Mechanical Engineer

Alex Moseson is a graduate student at Drexel University researching appropriate technology for the developing world. He hopes to be a professor someday and use that opportunity to get others excited about the field. He volunteers with Engineers Without Borders, and his hobbies include photography and the performing arts.

Appropriate technology is about helping people to build what they need and not what is going to make you the most money. It’s also about the environment and using what’s available locally. I was blessed to go to Tanzania for three weeks after working with a team for two years to develop a wood-turning lathe. We went to several villages in Tanzania telling people about these ideas, and then we partnered with them to bring it into real life. We started working with a craftsman there, orphans, students — and worked together to build some machines that they can now use to earn money. Sometimes, you don’t choose engineering, but engineering chooses you. There are some people who are just wired to fix things. If you see something that’s not right in the world, and you don’t say, “Man, someone should do something about that.” Instead, you say, “I should do something about that” — then you might be an engineer.

Watch eGFI’s interview with Alex Moseson here:

Filed under: Meet More Students

Tags: Mechanical Engineering, Technology