Corrie A. Harris – Page 7 – Hunt Institute for Engineering & Humanity

February 21, 2018March 7, 2022

Applications of Blockchain for Social & Environmental Impact

The Hunt Institute will transform into a conversational hub for computer science, blockchain and social impact during the Hunt Institute Seminar Series on Thursday, February 22 nd.

Xiaochen Zhang, president and founder of FinTech4Good, will discuss the social impact of blockchain. Anna Carroll, a graduate student in the Darwin Deason Institute for Cyber Security in SMU’s Lyle School of Engineering, will join Zhang to discuss the implications of this technology. Chris Kelley, a Senior Fellow in the Hunt Institute, will moderate the discussion.

Before the seminar, Carroll visited the Hunt Institute to explain the use and development of blockchain. She said that blockchain is a system that can be applied to any transaction that should be tracked.

Simply put, blockchain is a system of accountability. If you had to pay a coworker one dollar, it would be smart to pay them in front of an authority figure, for example your boss. That way, the coworker could not later claim that the exchange never occurred. Now, imagine paying that coworker in the middle of a company meeting. Every other employee would be a witness to that transaction. It would be virtually impossible for the coworker to claim that he or she never got that dollar.

Blockchain works in a similar way. By including more people as witnesses to the transaction, blockchain eliminates the risk of a single point of failure.

Blockchain increases in efficacy as the number of users increases. It is better to have 1,000 people using a blockchain than to have ten people using a blockchain. In this system, there is security in numbers. If there are more people invested in the blockchain, there are more people acting as watchdogs for the security of the blockchain. If there was a need for a secure, public transfer, blockchain could be effective.

With both its virtues and challenges, blockchain is an exciting addition to the digital world. Zhang and Carroll will discuss blockchain and its implications at the Seminar Series tomorrow during the 2018 Spring Seminar. Please click here for more information about this event.

Story Contributors

Written by: Anna Grace Carey

Edited by: Maggie Inhofe

January 26, 2018March 2, 2022

Alejandro Dominguez ’20

Alejandro Dominguez Garcia ’20

Solar Energy Project Lead

SMU Class of ’20
Mechanical Engineer major
Business Administration and French minor
Engineering intern at Quantum Utility Generation
SMU Multicultural Award of Excellence
Honor Roll
Second Century Scholar
National Society of Collegiate Scholars
Hilltop Scholar
President of National Society of Hispanic Engineers

“As a mechanical engineering student of the 21st century, technology seems to be growing exponentially; however, most engineers focus on the advancements of technology and not of the human race. I am motivated to help fill this gap and make technological advancements affordable so that humanity as a whole can grow and everyone can live better lives.” – Alejandro Dominguez Garcia

Alejandro graduated from Southern Methodist University with a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering and Minor in Business Administration and French. He was also an SMU Hilltop Scholar, Second Century Scholar, and President of the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers.

He was born in Mexico City, Mexico and moved to the United States with his family as a child. He is passionate about the aerospace and energy industry and how to use these fields to help the progression of humanity. Alejandro conducted research for the Hunt Institute on 3D printed Hydroponic and Aeroponic systems that increased efficiency and lowered the cost of Urban Farming.

While at SMU, he built professional experience through summer internships, most recently serving as an Mechanical Engineering Intern for the energy and utilities company Quantum Utility Generation in Houston, TX.

After graduating from SMU, Alejandro has been working as a Mechanical Engineer at BP.

Contributors to this post:

Written by: Kim Strelke

Edited by: Alejandro Dominguez Garcia & Maggie Inhofe

Photo by: Alissa Llort

To read more about the Hunt Institute’s work to develop future-focused solutions to some of the world’s biggest problems, please click here. For the latest news on the Hunt Institute, follow our social media accounts on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram. We invite you to listen to our Podcast called Sages & Seekers. If you are considering engaging with the institute, you can donate, or sign-up for our newsletter by emailing huntinstitute@smu.edu.

January 26, 2018March 7, 2022

Hunt Institute Seminar Series: Just Change

November 8, 2017

Hunt Institute Seminar Series was proud to host Tynesia Boyea-Robinson, author of JUST CHANGE: HOW TO COLLABORATE FOR LASTING IMPACT, this week during our Seminar Series. In her book, Just Change: How To Collaborate For Lasting Impact, Boyea-Robinson shares her experience investing in cities and leaders across the country. The goal of Just Change is to help readers understand what’s working, what’s not working and why in order to improve their own communities.

