#projects – Hunt Institute for Engineering & Humanity

April 13, 2021February 10, 2022

Illuminating Tintinto | Hunt Institute’s Project for SMU Giving Day 2021

Today is SMU Giving Day – the one day of the year for all Mustangs to come together in support of the SMU causes and students we care about most. Giving day is not about how much we each give, it’s about the impact we can make as a collective. The more Mustangs who give, the more positive change we can create. Donations received are put into a matching program, making all donations even more impactful and appreciated.

For this year’s SMU Giving Day, the Hunt Institute is featuring a Global Development Lab project that is installing solar panels for Tintinto Primary & Secondary School, a school in a remote village in West Africa. The beginning of this pilot proved to be successful and we will be continuing the development of this project. Principal Amadou Kinteh, teachers, parents, and students are pleased with having access to clean energy and are excited to see the completion of this project with the final section of the school illuminated by Summer 2021!

During COVID-19, school administrators reported that having access to electricity created the opportunity for teachers and students to work remotely by having access to charge their cell phones in rotations at the school during the pandemic lockdown. When the schools were able to re-open, the teachers hosted additional tutoring times for students after school to help bridge any gaps that occurred during their absence due to the pandemic. As a result, Principle Kinteh reported that his students excelled in their exams (equivalent to state exams in the USA). Watch him talk about their experiences in the above video.

Mohammed Njie is an SMU student and Hunt Institute Social Entrepreneur who founded Janta Energy to provide sustainable, clean, and reliable energy to The Gambia, a West African country where just 48% of people have limited access to electricity, leaving the remaining 52% with no access. Recently, he published a website for this initiative called JantaGM.com.

In December of 2019, the Tintinto Primary and Secondary School agreed to be a beta test site for Janta’s pilot project. In January of 2020, a team installed five 330-watt 24-volt solar panels, two 250-amp 12-volt solar batteries, and a 50-amp solar charge controller to power four classrooms and a staff room. The pilot was designed to test the panel’s effectiveness as a solution to bring electrical connections for lights, fans, and eventually computers. Although the entire school is not yet powered, Njie has a vision: “As a pilot project, we were limited to installing a [certain] amount of panels. We used those panels to provide 100% energy for half of the school. The idea was that after we did a successful pilot project, then we will install more panels to extend the power to the other side of the school.”

Join us as we prepare to finish installing the necessary panels to complete this project for the Tintinto Primary and Secondary School so that all teachers and students will have access to electricity in their classrooms.

Eventually, Janta will use this concept to build a micro-grid, with the school at the center, to help power the entire village. Looking ahead to the future, Janta Energy seeks to replicate the model used in Tintinto across other rural villages as well, eventually spanning the entirety of the country. You can help make a difference in the lives of Gambians by contributing to the Hunt Institute’s project for SMU Giving Day to finish this pilot project. All proceeds will go toward this project in The Gambia.

April 13, 2021 all day giving day #SMUDayOne resulted in meeting our goal.

Check back for updates as this project progresses!

The Hunt Institute and everyone in the Tintinto Primary & Secondary School appreciates your support for this Global Development Lab project.

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.

August 3, 2020February 28, 2022

Where Engineering and Chemistry Intersect for Global Impact

During these uncertain times, the Hunt Institute for Engineering and Humanity’s Global Development Lab has been hard at work this summer. Fellows, faculty, and industry professionals collaborate to create meaningful solutions to promote a resilient humanity. While supporting our community the Global Development addresses the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals and challenges. One collaborative interdisciplinary team is lead by two Fellows, Dr. David Son and Dr. Paul Krueger. Their project is a joint chemical and engineering approach to develop a degradable plastic to address the environmental issues of plastic waste. It is comprised of two lab teams and a team in the Hunt Institute. Featured in the image to the left was the team in the Spring of 2020 semester. Over the Summer semester, Sami Streb joined Dr. Krueger’s lab team and Taylor Grace as the undergraduate project manager.

Currently, many biodegradable products in the market are bio-based, produced from nature (plants, animals, or microorganisms). For example, they may contain products such as polysaccharides, proteins, and lipids. However, this approach faces challenges due to high cost, weaker performance, and overlooked environmental issues. Several degradable plastics have proven to break down faster under specific environmental conditions. Although, it may not actually reflect the normal environment, but it may not be effectively degradable under natural conditions. Many biodegradable plastics tend to need particular waste management methods which are not always widely available. These challenges pose a gap in the market due to the composition and degradation abilities.

As a result, Dr. Son and Dr. Krueger plan to investigate various prototype plastics with predictable degradation and mechanical properties, specifically useful in applications for alleviating plastic waste. These characteristics are significant advances to biodegradable products currently leading the market. With the ability to control the plastic’s properties, they can impart certain desirable properties to the material or give predictable properties to the final plastic material.

