Archive for the ‘News’ Category
May 4, 2011
Read information from MIT News on the 2011 MIT Global Challenge award winners here.
May 3, 2011
To watch a replay of the MIT Global Challenge Awards click here.
With a special shout out to Indian Mobile Initiative for winning in all three categories, this year’s winners are:
$10,000 Global Challenge Awards
—
1. KOSIM WATER KEG
2. SOLAR AUTOCLAVE
3. PRACTICAL ENERGY NETWORK – winner of the School of Engineering’s Global Villages Challenge
4. INDIAN MOBILE INITIATIVE – congratulations on your sweep in all three award categories!
5. MAA-BARA – Winner of the Mohammad Yunus Challenge to Alleviate Poverty through Improved Agricultural Processes
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April 8, 2011
On April 5, Dr Raj Shah, head of USAID, led a powerful discussion on the role of science and technology in the future of international development. Fresh coverage fresh from the MIT News Office here.
Later that same day, 46 teams of public service innovators led by MIT students entered final proposals into the 2011 IDEAS Competition and MIT Global Challenge. The Salud del Sol and MIT IIH collaborative Solar-Powered Autoclave was one of the teams. Twenty-four hours later, 84 judges from a range of disciplines began their reviews. And the Community Choice Award voting opened.
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December 19, 2010
In January 2010, the solar autoclave was recognized by the WHO’s Call for Innovative Technologies. This competition sought to identify accessible and affordable technologies that were developed to address health problems and improve the quality of life for individuals in low-income and developing countries.
In September, the World Health Organization hosted their First Global Forum on Medical Devices in Bangkok, Thailand. Conference participants included winners from the Call for Innovative Technologies, policy makers, researchers, and clinicians. I had the chance to attend this event on behalf of Salud del Sol, Inc.; Innovations in International Health at MIT; and the solar autoclave research team. It was an incredible conference to be a part of and an honor for the solar autoclave to be recognized among such creative technologies as the remote anemia monitoring system from Biosense and Mark Zimmerman from Nepal, who is developing a simplified anesthesia unit for remote settings.
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October 11, 2010
The World Health Organization released their list of selections for the Call for Innovative Technologies that Address Global Health Concerns. A solar-powered autoclave is one of the featured technologies.
July 27, 2010
Two Rotarians from the Wadsworth, Ohio Rotary Club, Dan Selby and Karl Elsass, along with two Rotarians from the Brunswick, Ohio Rotary Club, Stan Socha and Jack Young, recently had the opportunity to partner with Salud Del Sol to assist with the installation of two solar lighting systems developed by the Solar Center in the small village of Sabana Grande, Nicaragua.
“Our experience was amazing, there is a huge potential and opportunity for renewable solar energy in developing countries”, according to Dan Selby. Selby and Elsass also had the opportunity to live with host families in the rural villages during part of their visit.
“We are very thankful for continued work and support that Salud Del Sol has done for the people of Sabana Grande. Their mission is much like that of Rotary International with an ultimate goal of making the world a better place for everyone to live and enjoy,” said Selby.
June 30, 2010
Currently there are three designs of the solar autoclave that are being pursued in Nicaragua and a growing number that are being pursued at MIT.
The first design is the original design using two cafeteria food trays clamped together to create a pressure vessel. The problem with this design was keeping the gasket from blowing out and releasing whatever pressure had built up. The team in Nicaragua has taken measures to modify the edge of the two trays to prevent the gasket from blowing out during pressurization. More testing is taking place to determine if this modification helps to solve the gasket problem.
The second design being tested is the University of Dayton (UD) design which involved a steel tube with a sealed end and a steel cap on the other end held on by two rods and bolts. This design allows for two to three autoclaves to fit inside one solar oven.
The third design involves a purchased pressure cooker that is placed inside a solar oven. Because of the size of the pressure cooker a new solar oven is being constructed.
The team at MIT is working on continuing to develop both the cafeteria food tray design and the UD autoclave. Their work will help Salud del Sol to determine which design will be the best option to implement in rural clinics throughout Nicaragua.
June 7, 2010
The Solar Women of Totogalpa are well on their way to creating a Solar Campus in their community of Sabana Grande de Totogalpa Nicaragua. First constructing a community center that acts as a hosting site for activities, a workshop for solar cooker construction and an office for Grupo Fenix on-site staff members. The next step in their entrepreneurial endeavors is building a Solar Restaurant where the women will be able to sell some of the delicious meals made from the solar cookers. This past May, Robert Esposito of Community 3P had a chance to visit the community and take part in the incredible construction efforts for creating 7,000 bricks to make the solar restaurant a reality! Below is an excerpt from his blog:
This restaurant required seven thousand of these bricks and after about an hour and a half we had moved just over one-hundred. As I shuttled the bricks from one pile to another, sweat pouring off me and my hands feeling quite raw, I couldn’t help but feel a sense of awe for the women who built that first centre. Adobe construction is one of the most physically demanding building projects, and The Solar Women of Totogalpa, small in stature but giants in determination, had worked to achieve a vision that even caught the attention of the United Nations, who declared the partnership with Groupo Fenix and their joint achievement as one of the most inspirational in the world.
Read the rest of Robert’s blog entry here: http://blog3p.wordpress.com/2010/05/07/the-solar-women-of-totogalpa-pt-2/
March 16, 2010
Click to read about Inauguration of a Microhydro Installation in El_Roblar. Richard Komp writes about his experience at its inauguration, as well as describes technical aspects of the installation.
July 25, 2009
Since January, I have been working at Whole Day Café, a locally-owned coffee/sandwhich/pastry shop in Wadsworth, Ohio. There, we do not accept tips. However, if tips are left, they are donated to a good cause, such as an orphanage in Guatemala or Relay for Life. Tips for the months of June and July were given to Salud del Sol, Inc.
Thanks to all of the workers and owners of Whole Day Café. Without such great service, such a generous donation could not have been made!
Subscribe to Salud del Sol- MIT Global Challenge Award Winners May 4, 2011 Bill
- MIT Global Challenge Awards Replay May 3, 2011 Bill
- 2011 IDEAS Competition & MIT Global Challenge Awards Celebration April 29, 2011 Bill