Background
During his Peace Corps duty in Lesotho (2000-02), STG President Matt Orosz experienced first-hand what it 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.
Acknowledgments
STG would like to formally thank Goodwin-Procter, whose Boston office has supplied us with invaluable help and advice over the past several years.
Previous Awards
- EPA P3 Phase II Award (2009) winners (in cooperation with MIT).
- NCIIA 2008 Sustainable Vision Grant winners (in cooperation with MIT).
- MIT Energy Initiative's Student Financial Assistance for Energy-Related Research, generously supported by a gift from TOTAL.
- An MIT International Development Initiative travel grant supported team field work in Lesotho during August 2008.
- EPA P3 Phase I Award (2008) winners (in cooperation with MIT).
- NCIIA 2007 Advanced E-Team Grant winners (in cooperation with MIT).
- 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.