The skills that engineers have to offer are almost as numerous as the litany of challenges facing the developing world today. These problems range from malnutrition to malaria from potable water to preventable diseases and from illiteracy to irrigation. Civil, Environmental, Electrical and Mechanical Engineers have invaluable skill sets that can be used to address developmental problems. The list of possibl projects ranges among the development of rural aqueduct systems, rural electrification, sustainable agricultural training, and public sanitation. The creation of innovative ways to solve real world problems will be an integral part of the members' experience.

BLUElab partners with the College of Engineering to offer technical assistance to underserved communities. We work to pair communities with teams of engineering students and professionals. Together, we study, support, and contribute to the solution of the communities needs. Participating students gain experience working on real-world problems and the partner communities receive the tangible results of the team's efforts.

FALL 07 PROJECTS!

BLUElab is looking for many new members to work on several different projects. If you are interested in working on a project, be sure to contact a project leader.

Biodigester Design Project
Animal waste, human waste, and food scraps can be turned into useful biogas (60-70%
methane) for cooking or heating water and odorless fertilizer through bacterial
digestion. We are researching existing projects and developing a prototype to build at
the University. Eventually, this system will be implemented in the developing world in
conjunction with other BLUElab projects. This project has the potential to quantify,
expand, and improve a process that already provides clean cooking fuel in rural
communities in countries such as China, India, and the Philippines.

Project Leaders: Jeff Schloemer (schloemj@umich.edu) and Erin Bachynski
(ebachyns@umich.edu)

Orphan Care Center in Malawi, Africa
Ann Phillips is a local teacher that has put together a group of people planning to build orphan care centers in Malawi, Africa. The group is collaborating with Joyce Banda, a winner of the Africa Prize for Leadership for the Sustainable End of Hunger. They would like BLUElab's help in designing the layout of the orphan care centers, creating a way to cook food at the center without burning wood, designing a system for running water, creating sustainable electricity, and inventing entrepreneurship opportunities for the children.
Project Leaders: Jim Lewis (jimlewis@umich.edu) and Merry Shao (mshao@umich.edu)

Student Outreach in Detroit
BLUElab is organizing an outreach program with middle school students in Detroit. These students will be coming to the University of Michigan to take part in three workshops that BLUElab creates. Likely topics for these workshops include alternative fuels, pollution, and sustainable design. We will also be helping these students create their own design competition by working with them in Detroit.
Project Leader: Genevieve Lampinen (generose@umich.edu)

Sustainable Development in Hagley Gap, Jamaica
BLUElab is collaborating with Students for Jamaica and the Blue Mountain Project. Students for Jamaica is a group of UM medical students that help staff a health clinic in Hagley Gap every year. The Blue Mountain Project is a non-profit organization that provides housing, food, and transportation to student groups that visit Hagley Gap. BLUElab's role will be to create a source of clean water, fix a collapsing bridge, and to provide a sustainable source of electricity to the health clinic and Blue Mountain Project buildings.
Project Leader: Mike Berger (mjberger@umich.edu)

Sustainable Housing Project Initiative
In both developed and developing countries, housing is a serious issue to be contended with, for both people and the environment. The goal of the project is to develop a system of housing that incorporates cultural, environmental and economic factors in a variety of locations around the world. The end products of the Sustainable Housing Project Initiative will be design proposals that can be submitted to the EPA's P3: People, Prosperity and the Planet competition. The project(s) will be submitted under the Built Environment Category by the deadline in December 2007.
Project Leader: Eva Ward (emward@umich.edu)

Gallery Exhibit and Lecture Series
Annually, BLUElab creates an exhibit in the Duderstadt Gallery and hosts a lecture series. The Gallery Project allows students to express their creativity while raising awareness of sustainability related issues. The Lecture Series brings speakers to campus that talk about everything from biodiesel to the policy of global climate change.
Project Leaders: Erica Green (greeneri@umich.edu) and Katy Bellairs (kbellair@umich.edu)

PAST LOCAL PROJECTS

Existing Course Integration
There are a number of educational initiatives in the college of engineering that will require student involvement during the '05-'06 school year. If you are interested in getting involved contact Andres Clarens.

ENGR 490
The interdisciplinary course "Engineering For Community" developed two years ago by a group of BLUElab members and Engineering Professors Bill Schultz and Ken Ludwig will be taught again in the W07 semester. If you are interested in being part of the teaching team please contact Andres Clarens.

Engineering, Design, and the Environment: An Introductory High School Class

For additional information please contact Rob (ryatchs@umich.edu).

Duderstadt Exhibit
The week of Oct 23 BLUElab hosted an exhibit in the Duderstadt center art gallery on the University of Michigan North Campus. The week-long exhibit, entitled "Pathways to Sustainability" was a great success and raised awareness of the problems we at BLUElab are working to address.

AWARE@home: A Means to Profitably Integrate Environmental Conservation into the American Home
This project will develop information and hardware technologies that will allow all U.S. households willing to participate in a simple energy conservation program to both save money and reduce environmental impact. The project is being developed as a BLUElab project in the Environmental Protection Agency's national P3 (People, Prosperity and the Planet) design competition.

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PAST FIELD PROJECTS

Dominican Republic
Over spring break 2005, a group of BLUElab members traveled to a small town outside San Cristobal, south west of Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic. The group partnered with a team of public health and medical students from Michigan to continue working on a drinking water project. For more information contact Manuel Hernandez.

SEED
During the Summer 2006 several opportunities will exist for Engineering undergraduates to apply for and get sent abroad to work on development projects. The SEED program, part of the Engineers For a Sustainable World, sent two BLUElab members to Mexico in the summer of 2005. For more information contact Rachel Davis.

A Comparative Assessment of Point-of-Use Water Purification Systems for Reducing Infant Mortality in Developing Countries
An investigation of various water purification technologies available to rural households in developing countries. The lab portion of this study is complete and the field work will be carried out in 2005-06. BLUElab is working together with the community of Rancho al Medio in the Dominican Republic and the NGO Manos al Tiempo to conduct a study of three common water purification systems for rural homes in developing countries.

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PROPOSE A PROJECT

BLUElab welcomes project suggestions. Representatives of underserved communities are encouraged to tell us about their community's needs. After we recieve the preliminary questionnaire, we will contact you to discuss ways in which we may be able to assist.

Request For Project (RFP)
Fill out online Request For Project (RFP) form.
View example Request For Project (RFP) form.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Q: What are deadlines for applications for BLUElab assistance?
A: There are no formal deadlines and applications are always accepted. However, there are certain periods during the year when projects are more likely to recieve attention. Projects suggested between July 15th and Semptember 1st and October 15th and Janurary 1st have a greater chance of immediate consideration.
Q: Does a community representative need to have a well-defined technical project before approaching BLUElab?
A: No, we are simply looking for unanswered needs in the community. If a community leader has an idea about how a need should be met, BLUElab will explore the particular suggested avenue. By no means, however, do we require prior concepts on how the existing need may be met.
Q: If my project is accepted, will it be funded by BLUElab?
A: Part of BLUElab's goal in accepting the project will be to deposit tangible and sustainable improvements to the communities we serve. As far as is possible, we will fund the implementation of such improvements but we are unable to guarantee funding for all the projects we approve.

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