In order to make the largest impact in the current biodegradable plastic industry, a potential deliverable for their research could be to pursue a single-use PPE similar to what is typically used due to the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020. Specifically, the project is researching the production of a degradable mask frame with adequate seal to the face, as seen in N95 respirator masks. Typically, plastic can take ~ a thousand years to degrade in a landfill where degradable plastic (or PPLs) can degrade in ~ one year. Certain plastics can be designed to begin degrading when introduced to a certain property like salt water. The teams are exploring a variety of options. One area of interest is the inevitable increase of medical waste due to the rise in single-use face coverings and analyzing the shortage of single-use respirator masks in health care facilities due to the direct interactions with infected patients. This is in alignment with the UNSDG Goal 3, “To ensure healthy lives and promote wellbeing for all at all ages.” It will also address Goal 14, “To conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas, and marine resources” due to the degradable nature of the frame.

Stay tuned to the Hunt Institute Digest to read more about this project and other projects in the Global Development Lab.

July 21, 2020February 28, 2022

Filling the Gap for Seismic Protection

Peru is located in a seismic zone where the South American Plate moves toward the sea over the Nazca Plate causing earthquakes as a result of the thrust faulting on the interface of the two plates. According to Volcano Discovery, Peru endured 81 quakes in May of 2020. With the exception of an occasional break in seismic energy, Peruvians live with earthquakes as a daily condition. Dr. Nicos Makris, Hunt Institute Fellow, has been leading a research team of collaborators and students at SMU’s Lyle School of Engineering as well as internationally, to address this pressing issue. Their project in the Global Development Lab (GDL) focuses on seismic protection solutions for confined masonry urban housing. The in-country partner is Dr. Marcial Blondet who has dedicated over thirty years to researching the effects of seismic activity on masonry and adobe construction in Peru.

All projects in the GDL address the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This effort directly targets SDG #11 which seeks to ensure that growth in housing and urban development is safe, equitable, and environmentally conscious. UN Target 11.5 highlights the importance of this effort as it sets the target to “significantly reduce the number of deaths and the number of people affected and substantially decrease the direct economic losses relative to global gross domestic product caused by disasters…with a focus on protecting the poor and people in vulnerable situations” (1).

Kostas Kalfas (Ph.D. student and researcher), Corrie A. Harris (Portfolio Manager), JuliaGrace Walker (Undergraduate Project Manager), Sam Borton (Undergraduate Research Analysis), and Dr. Nicos Makris.

Even middle-class urban residents in Peru’s urban environment often reside in poorly constructed confined masonry houses which, in the case of a severe earthquakes, are at the risk of suffering serious damage. Professional construction is expensive and beyond reach for the majority of Peruvians. For this reason, the seismic protection market is increasingly narrowing its focus to low-cost solutions. One of the goals of this project has been to evaluate existing low-cost solutions accessible for most Peruvians (2). Finding that even “low-cost” solutions are out of reach for most Peruvians, Dr. Makris makes an alternate proposition. Rocking isolation offers great potential as an innovative and economical alternative for seismic protection, but it has yet to be implemented as low-cost housing reinforcement. Makris’ emerging system of seismic protection could address the pressing need for affordable seismic protection of existing masonry structures.

Sam Borton, Hunt Institute Undergraduate Research Analyst, made a significant contribution to this post with his market analysis of low-cost seismic protection. The complete analysis will be released in a future post. Stay tuned to read more!

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, Twitter, 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.

About the Sustainable Development Goals – United Nations Sustainable Development. (n.d.). Retrieved 2020, from https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/sustainable-development-goals/
Blondet, M., & Loaiza, C. (2020). Vulnerabilidad Sísmica de las Construcciones en el Perú: Informe Preliminar. Lecture presented in Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú: Departamento de Ingeniería.

July 1, 2020October 28, 2020

Hunt Institute’s First Student Social Entrepreneur

The Hunt Institute Social Enterprise Program is proud to introduce our first student social entrepreneur, Mohammed Njie. Mohammed is a rising senior at Southern Methodist University studying Electrical Engineering in Lyle School of Engineering. He was born and raised in The Gambia, a country in Western Africa. In the Gambia, 52% of people do not have access to electricity, and the remaining 48% have unreliable access. Mohammed attended high school at one of the few schools with electricity. Seeing students at other institutions that did not have access to electricity, motivated him to help close this gap.

