One of the greatest challenges and sources of opportunity for modern engineers is thinking up ways to repurpose the waste material that pervades our planet. Many organizations are already finding clever ways to tackle this issue. For example, every year the PBS show Design Squad holds a “Trash to Treasure” competition, which challenges students to design something useful produced from waste materials. Now meet Waste for Life, a non-profit coalition of students, designers, and engineers who are working in Argentina and Lesotho to upcycle waste into usable materials:
Rafael Smith explains his concept for the Uber Shelter (Purdue University)
There are currently over 36 million displaced persons all over the world. In the wake of recent natural disasters, it is more crucial than ever that adequate shelter be made available to help ease temporary and long-term homelessness.
Fortunately, over the past few years, several engineers have been working to make both low-income housing and temporary shelters more efficient and affordable.
