the quality of life. SEED will develop small (2 horsepower) STW engine pumpsets with fuel efficiencies of less that ½ liter an hour, water pumping capacity from 20-25 feet below ground, weighing less than 50 lbs and cost $113 for the farmer.

Esther Duke and Alison Eden (Linking Conservation and Community Livelihoods): The team will explore the opportunities and challenges for steering rapidly growing ecosystem-payment schemes toward more pro-poor practices through a carbon sequestration and biodiversity conservation scheme based on agroforestry practices in a transboundary area between Costa Rica and Panama.

Kris Bruun, Lucas Loetscher, Nicholas Moore, Jill Munson (Anaerobic Digestion): The goal of this project is to develop a small scale multifaceted waste treatment system to eliminate pathogens, produce high energy content cooking gas, and provide a quality organic liquid fertilizer. The final system will be implemented at a local organic farm as well as in a community in El Salvador.