Mohammed founded Janta Energy, a social enterprise, with the goal of bringing clean, reliable energy to The Gambia. His vision is to see all of Africa have access to reliable affordable clean energy in his lifetime. With support from the Hunt Institute, SMU’s Office of Engaged Learning, the Grand Challenge Scholars program, and the Hart Center for Engineering Leadership, Mohammed initiated a pilot project on his last trip to The Gambia during the winter break in 2019. The project installed solar panels on a school rooftop in a rural area in The Gambia to test capacity and determine elements needed to enhance students’ academic experience.

Items Installed for the pilot project;

Five 330 Watt 24 volt solar panels.
Two 250 amp, 12-volt solar batteries.
A 50 amp solar charge controller.

After several months of usage, the report from the school administrators revealed that having access to electricity created many opportunities for this school and its students.

A library at a school in Tintinto village that now has electricity thanks to Janta Energy. — A library in the school in Tintinto Village now has electricity

According to their report, the school is currently only utilizing 30% of the installed capacity. With this excess capacity, they are in the process of introducing fans throughout the school. The estimated usage is expected to rise to approximately 70% capacity. The school plans to utilize the last 30% to install computers for student use, which will greatly enhance the possibilities for exploration and learning. Once the pilot project is completed, Janta Energy plans to use this concept to build a microgrid, with the school at the center, to help power the entire village. Looking ahead to the future, Janta Energy seeks to replicate the model used in Tintinto Village across other rural villages, eventually spanning the rest of the country.

Stay tuned for more updates from Mohammed, and his Janta Energy continues working to provide The Gambia with access to sustainable electricity. To learn more about the Hunt Institute’s Social Enterprise Program, visit smu.edu/socialenterprise. Check the Hunt Institute Digest next week to meet another amazing social entrepreneur.

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, Twitter, 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.

March 30, 2020March 2, 2022

EVIE Keeps Evolving

The EVIE project is entering its third phase in the Global Development Lab at the Hunt Institute for Engineering and Humanity. Three years after its first public unveiling at Earth Day Texas in 2017, work on the mobile greenhouse has continued to push the boundaries of innovating a solution to Dallas’ fresh produce problem. The purpose of EVIE is to serve Dallas community members as a sustainable opportunity for fresh produce by encouraging their participation in the harvesting, maintaining, and general operations of a greenhouse.

EVIE’s name was derived from Eve, which is commonly associated with life and beginnings, appropriately matching the Institute’s goals for the project. In 2018, the Department of Agriculture identified 88 separate food deserts in Dallas County. Over half of the food deserts were in three southern portions of Dallas, encompassing close to 400,000 residents. EVIE is designed to be movable through areas lacking fresh produce and easily replicable to increase the availability of fresh produce across the food deserts. The first phase of EVIE focused on designing an easily replicable greenhouse model that could function in recycled environments, including an old, rickety Shasta trailer. In Phase II of the project, researchers from the Hunt Institute examined techniques that could facilitate irrigation, solar access, and temperature controls needed to maintain the greenhouse in any environment.

Plant Lab team lead Mitchell Dye works on the roof

Before Phase III could begin, the SMU Engineers Without Boards Plant Lab team gave EVIE a much-needed makeover. The roof had a leak. The makeover was completed right before spring break when the COVID-19 Global Pandemic hit the Unites States. Students are working remotely but unable to physically work on EVIE or in Labs as of June 2020. When they are able to return and resume work, Phase III of EVIE plans to make EVIE nearly autonomous to limit work and outside effort required to maintain the greenhouse. To achieve sustainability, EVIE will run off a solar panel to supply power for any water pumping or climate control measures. In addition, a rain collection system will provide irrigation to the individual planters. Through both of these additions to the current mobile greenhouse, EVIE will be able to provide fresh, healthy produce without requiring significant labor or effort on the part of community members.

The findings from this project hope to contribute to the agriculture value-chain development in rural and urban areas by promoting community involvement and educating local schools, food banks, and churches on environmentally sustainable, hydroponic, aeroponic, and vertical greenhouse growing methods.

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, Twitter, 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.

February 27, 2018August 21, 2020

The Creative Economy Matters

Silvia Rivera is the definition of a world changer. Since joining the Hunt Institute for Engineering and Humanity as a student analyst, Rivera has conducted research on artisan entrepreneurship and inclusive economic development. Rivera recently returned from Washington, D.C. after participating in “The Creative Economy Matters,” a conference hosted by the Artisan Alliance.

For this conference, the Artisan Alliance brought individuals from around the world together to talk about the various challenges and opportunities of investing in and creating artisan businesses. For Rivera, this was the first time that her personal ties to artisan products and academic research converged.

Throughout her childhood, Rivera visited artisan markets with her mother frequently. Even now, every time Rivera goes abroad, she makes an effort to visit small markets. These experiences have led to Rivera’s personal museum of handmade goods and tangible memories.

