Global by Design: Leveraging Engineering Science for Global Development
In briefAI summary — tap to read
Dr. Amos Winter, MIT professor and director of the Gear Center, discusses how engineering science and innovative technologies can address challenges in underserved communities worldwide. His team develops practical solutions including solar-powered desalination systems and efficient irrigation technologies designed for global development impact.
Key takeaways
- The Gear Center at MIT applies engineering expertise to create innovative technologies specifically designed for underserved communities.
- Dr. Winter's projects include solar-powered desalination systems and improved irrigation technologies that address real-world needs in developing regions.
- Engineering science can be leveraged as a tool for sustainable global development and improving quality of life for underserved populations.
About Amos WinterDr. Amos Winter is a professor at MIT and director of the Gear Center, where his team develops innovative technologies for underserved communities.
AI-generated from the meeting recording — AI can make mistakes, so check the recording for anything important.
New here? How our meetings work
Is this your first time visiting us? If so, welcome to our weekly online meeting! To complete our meeting, please continue reading from here to the bottom of this page. Each Monday, our week’s meeting is posted early in the morning, U.S. Pacific Time. These meetings are designed so that you can read and watch what we post anytime during the week. The entire meeting takes about 60 minutes to complete, with the video conference recording of the program being the bulk of the time. Note that you can easily read this meeting with your favorite device, so feel free to take our meeting on the go with you. Please also complete the attendance form at the bottom and leave a comment. Enjoy!
To properly attend this meeting, please:
-
Read and watch the content below in its entirety.
-
Complete the attendance survey.
Everyone is encouraged to leave a comment in the Disqus section at the bottom of the page.
Greetings members, Rotarians, friends and guests
Want to Learn More About Us? - Who We Are, What We Do, Why We Do It
Want to become a Rotarian? - Join us in helping to make the world a better place!
Thanks for joining our weekly meeting!
PE Maxi Bustos
Weekly Funny with Shags
We believe laughter is an important part of life, and we should all make time to laugh a little. This segment of our meeting is meant to tickle you just enough. These funnies are curated by member Steven "Shags" Shagrin!
Mouse Traps
A woman rushes into a hardware store and says, “Can I have a mousetrap, please? And will you be quick, I’ve got a bus to catch!”
“Sorry, ma’am,” said the store clerk, “but we don’t sell ‘em that big!”
Inspiration
This dancing video is one of my favorite of the last fifteen years. As you watch it, consider the messages that some of the people involved are sending, the circumstances in some of the locations, and the joy that exudes from the participants. This is actually the third time we've shared it in our meetings, but I don't think it ever gets old.
Learn something new
How It's Made
Contact lenses!
📬 Are you receiving the Members-Only Weekly Bulletin?
Our Club News and Member links are now on the Members Only ClubRunner Site and are emailed weekly as a Club Bulletin. Please make sure your email address is current on ClubRunner.
Members, be sure to read our Weekly Club Bulletin, which is sent separately to your email address from ClubRunner each Monday. In it, you will find updates and information about what our members are up to, club activities, projects, Happy Dollars, news from District 5170, and various ways you can support The Rotary Foundation. We also send your Dues notices using ClubRunner email.
Our Weekly Bulletin, sent every Monday, provides club information. To stay informed, please ensure your email is current on ClubRunner and add mailservice@clubrunner.ca to your address book so it does not go into Spam.
Program: Global by Design: Leveraging Engineering Science for Global Development
Speaker: Amos Winter
We bring you a new program every week on innovation, entrepreneurship, and education and how they contribute to service to others.
This talk will describe how the K. Lisa Yang Global Engineering and Research (GEAR) Center at MIT is creating technologies that are global by design. This entails spotting and quantifying meritorious problems, leveraging engineering science to create high-performance, low-cost solutions, and engaging a wide network of stakeholders that are positioned to catalyze adoption and dissemination.
The following research projects will be highlighted: 1) Time-variant photovoltaic-powered electrodialysis (PV-ED) desalination systems that continually vary pumping and salt extraction power to match available solar power. Compared to industry standard grid-powered reverse osmosis, GEAR Center’s PV-ED systems are at price parity and reduce water wastage by 75%. 2) Ultra-low pressure, low-cost drip irrigation emitters that were realized by characterizing fluid-structure parametric design relationships. GEAR Center’s emitters cut pumping power by up to 69%, reduce the cost of solar-powered irrigation by up to 40%, and require 58% less plastic than current products. 3) High-performance, low-cost plastic prosthetic feet created by predictively and quantitatively connecting their mechanical design to biomechanical performance. GEAR Center’s feet facilitate near-able-bodied biomechanics and perform as well or better than industry-standard carbon fiber feet that cost up to 100X as much.
Amos Winter is the Germeshausen Professor of Mechanical Engineering and the Director of the K. Lisa Yang Global Engineering and Research (GEAR) Center at MIT. His research focuses on machine and product design for developing and emerging markets. Prof. Winter earned a BS from Tufts University (2003) and an MS (2005) and PhD (2011) from MIT, all in mechanical engineering. He received the 2010 Tufts University Young Alumni Distinguished Achievement Award, the 2012 ASME/Pi Tau Sigma Gold Medal, was named one of the MIT Technology Review’s 35 Innovators Under 35 (TR35) for 2013, and received the MIT Edgerton Faculty Achievement Award and an NSF CAREER award in 2017. Prof. Winter is the principal inventor of the Leveraged Freedom Chair (LFC) developing-world wheelchair, which was a winner of a 2010 R&D 100 award, was named one of the Wall Street Journal’s top innovations in 2011, received a Patents for Humanity award from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in 2015, and was the subject of “Engineering Reverse Innovations”, winner of the 2015 McKinsey Award for the best article of the year in Harvard Business Review.
Members and guests, please welcome Dr Amos Winter!
To learn more, go to:
GEAR Center's website: https://www.gear.mit.edu/
GEAR Center's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mitgearlab/?hl=en
To learn more about the Rotary eClub of Silicon Valley, go to:
http://rotary.cool
Our Three Podcast Series
Our main program speakers are available as podcasts in addition to YouTube videos! Each week, they are available on Spotify and Apple podcasts.
Or you can click below for this week’s speaker:
The Weekly Rotarian
Inspiring Solutions for a Better World
And our original podcast, featuring some of the best of our previous speakers, is still available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts
Development Success Stories
Our third podcast features success stories about economic development from around the world. It is available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts, or you can click below.
Upcoming program recording schedule
All of our guest speakers and programs are recorded live online over Zoom video conference. We welcome members and guests to join us in one of these upcoming recordings. Recordings are approximately 30 minutes long and are subject to change without notice.
Our online video conference room link for these recordings is always http://zoom.siliconvalleyrotary.com/. You are welcome to join us! Please note the timezone listed for all recordings is US Pacific Time (San Francisco, California, USA).
If you can’t join the live recording, please send your questions for an upcoming speaker to programs@siliconvalleyrotary.com.
