September 28, 2004: Headlines: COS - Botswana: Engineering: Inventions: Awards: Ascribe: Botswana RPCV Amy Smith win MacArthur 'Genius' Grant for her work in using technology to solve problems in the developing world

Peace Corps Online: Directory: Botswana: Special Report: Inventor and Botswana RPCV Amy Smith: September 28, 2004: Headlines: COS - Botswana: Engineering: Inventions: Awards: Ascribe: Botswana RPCV Amy Smith win MacArthur 'Genius' Grant for her work in using technology to solve problems in the developing world

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Botswana RPCV Amy Smith wins MacArthur 'Genius' Grant for her work in using technology to solve problems in the developing world

Botswana RPCV Amy Smith wins MacArthur 'Genius' Grant for her work in using technology to solve problems in the developing world

Amy Smith, 41, is dedicated to using technology to solve problems in the developing world. Smith said the MacArthur award "is pretty exciting, though a little scary. I've always operated on a shoestring. It'll be odd to do it differently for a change." Smith is a mechanical engineer and inventor who designs "life-enhancing solutions and labor-saving technologies for people at the far end of dirt roads in the world's most remote societies -- people facing crises that erupt in health clinics with no electricity and in villages with no clean water," according to the MacArthur Foundation biography. "Striking in their simplicity and effectiveness, her inventions include grain-grinding hammer mills, water-purification devices and field incubators for biologic testing, each reflecting her inordinate creativity and ingenuity," the biography said. "I currently have very little funding for my projects, so this gives me a lot more flexibility," said Smith, who is working on two projects in Haiti. "I will be able to move forward a lot faster now. There's so much to do in Haiti, it's really nice to have the resources to keep these projects going, and start new projects, too."

Botswana RPCV Amy Smith wins MacArthur 'Genius' Grant for her work in using technology to solve problems in the developing world

MacArthur 'Genius' Grants Go to Four From MIT

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Sept. 28 (AScribe Newswire) -- Two MIT engineers, a scientist and an alumna have won 2004 MacArthur Fellowships, commonly known as "genius" grants. They were honored for coaxing viruses to manufacture microelectronic devices, inventing inexpensive technologies to solve problems in developing countries, developing potential treatments for diabetes and unraveling the secrets of bacterial infection.

Associate Professor Angela Belcher of the Department of Materials Science and Engineering and the Biological Engineering Division, Edgerton Center Instructor Amy Smith (S.M. 1995), Broad Institute associate Vamsi Mootha, and Julie Theriot (S.B. 1988) will each receive $500,000 in no-strings-attached support.

MacArthur Fellows -- this year there are 23 -- are selected for their "originality, creativity and potential to do more in the future," according to the MacArthur Foundation. Candidates are nominated, evaluated and selected through a confidential process; no one may apply for the awards, nor are any interviews conducted.

[Excerpt]

HELPFUL INVENTIONS

Amy Smith, 41, is dedicated to using technology to solve problems in the developing world. Smith said the MacArthur award "is pretty exciting, though a little scary. I've always operated on a shoestring. It'll be odd to do it differently for a change."

Smith is a mechanical engineer and inventor who designs "life-enhancing solutions and labor-saving technologies for people at the far end of dirt roads in the world's most remote societies -- people facing crises that erupt in health clinics with no electricity and in villages with no clean water," according to the MacArthur Foundation biography.

"Striking in their simplicity and effectiveness, her inventions include grain-grinding hammer mills, water-purification devices and field incubators for biologic testing, each reflecting her inordinate creativity and ingenuity," the biography said.

"I currently have very little funding for my projects, so this gives me a lot more flexibility," said Smith, who is working on two projects in Haiti. "I will be able to move forward a lot faster now. There's so much to do in Haiti, it's really nice to have the resources to keep these projects going, and start new projects, too."

Smith said she often meets people in the countries where she works who have ideas for projects of their own, but no resources. "Now I'm in the position where I can help with those resources, which is pretty cool," she said.

Smith received the S.B. (1984) and S.M. (1995) from MIT; between undergraduate and graduate school, she was a Peace Corps volunteer in Botswana. In 2000 she joined the staff of the MIT Edgerton Center, where she co-founded the MIT IDEAS Competition (Innovation, Development, Enterprise, Action, Service) for students who developed designs to solve community problems.

She teaches a class at MIT called D-Lab that combines many of her interests -- teaching, international development, invention and design.

"I think we've worked out a pretty nice model, where we start by teaching about international development and appropriate technology and begin working with community partners in developing countries. Then we travel to work with these partners in the field, spending the Independent Activites Period implementing some of what we learned in the class, and identifying additional projects to work on back at MIT during the next semester," said Smith. Students working on the projects are often able to go back to the field in the summer for the next round of fieldwork, supported by the IDEAS Competition or MIT Public Service Center fellowships.




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Headlines: September, 2004; RPCV Amy Smith (Botswana); Peace Corps Botswana; Directory of Botswana RPCVs; Messages and Announcements for Botswana RPCVs; Engineering; Inventions; Awards; Massachusetts





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