You’ve read her story. You’ve seen the progress. Now, are you ready to meet Evie?
Join us for EarthX 2018 to see Evie in action! In addition to showing off our mobile greenhouse, we’re debuting Evie: Phase II.
Evie: Phase II focuses on the optimization of growing. Students at the Hunt Institute have spent this past year researching heating, cooling and irrigation systems for Evie. After months of research, Alejandro Dominguez Garcia and Alec Maulding started development on the 3Dponics system.
3Dponics stems from the science of aeroponics, a precise irrigation method that allows plants to grow without soil. This is important for Evie’s bigger mission: to make growing fresh produce accessible to everyone. Finding enough nutrient-rich soil to grow fruits and vegetables in is a challenge in an urban environment. Aeroponic technology makes it possible to grow where you go.
The “3D” part of 3Dponics refers to 3D printing. Several of the parts for Evie’s irrigation system are printed using Fused Depositions Modeling 3D Printers, which brings down the cost of the system significantly.
Evie is possible because of the interdisciplinary team of students at the Hunt Institute. Adrienn Santa, a mechanical engineering student, led the research on heating and cooling Evie. Alissa Llort led students from the MADI program, advertising, computer science, journalism, film and other disciplines in promoting Evie. The Hunt Institute specializes in bringing together SMU students from all disciplines to achieve innovative research with practical application.
EarthX will be held at the State Fair of Texas from April 20-22. It is open from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Bring your family for fun activities, including a scavenger hunt and tree climbing!
For more information about EarthX, please click here.
Story Contributors
Written by: Anna Grace Carey
Edited by: Maggie Inhofe
Photos by: Alissa Llort