Attendees arrived at the Institute despite the cold and rain and quickly filled the room with conversation, networking with colleagues and meeting new friends in the social impact space. The talk focused on the collaborative best practices Boyea-Robinson writes about in her book based on her extensive experience. The room was energized with her passion as she engaged the audience telling her story, showing up, and being transparent.

Tynesia has been a featured speaker for a broad array of audiences including South by Southwest and the White House Council for Community Solutions. She has published several articles, which have been featured in the Washington Post, Forbes and in Leap of Reason: Managing to Outcomes in an Era of Scarcity. Her work was also highlighted in the New York Times bestseller A Year Up as well as in the Harvard Business School case study Year Up: A Social Entrepreneur Builds High Performance. She serves on numerous boards and committees and recently accepted an appointment in the Hunt Institute as a Fellow.

She opened with this powerful statement, “I believe our country’s intractable problems are solvable because I meet leaders every day who are solving them. Just Change will help you learn from these leaders so you can have lasting impact in your community.” Her primary focus hovered on the outcomes portion of the material on system based changes applied to social sector work. Visit our YouTube channel for a recording of the presentation.

Interdisciplinary students smile and pose for the camera in between their duties at the seminar — Left to right: Tristan Knotts, Kim Strelke, Sara Langone, Wendy Alyea

At the end of the talk, Anna Clark, co-founder of the Inclusive Economy at the Institute, facilitated an interactive Q&A. Various members of the audience participated and joined the conversation about how to bring about lasting impact. Afterwards, Boyea-Robinson autographed copies of her book and interacted personally with attendees. Student analysts, interns, and volunteers of the Institute helped host the event then joined the diverse group of attendees discussing their research and listening to lively discussions about various areas of need in the social impact space.

The Hunt Institute Seminar Series features speakers that are actively involved in making lasting impact in resilient infrastructure, sustainable food systems, and inclusive economy. Tynesia Boyea-Robinson is President and CEO of Reliance Methods. Boyea-Robinson’s experience as an entrepreneur, Six Sigma blackbelt, and technologist uniquely positions her to catalyze a results-driven era of social change. In her previous role as Chief Impact Officer of Living Cities, Tynesia was responsible for ensuring $100M of investment produced outcomes that improved the lives of low income people across the country.

In 2011, Boyea-Robinson founded Reliance Methods to help Fortune 500 clients like the Carlyle Group, Marriott, and others change the way the world does business. Tynesia has been leading and writing about enterprises that “do well and do good” for over a decade. As President and CEO of Reliance Methods, she continues to demonstrate how business and community goals can powerfully align towards mutual outcomes.

The next Hunt Institute Seminar in the Series will be held in the spring semester of 2018. Like our FaceBook page to follow us and set your notifications for events to feed into your news feed.

Contributors to this blog article: Ms Boyea-Robinson, Corrie Harris, Maggie Inhofe, and Kim Strelke.

January 26, 2018March 7, 2022

Evie Phase II: Cooling Optimization

Students meeting in the Hunt Institute. Engineers at SMU. Senior Design Project. Evie. Cooling system.

September 27, 2017

Absorption Refrigeration Cycle
The team was out at the State Fair Grounds working on Evie today installing sensors to read temperature and humidity, as well as to measure electricity use for the air conditioner. The team’s objective is to study greenhouse cooling and to design a low-cost cooling system.

The team consists of Abdulaziz Aljaber ’18, Mechanical Engineering Major; Rabin Bastola ’18, Electrical Engineering Major; Osama Alolabi ’18, Mechanical Engineering Major; and team lead Adrienn Santa ’18, Mechanical Engineering and Mathematics Major. The senior design team is being advised by Dr. Ali Beskok, Chair of Mechanical Engineering, and Dr. Eva Csaky, the Director of Hunter and Stephanie Hunt Institute for Engineering and Humanity in Lyle School of Engineering. In addition to collecting data, the team will prepare an economic model, design and build a prototype to minimize colling costs all with the aspiration to have the prototype ready for Earth Day 2018.

January 26, 2018March 7, 2022

Who is Evie?

Students. Volunteers. SMU Hunt Institute. Meet Evie. Mobile greenhouse.

“Evie” is an evolution of our Greenhouse for Good research project that began in 2016. When we found her, she was an old Shasta, forgotten and in disrepair. Evie was reborn on March 31, 2017 as a completely retrofitted mobile greenhouse.

Now, Evie joins the Hunt Institute and Lyle School of Engineering as the embodiment of our interdisciplinary approach to student-led research and innovations in urban agriculture that we hope will impact for good.

The Hunt Institute is joining with Big Tex Urban Farms to debut Evie at Earth Day TX 2017. As a result, the Texas State Fair asked the Hunt Institute to exhibit Evie at the Fair opening September 28, 2017 running until October 21, 2017.

