Real Simple Makes a Real Difference
Cal Poly Turns Ideas into Action
By Galen Ricard
Imagine a consumer who has no money, no cheap energy, no clean water or other basic resources. A consumer who doesn’t need labor-saving or time-saving devices.
A consumer who represents the majority of the world’s population.
The consumer is real: 90 percent of the 6.5 billion people
on the planet can’t afford the basic products and services that
a small fraction of the world takes for granted; nearly half of
those have no regular access to food, shelter or similar necessities.
Finding solutions for this “other 90 percent” needs to be
just as real. And, for a growing movement of designers, engineers
and other innovators, that means real simple.
One of the first products reflecting this new direction at Cal Poly was recently honored by the Clinton Global Initiative University. Tricia Compas (CEEN) received an award for her thesis project on the Polytech Waterbag, a simple water treatment device for disaster zones. Compas was among 44 national recipients of student grants to support innovative, high-impact commitments to improve communities and lives throughout the world.
The 10-liter water bag was developed under the guidance of
Civil and Environmental Engineering Professor Tryg Lundquist,
along with a multidisciplinary team of students, advisors and
organizations. The simple, low-tech product is a breakthrough
for disaster relief zones, where clean drinking water is the No.
1 challenge. While the 2005 tsunami killed 140,000 people directly,
another 85,000 died from disease and other delayed afflictions,
according to the World Health Organization.
“The water bag is 20 times more compact than the rigid plastic jugs typically used in relief work, costs 90 percent less than standard hand-pump water filters, and it can be deployed quickly over wide areas to produce clean water,” said Compas.
“With tens of millions of people affected by floods and other water-related disasters each year, there is a huge potential for the device to save lives,” she said.
Improving lives with just such simple innovations is the premise of Appropriate Technology for Impoverished Communities. The three-module class series, introduced last fall by Physics Professor Peter Schwartz and Honors Program Director Sema Alpteken, challenges students to come up with innovative technological solutions to the age-old problems of poverty. The multidisciplinary class promotes design as a major tool of social good.
And the students get it.
The interdisciplinary nature of the course was evident in its initial launch, which involved faculty from seven disciplines, as well as guest lecturers from UC Davis, MIT and the private sector.
“The problems of world poverty are too big for any single approach or solution,” Schwartz said. “Students from all backgrounds have something to offer.”
While engineering often leads the technical aspects of the design, other disciplines bring valuable skills and perspectives.
Business, for instance.
Designing appropriate technology is only part of the equation, said Schwartz. “Business permeates everything we do. We’ve got to communicate in a way that will be understood by the team, the customer, investors, partners and other stakeholders.”
Just as the class forces a rethinking of design, it also puts business in a new light.
It’s what Cal Poly accounting instructor Kate Lancaster calls“business unusual.”
“In this class, students represent many disciplines and learn to examine problems through various lenses and to converse with each other to identify solutions that consider the social, environmental and economic consequences,” said Lancaster.
From the beginning, the business side of the project “was a real eye-opener” and catalyst, said Compas. Early funding came when the water bag concept won first place in the Innovation Quest 2007 competition.
“That was before I was involved with the project,” noted Compas, “but ENVE students Dan Frost and Steve Barr and project advisor Tryg Lundquist used the award winnings to help fund my thesis to turn the Polytech Waterbag into reality.”
Compas gained an international perspective at a young age, growing up in Seoul, South Korea, where her father worked as a nuclear engineering consultant. Living in another part of the world, she saw conditions that were not what she was used to. “It was always on my mind: ‘How come some are living this way?’”
Attending the three-day Clinton Global Initiative Annual Meeting in New York in September was a humbling and inspiring experience for Compas. She had the opportunity to hear talks by President Bill Clinton, President-elect Barack Obama, John McCain, Bono, Lance Armstrong, Al Gore, Tom Brokaw, Madeleine Albright and Muhammad Yunus, among many others.
“My entire experience at Cal Poly has really changed my view of the world,” said Compas. “In my five years here I have had the opportunity to travel to Thailand three times working on improving drinking water, to travel to Alabama to help post-Katrina disaster victims rebuild their homes, and now the water bag is opening more doors.”
“Tricia was already an accomplished student and had co-founded
the campus chapter of Engineers Without Borders
early in her student career,” said Lundquist. “The award from
the Clinton Global Initiative will only further her professional
and public service interest in improving world conditions.”
“We expect the Polytech Waterbag to be only one of many life-changing appropriate technology inventions to come out of Cal Poly over the next few years,” said Schwartz.
“The global initiative’s message is the same we’re hearing in the appropriate technology class,” said Compas, “It was summed up beautifully by former President Clinton at the award presentation. He said, simply, ‘Turn your ideas into action.’”
It is clear to those who have seen the work of Compas and her team that Cal Poly is among a vanguard of universities who are turning that message into action.
That message also is being lived by other members of the
Cal Poly family. Shana Ogren (CRD ’07), daughter of Cal
Poly Vice President of Advancement Sandra Ogren, is currently
in Malawi working with the Peace Corps on a library
project. Toni Maraviglia, daughter of Cal Poly Admissions Director
James Maraviglia, is headed to Kenya in December to
coordinate a bridge program for 8th grade students.
“I feel privileged to be a part of this work,” said Compas.“It’s very fulfilling, both personally and professionally.”