March 24, 2016  

Purdue exposition focusing on innovations for world's poorest regions

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – A gathering at Purdue University on April 1 will focus on applying engineering innovations to help the poorest and most vulnerable populations around the world.

Experts in global health and food security will meet at Purdue during an Innovation for International Development (I2D) Lab Exposition. The goal is to alleviate tragedies and hardships including extreme poverty, hunger, epidemics and the lack of safe water, effective sanitation and energy production.

Panelists will include representatives from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Save the Children, Catholic Relief Services, Engineering for Change, the Volunteers for Economic Growth Alliance, the 2009 World Food Prize Laureate, Indiana University's Simon Cancer Center and School of Medicine, and the Regenstrief Institute, a health care research organization. The conference will feature a poster session and exhibits from 9:30-11 a.m. in the Seng-Liang Wang Hall lobby. Keynote addresses and panel discussions will be from noon to 5 p.m. in Mackey Arena's Spurgeon Room.

"Invited experts will convene to help us strategize on ways that Purdue can better connect with potential partners and organizations that support global development," said Leah Jamieson, Purdue's John A. Edwardson Dean of Engineering. "The I2D Lab provides fertile ground for interdisciplinary student and faculty teams to work on solving roadblock challenges in several core areas, including global health and food security, to advance the United Nations sustainable development goals."

The I2D Lab is administered by Purdue's Global Engineering Programs and supports engineering faculty and student  innovations in areas of research including supply chain logistics for humanitarian response for populations in low-income countries, low-cost locally produced slow-sand filters for rural Kenya, Tanzania, Colombia, Northeastern India, and Qinghai province in China; extremely low-cost point of care diagnostics technologies in Western Kenya for communicable and non-communicable diseases which pose a major health burden; digital engineering skills education for out-of-school youth and other vulnerable populations in Western Kenya; a hybrid wind-solar renewable energy system for rural communities in central Africa; and a Purdue utility platform vehicle for various purposes such as transporting people and cargo, agricultural tillage and planting.

The exposition is free and open to the public, and information is available at https://engineering.purdue.edu/GEP/I2DLab/Expo. The poster session will feature research and development projects involving engineering students and faculty. The winning posters will be announced at 10:45 a.m.

Jamieson will deliver opening remarks at noon, followed by project updates from I2D Lab seed grant recipients.

At 1 p.m., Noha El-Ghobashy, president and CEO of Engineering for Change LLC (E4C), will deliver a keynote address titled "Engineering for Change. By Engineers. For Everyone." E4C is a group of 15 organizations and more than 24,000 people that promotes sustainable and accessible technology for underserved communities worldwide. She also is executive director of the ASME Foundation in New York City, focusing on K-16 STEM education, social innovation and sustainable design.

A panel discussion titled "Role of Engineering Innovations in Global Health" follows from 1:45-3 p.m., moderated by Marietta Harrison, a professor of medicinal chemistry and molecular pharmacology, deputy director of Discovery Park and interim director of the Regenstrief Center for Healthcare Engineering.

Panelists will be Robert Clay, vice president for health and nutrition at Save the Children; Jacqueline Callihan Linnes, a Purdue assistant professor of biomedical engineering; Patrick Loehrer, director of the Indiana University Simon Cancer Center, a professor of oncology and associate dean for cancer research at the IU School of Medicine; Katey Owen, deputy director for vaccines development at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation; and David Plater, program manager of AMPATH Research Network & Research Program Manager (North America), Regenstrief Institute Inc.

At 3 p.m., Michael Deal, president and CEO of Volunteers for Economic Growth Alliance (VEGA), will deliver a keynote address titled "Collaborating to Achieve the Sustainable Development Goals."

VEGA is a consortium of not-for-profit, volunteer organizations working toward food security, local capacity development, small and medium enterprise development, financial services, sustainable tourism and scaling innovation programs in 140 countries. Deal was USAID mission director in Colombia, culminating a 28-year foreign service career.

His talk will be followed by a 3:45 p.m. panel discussion titled "Role of Engineering Innovation in Food Security." The panel discussion will be moderated by Melba Crawford, Purdue Professor of Excellence in Earth Observation, director of the Laboratory for Applications of Remote Sensing, and associate dean of engineering for research.

Panelists will be Gebisa Ejeta, a Purdue Distinguished Professor of Agronomy and 2009 World Food Prize Laureate; Klein Ileleji, a Purdue associate professor of agricultural and biological engineering; David Leege, director of University Engagement and Research, Catholic Relief Services; Charlene McKoin, a senior program officer, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation; and Alvaro Ocampo, a professor of sustainable tropical production, Universidad de Los Llanos-Colombia.

A 6 p.m. reception in the Grissom Hall atrium is open to faculty, staff and students. 

Writer: Emil Venere, 765-494-4709, venere@purdue.edu             

Source: Leah Jamieson, 765-494-5346, lhj@purdue.edu 

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