PHASE I was completed in time for Earth Day TX 2017. It consisted of retrofitting the trailer and converting it into a mobile greenhouse. Over the summer, the plants inside were unable to live due to water issues. The take-away for the design team was to incorporate automated systems into Phase II that will control the watering of the plants.

PHASE II begins Fall of 2017 at the Hunt Institute in Lyle School of Engineering. This phase is focused on optimization of the cooling system, watering system, and interior growing systems.

For the cooling research, a Senior Design team of interdisciplinary engineers are working on using absorption refrigeration cycle for cooling which is more energy efficient than the standard A.C. unit.

For the growing research, students are problem solving the issues facing urban agriculture like growing space, water usage, and soil constraints. Evie is an educational trailer so we are working to represent different types of growing systems that solve the problem of these constraints. We will also address mobility (stabilizing the systems inside for movement) and automated watering to reduce labor intensity or time required for maintenance.

January 26, 2018December 18, 2020

Neil Hendrick, Hunt Institute Fellow, working in Puerto Rico Recovery Effort

October 26, 2017

Neil standing in front of an air plane taking a selfie picture — Neil Hendrick in San Juan, Puerto Rico in post disaster recovery work

Recently appointed Fellow, Neil Hendrick, is working with the Hunt Institute in the area of big data while advising and mentoring students on the Map for Good project.

Hendrick has worked for Tulane University, The University of California at Berkeley, and Harvard University, as well as several international nongovernmental and governmental organizations, including PATH and the International Criminal Court. Since 2006, he has worked to develop specific tools for digital data collection and promote their use by researchers, aid workers, and disaster responders. As Lead Developer on the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative’s KoBo Toolbox project, Mr. Hendrick developed a software system for digital data collection and deployed the system on a series of large-scale population surveys. Encompassing survey design, data collection, database synchronization, analysis, and reporting, the KoBo Toolbox system provides a comprehensive suite of tools for research and monitoring. Mr. Hendrick has extensive international experience. He has completed research in the USA, the Caribbean, Africa, and the Middle East.

Currently, Hendrick is in San Juan, Puerto Rico working in post disaster relief and rebuild effort, helping to get the town back online after this season’s devastating hurricanes. Here is an email he sent today that gives a snapshot of the “boots on the ground” work he is doing:

“Greetings from San Juan,

I just thought I would drop a note to the Hunt Institute to tell you all is going well in Puerto Rico. I have been working to connect cell phone and internet towers, working with communication companies, government agencies, and NGOs, nominally led by a disaster response organization called NetHope.

The basic scheme is that these communication companies need technical and material support to get their networks back online, serving communications through a network of fiber and radio links. NetHope sends out teams of network engineers, tower climbers, and knockaround guys to do the work, and in return NetHope is given about 10Mb of bandwidth on the network that we can then shoot out from towers to the town hall, hospitals, police stations, etc., so that they have internet access. My function is part heavy-lifting donkey, and part network configuration. That means basically that, when I am not dragging spools of cable from place to place, I squat in the server room at the base of a cell phone tower on top of a mountain and program radios to talk to each other.

I will return at the end of the month, and if I can send more updates in the meantime, I will do so. At this moment, I have to drive to Aibonito to climb on top of the City Hall building to see if it has a line-of-sight to the nearest cell phone tower.

Hasta la proxima vez,

~Neil”

As a Research Technologist, Hendrick develops software and hardware solutions for research teams and directs the applications of these solutions in the field. As a software developer and field research supervisor, Hendrick has wide practical experience in conducting research, creating and implementing software and hardware improvements to the research process, and managing data collection systems. The technologies he develops allow for the collection of quantitative and qualitative survey data, GPS points, video, audio, and other applications. Mr. Hendrick manages the logistics for employing technologies for research, including team training, data collection supervision, and field-based troubleshooting. He also develops customized databases, manages data analysis, synchronizes data processes for research teams, and specializes in data visualization and presentation (infographic design). He has executed projects in the USA, the Caribbean, Africa, and the Middle East.

We are honored to have him on the Hunt Institute roster of Fellows. In addition to all the work he is involved in, he brings an incredible layer to the student development part of our program. For more information or to get in contact with Neil, you can reach him at:

Hendrick.Neil@gmail.com

813-500-8112

January 26, 2018March 7, 2022

Tynesia Boyea-Robinson, Hunt Institute Fellow

Tynesia Boyea-Robinson is a Hunt Institute Fellow, the President and CEO of CapEQ, and an Executive Board Member for Big Thought. Boyea-Robinson exemplifies cross-sector leadership with extensive experience in consulting on impact investment. She has a desire to collaborate with Dr. Eva Csaky in mentoring students involved in research in the inclusive economy and can be seen working in the Institute readily available for our team.

