February 04, 2008
Bowling
Green, Ky. - A Western Kentucky University student has been selected by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) to participate in an Open Source design project to purify water using human power.
Zachary Pearl, a mechanical engineering senior from Bowling Green, is one of five students working on a new design to develop a prototype human-powered device that efficiently purifies water. He will receive a $2,000 stipend from ASME for the project.
ASME awarded a $30,000 grant to WKU’s mechanical engineering program to host the project, which continues the 2007 ASME student design competition held last November in Seattle. Kevin Schmaltz and Robert Choate, associate professors in WKU’s Department of Engineering, are the project managers.
The project’s motivation is to provide drinkable water to people who do not have the equipment or power necessary to produce safe water – during temporary disasters or when conditions of poverty exist.
“Zach is a very deserving team member and we are pleased that ASME selected him,” Schmaltz said. “This project will give Zach a unique opportunity to experience an emerging engineering design practice at a national and international level. We have already begun the design, and are already enjoying the interactions with a group of very talented students from around the world.”
Pearl and students from New Mexico State University, University of Miami, Universidad Simon Bolivar in Venezuela and Lunds University in Sweden were selected to work on the new design. Each student will receive a $2000 stipend for their efforts, as well as travel expenses to gather at WKU in May to finish the construction and testing of their device.
The team’s ongoing work will be posted to the ASME website – www.asme.org. This represents ASME’s first attempt at an “Open Source” project, providing a forum for mechanical engineers around the world to contribute to the solution of critical social, economic and environmental problems.
If the final design proves technically feasible, the Open Source team will be requesting support from the ASME Center for Engineering Entrepreneurship and Innovation to commercialize the design.
More WKU news is available at www.wku.edu. If you’d like to receive WKU news via e-mail, send a message to WKUNews@wku.edu.
For information, contact Kevin Schmaltz at (270) 745-8859.
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