In college, Rivera started research at the Hunt Institute on artisanal businesses. Artisinal activity is the second largest source of income for the global poor, calls upon existing skills, makes use of available raw materials, and can help preserve cultural traditions. Rivera’s research asks, “What makes artisanal businesses successful? What makes their work impactful?” Rivera often analyzes these questions under the inclusive economy framework, a model created by Dr. Eva Csaky, director of the Hunt Institute.

“I’ll never forget it,” Rivera said when discussing the conference. “Washington, D.C. is such an energizing city.” Rivera went on to talk about her favorite speaker at the conference, DolmaKyap.

DolmaKyap, an artisan entrepreneur, shared his story of creating Chamtsee, a small handicraft workshop in Tibet. After leaving his home in search of the meaning of life, DolmaKyap noticed that people were interested in Tibet and the Tibetan way of life. He had always known that there were exceptional goods and products, like textiles and cheeses, representative of nomadic Tibetan culture. After leaving Tibet, he learned that there was demand for those goods in other parts of the world. This was the critical moment: there was an amazing good and a need in the world, what could DolmaKyap do about it? The result was Chamtsee. DolmaKyap proves that successful artisan products can generate income and represent a person’s culture.

Ideally, the impact of investing in artisanal businesses benefits everyone. By purchasing a handmade good, consumers are able to empower someone in a tangible and direct way. Artisans receive support and, in most cases, a fair wage. Consumers receive a unique product, a conversation piece, and something that is completely their own.

Do you want to start supporting artisan businesses today? The Artisan Alliance’s list of member organizations is a great place to start. Some of the members, like GAIA for Women and The Citizenry, are based in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

Rivera acknowledges the challenges of ethical buying in general and offered this piece of advice: “A good rule of thumb I use is to just be as curious and inquisitive as possible about what you’re buying and where it came from, and to have fun with that process.”

A cursory glance at Rivera’s resume is enough to turn heads. She is a triple major in business, international studies and Spanish. She is a President’s Scholar, BBA Scholar and McLane Scholar. She has researched artisan entrepreneurship as a student analyst at the Hunt Institute for Engineering and Humanity. It’s no surprise that Bain & Company has offered her a job following her graduation in May.

According to their website, the Artisan Alliance is a network that “works to unlock the economic value in the artisan sector.” They do this through programs with innovative financing, member networking, business coaching and other events. The Artisan Alliance brings business owners, policymakers and consumers together to enact change that no business could achieve alone.

Story Contributors

Written by: Anna Grace Carey

Edited by: Maggie Inhofe

January 26, 2018March 2, 2022

Wendy Alyea ’18

Wendy Alyea ’18

Student Analyst

Environmental Engineering Graduate Student in SMU 4+1 program
Engineering Fellows Scholar
Provost Scholar
Chi Epsilon American Society of Civil Engineers
Student Project Lead for the Taos Project: Site Evaluation
Member of the Evie Project Phase II: Optimization in Growing
Research in environmental assessments and alternative growing systems

“Learning about the impacts of human industrialization and fragility of many environments, I wanted to promote human interaction with nature without the effect of damaging the environment. I get to incorporate my skills as an environmental engineer and my passion for site evaluation and habitat restoration into my projects at the Hunt Institute.” -Wendy Alyea

Wendy Alyea graduated from SMU studying for a Master in Environmental Engineering through the SMU 4+1 program. She received previous degrees in May 2017, a B.S. in Environmental Engineering and a B.A. in Chemistry, with completion of her undergraduate studies at SMU. During undergrad, she studied classics for a semester abroad at Trinity College Dublin in Ireland. Her graduate degree will be completed in May 2018.

Wendy began working with the Hunt Institute in fall of 2013 in conjunction with an Engaged Learning project on aquaponics. When the mentor for her Engaged Learning project left for sabbatical, Dr. Eva Csaky volunteered to become her new mentor. Through this partnership, Wendy produced a paper on waste optimization alternatives, an instruction manual for aquaponics, gardening, and composting, and a case study on aquaponics system failure. She worked on the Evie Phase I and II projects and the community garden.

Wendy was also the student lead on site evaluation for the Taos project at the SMU-in-Taos campus. This involved an environmental assessment to determine the impact of material collection at one site on campus and construction of an earthen brick structure at the second site.

Wendy interned for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 6 office in the water enforcement division and at MWH Global, now a part of Stantec, in the water and wastewater design branch in Dallas, TX. Between Fall 2016 to Spring 2017, Wendy also completed a senior design project to determine grit removal technology for the Village Creek Water Reclamation Facility in Fort Worth, TX.

Contributors to this post:

Written by: Kim Strelke

Edited by: Wendy Alyea & Maggie Inhofe

Photo by: Alissa Llort