In her book, Just Change: How To Collaborate For Lasting Impact, Tynesia shares her experience investing in cities and leaders across the country. The goal of Just Change is to help readers understand what’s working, what’s not working, and why in order to improve their own communities. Boyea-Robinson’s experience as an entrepreneur, Six Sigma blackbelt, and technologist uniquely positions her to catalyze a results-driven era of social change. In her previous role as Chief Impact Officer of Living Cities, she was responsible for ensuring $100M of investment produced outcomes that improved the lives of low-income people across the country.

In 2011, Boyea-Robinson founded Reliance Methods to help Fortune 500 clients like the Carlyle Group, Marriott, and others change the way the world does business. Tynesia has been religiously leading and writing about enterprises that “do well and do good” for over a decade. As President and CEO of Reliance Methods, she continues to demonstrate how business and community goals can powerfully align towards mutual outcomes.

Boyea-Robinson relies on her deep experience as a social change agent to advise clients. For example, she leveraged effective cross-sector partnerships to help establish the Social Innovation Fund and the Workforce Investment and Opportunity Act. Additionally, as founding Executive Director of Year Up National Capital Region (NCR) she raised $20M, was recognized by President Obama, and supported the organization to ensure thousands of low-income young adults are hired in careers with family sustaining wages.

When asked what motivates her in impact work she replied, “We need to reimagine what is possible for an economic system that helps everyone. Businesses and corporations can and should be a large part of this reimagining—obviously, they are the primary driver of capitalist values and decision making. Capitalism is just a tool to meet an end–we just have to use the tool in the right way.”

Earlier in her career, Boyea-Robinson was a leader within several business units at General Electric. From transforming the entire company to utilize technology for online sales to leading an international mortgage bank acquisition, her experience at GE groomed her to achieve outcomes regardless of industry.

Boyea-Robinson has been a featured speaker for a broad array of audiences including South by Southwest and the White House Council for Community Solutions. She has published several articles, which have been featured in the Washington Post, Forbes and in Leap of Reason: Managing to Outcomes in an Era of Scarcity. Her work was also highlighted in the New York Times bestseller A Year Up as well as in the Harvard Business School case study Year Up: A Social Entrepreneur Builds High Performance. She serves on numerous boards and committees.

Boyea-Robinson received her MBA from Harvard Business School and has a dual degree in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from Duke University. She and her college sweetheart, Keith, are committed to indoctrinating their children, Dylan and Sydney, with, “… a love of Duke basketball and all things geeky and sci-fi.”

January 26, 2018March 7, 2022

Improving Cost Effectiveness & Sustainability of Agricultural Practices Through Innovative Biopolymer Treatment

In 2015, the Hunt Institute awarded Dr. Sevinc Sengor a seed grant to pursue research of a biopolymer compound, produced from Rhizobium tropici sp. In 2016, after Dr. Sengor was able to produce substantial evidence supporting its importance, she was awarded an EPA grant to further this research titled “Improving Cost Effectiveness & Stustainability of Agricultural Practices Through Innovative Biopolymer Treatment.”

Dr. Sengor’s research team is comprised of Mahdi Heidarizad, Jesse Hull, Deborah Oyedapo & Dr. Eva Csaky in collaboration with the US Army Corp of Engineers ERDC-EL research team. This team has been undertaking experiments which are carried out in a controlled laboratory environment using tomato plants, with three objectives: (i) to study the impact of the application of biopolymer compound, produced from Rhizobium tropici sp., on the growth of the tomato plants, to be measured based on the quantity and amount of tomatoes harvested, (ii) to measure the sugar and nutrient content of the fruits harvested to compare the nutritional attributes of the treatment and control groups, and (iii) to study the quality of the water circulating in the hydroponic system, to test the degree to which ammonium and other nutrients are removed from the water in the treatment and control groups.

This project was selected to be presented at the 2017 P3 National Sustainable Design Expo at Tech Connect. The conference and expo’s purpose is to be, “a global technology company. that serves as the critical link in what is often referred to as “the Global Innovation Pipeline” by working to bridge the divide between promising technologies and potential investors. This is done through a series of conferences, with the annual Tech Connect World Innovation Conference and Expo bringing together some of the greatest minds in the physical and life sciences.” The P3 (People, Prosperity, and the Planet) National Sustainable Design Expo (NSDE) was co-located with the Tech Connect Conference, allowing EPA P3 student projects to showcase their innovative ideas for a sustainable future alongside EPA programs, government agencies, and advanced tech companies.”

