During his Peace Corps duty in Lesotho (2000-02), STG President Matt Orosz experienced first-hand what is is like to live in a rural mountain village with no electricity or running water. Impressed by the simplicity of a locally-constructed parabolic solar bread cooker, Matt began to experiment with ideas for converting solar energy into other useful forms, like hot water and electricity. He returned to the United States to pursue a graduate degree in engineering at MIT where these ideas were slowly formed into designs, experiments, and prototype technologies. Other undergraduate and graduate students became involved through Amy Smith's D-Lab (Development, Design, Dissemination), the Fall 2004 2.009 (Product Engineering Process) course, and the MIT IDEAS Competition (see Previous Awards below). Several iterations of collection systems were prototyped before the first field trials in Lesotho during January 2005.
Funds from the two IDEAS Awards and several fellowships from the MIT Public Service Center fueled development and deployment of a second field prototype in Lesotho during January 2006. Work began on simplification of the design to comply with locally-available supplies, such as automotive parts, plumbing supplies, and hardware.
In May of 2006, the team traveled to Washington D.C. to participate in the 2006 Development Marketplace Competition, focused on Water Supply, Sanitation, and Energy. The project was awarded one of that year's grants for work in the Energy sector, supporting implementation of further field trials in Lesotho. Three founding members of STG spent almost twelve months during 2006-07 living and working in Bethel (Mohales Hoek District), Lesotho fulfilling this grant.
Ongoing work is focused on continued technology development, monitoring of field installations in Lesotho, and promotion of local technology development in Lesotho.
Previous Awards
NCIIA 2007 Advanced E-Team Grant winners
World Bank Development Marketplace 2006 Award winners
Read updates and reports here.
Ignite Clean Energy Competition 2006, Third Place Award
Carroll L. Wilson Award: Awarded to Matthew Orosz, 2006.
Grant for graduate students pursuing challenging research opportunities abroad.
Public Service Center Independent Fellowship: Awarded to Amy Mueller, January 2006.
IDEAS Award 2004-2005 for proposed development of the ORC engine
Public Service Center Independent Fellowship:: Awarded to Headley Jacobus, January 2005.
Public Service Center Independent Fellowship:: Awarded to Toni Ferriera, January 2005.
Public Service Center Independent Fellowship: Awarded to Matthew Orosz, January 2005.
IDEAS Award 2003-2004 for proposed development of the trough technology