According to the concluding remarks of Dr. Sengor’s presentation, the hydroponic experiments were carried out with tomato plants using .5% of biopolymer, compared against control. Water quality analysis showed slightly more P absorption by the biopolymer and no difference in others. Analysis of the tomatoes showed ~45% heavier tomatoes with higher sugar content (~18%). Root scan analysis showed larger root volume (~129%), surface area (~75%) and root length (~35%). Finally, the team concluded that further investigation of biopolymer for various crops for reduced fertilizer use with optimum efficiency is needed.

January 26, 2018April 1, 2021

The Challenge: Greenhouse for Good

The challenge was to prototype a sustainable, low-cost, mobile greenhouse. Most importantly, we wanted to value energy independence, water conservation, and space efficiency to grow plants. Using funds raised from the Greenhouse for Good Giving Day, our team meet the challenge with a plan!

The proposed design must be environmentally friendly, economically viable, and address social issues.

Our creative team came up with a concept: an educational, mobile greenhouse made from a reclaimed travel trailer. The versatile growing space could be used to support school gardens and the teachers who run them.

Why a travel trailer?

We needed something mobile. RVs come with truck chassis, electrical wiring, four walls, door, roof, kitchen sink, and water tank. If we could retrofit a discarded one, theoretically, we could convert it to a road-worthy mobile greenhouse that could be hooked up to a truck. This was preferable to other temporary alternatives, like a shipping container, as our target audience was more likely to have access to a truck than a fork lift.

Trailers are compact and use less space than what urban farms typically require. A small-space alternative appealed to individuals and neighborhoods who do not have access to a vacant plot or parking lot. A trailer would only require a driveway or parking space to be viable for growth production.

In our preliminary research, we did not find mobile greenhouses. We did find a truck converted into a teaching trailer, but only twelve days before completing our project. Though we couldn’t incorporate that research, it was exciting to have our idea validated.

Most “mobile” gardens are raised beds that require a fork lift, or other equipment, to move. They are more portable than mobile. We found some good examples close to home (check out what our friends at Big Tex Urban Farms use in the images below). Ultimately, we hoped for something that could be moved with (relative) ease. This brought us to our little trailer.

One of the benefits of working with an interdisciplinary, multi-generational and cross-cultural team is that the challenge was considered holistically. In one of our first brainstorms, emerging questions included:

In extreme climates or post-disaster zones, how do we regulate food production?
Can our military take their garden with them wherever they go?
How can refugee camps or other temporary settlements access fresh produce?
Could a greenhouse function without a nearby water source or infrastructure to support heating and cooling?
Can a greenhouse be scaled to an entrepreneur who rents their home or lives in an urban slum?

These questions gave us a picture of all the new applications that were still to come.

January 9, 2018March 2, 2022

Ali Llort ’19

Alissa Llort ’19

Creative Team Lead

Advertising major with a focus on Strategic Brand Management
Pschology minor
SMU Class of ’19
Multicultural Academic Award of Excellence
Tau Sigma Transfers Honor Award
Marketing and Advertising Specialist
The Hunt Institute Creative Team Lead

“I love working in The Hunt Institute because I am able to pursue my creative passion to help other people. Coming from El Salvador, I am aware of all the help needed around the world. With the skills and opportunities to give a helping hand, The Hunt Institute has been the perfect fit to serve, learn and grow from these unique experiences, sharing ideas with students from a whole different major and creating a masterpiece as a result. “ -Alissa Llort

Alissa graduated from SMU majoring in Advertising, focusing in the Strategic Brand Management branch, and minoring in Psychology.

Having the creative passion in her fingertips ready to create, explore, and inspire is what drove her to the advertising path.

Alissa has developed various advertising projects for the Hunt Institute for Engineering and Humanity to help their ongoing social projects. For Evie’s campaign, she was able to enter a film competition at Earth Day Texas 2017 to showcase the mobile greenhouse project. She won First Prize for the Social Engagement Short Film award.

Also, Alissa was a member of the Women Ambassadors Forum, which is a non-profit organization that empowers women with an annual forum held here in SMU. She was the Marketing Director, managing Graphic Design, Social Media, PR and Branding Teams. Throughout the past few years, she has interned in several advertising agencies in El Salvador: Publicidad Comercial, APEX BBDO, and ON Creative Studio. These experiences have helped her grow as an advertiser, learning from every agency’s different environment and work style.

Contributors to this post:

Written by: Kim Strelke

Edited by: Alissa Llort & Maggie Inhofe