February 8, 2009
We talked about design for social impact last fall. If you want to learn more about how the design approach can be applied to problems in the developing world, check out this blog. It follows Jeff Chapin, a designer (or engineer?) who is taking a sabbatical from IDEO to work on a low-cost latrine with International Development Enterprises (IDE). Jeff is blogging daily about his experiences working in Cambodia. A great read if you’re interested in design for the other 90%.
As well, I’m taking a fantastic class this spring in the civil engineering department called Design for Sustainable Communities. Taught by Ashok Gadgil, the class takes a hands-on approach to designing innovative products to address critical needs in both developed and developing countries. I’m working on a cross-disciplinary team (2 mechanical engineers, 1 environmental engineer, 1 business school student – me!) to re-envision the solar box cooker for the Indian market. Solar box cookers have been around for many years. The technology is simple – sun hits box, box cooks food inside. But in the last 30 years, there has been almost zero innovation to the design or materials — advances have generally focused on increasing energy efficiency, rather than usability. So there’s a huge potential to create a better, more relevant solution to spur mass adoption.
Other projects that my fellow students are working on include:
- Solar water heater for Guatemala (technology = solar panels on urban roofs for heating water)
- Arsenic remediation in Bangladesh (arsenic is colorless and odorless, but can be removed using a Lawrence Berkeley National Lab (LNBL) technology)
- Bioclimatic design for “kit” houses in South Pacific
Very inspiring stuff indeed!
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Posted by cindy333
February 2, 2009
Fast Company reports that on February 3rd, the Indian government will unveil a $10 educational laptop with 2GB of RAM, Wi-Fi and expandable hardware, that operates on only two watts of power. Mass production costs are $20, but expect this to be halved as large-scale production starts up.
The laptop is an answer to MIT’s Nicholas Negroponte’s $100 One Laptop Per Child. Can’t wait to see what it looks like in a few days!
Click here for the Fast Company article.
**Update: It turns out that the $10 laptop is not a full-functioning laptop, but a “computing” device with storage. Read the comments below for more information. **
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Posted by cindy333
May 30, 2008
Well, our travels in India are complete, and I must say we went out with a bang. We traveled to the city of Agra to visit the famous Taj Mahal, which I can say is definitely an amazing experience. About 4.5 hrs outside of Delhi, it was a long ride into Agra. But walking through the gateway and getting the first glimpse of the Taj Mahal is something I’ll never forget. We had a great guide as well, who told us the romantic story of a king who built the Taj Mahal to satisfy the dying request of his beloved wife – an endeavor that took him 22 years to build. Walking throughout the grounds and into the tomb was a worthy experience, despite the 100+ degree heat.
After this trip, we headed to the airport and said goodbye to India, and Hello to China – first stop, Shanghai.
Yesterday was our first full day in the city. Despite the layer of fog/smog over the city, we still had a great day. We visited the famous Orient Pearl Tower that gives visitors great views of the central part of the city. We also enjoyed a boat cruise along the Huangpu River that runs through the city. Both experiences were great fun, although we all noticed the fact that the city is pretty dirty. The air quality is suspect and the river water was not anything you’d want to swim in… But we were amazed at how developed the city has become over the last 10 years as we compared pictures of the downtown skyline within the Orient Pearl Tower.
We had great timing as we were also able to attend the Berkeley Club of Shanhai’s alumni event at the beautiful Westin Hotel. We met up with our fellow classmates who are in Shanghai on IBD, ate delicious hors d’oeuvres, and networked with Berkeley alumni.
Today we are off on more adventures as we explore this huge city, and perhaps a visit to our IBD friends’ office! More to come later…
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Posted by jonkburns
May 26, 2008
We flew into Delhi late last night. We had expectations of a sweltering, heat-exhaustion filled experience in this city, but have since had our minds changed. Yes, it has been quite hot, but not 110 degrees like we were anticipating. The city is beautiful, well-planned, and the best part: all autos are required by law to use natural gas fuel! Quite a contrast from the smog ridden streets of Bangalore! We decided to end our stay in India with some flair, so we booked our rooms at the 5-star Intercontinental Hotel (very nice, and the hotel where the Delhi cricket team is staying as they fight to get into the playoffs of the IPL)…
Today was a great day. We stuffed ourselves with a delicious (and free!) breakfast buffet from the hotel. We then made our way to the India Gate, a national military monument that remembers the 80k soldiers who died in WWI.
We then went to a very cool tomb (Humayun’s Tomb), which was in fact the inspiration for the Taj Mahal! The grounds were beautiful, and I got my first upclose view of bats!! I can’t wait to see what the Taj Majal is like, because I think this tomb was fantastic…
We will spend a day traveling to the Taj Mahal tomorrow, and then, sadly, we leave India early the next day… We’ve loaded up on great Indian food, after tomorrow, we’ll switch to phase two of our trip and begin gorging ourselves on Peking Duck and Dim Sum in China!
(Pictures have been uploaded to my previous posts, FYI – check them out!!)
Leave a Comment » | Entrepreneurship, India, Mayfield Fellows | Tagged: delhi, Entrepreneurship, fellow, India, mayfield | Permalink
Posted by jonkburns
May 24, 2008
We Mayfield Fellows are hardcore in our mission to meet as many contacts as possible in the business ecosystem of India. Yesterday was a testament to this. We flew into Bangalore early (ie, got up at 330am, ouch!), and went straight to our first meeting with Silicon Valley Bank’s India office. We learned a great deal about their work here in India in facilitating deals and providing services to start-ups and invstors. We also enjoyed their hospitality as we ate their entire store of Good Day biscuits”!
After this meeting we were in high spirits. Little did we know our next meeting would turn out to be quite an adventure. We were to meet with GE Research’s Director of IP at 530pm in an area of town called White Field, a 1hr trip. We had hired a personal driver with an SUV, which was a good decision as a monsoon began to pour down on us as we left our hotel! The drive was quite “interesting” — from the flooding roadways, to the auto-rikshaws and buses seemingly trying to hit us, to the car that we actually did hit (!), to hearing “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” over and over and over again whenever our driver backed up…yeah, let’s just say we were happy to reach White Field. But that wasn’t all. GE Research employs over 5000 people and is a huge campus. And yet, actually finding the place was nearly impossible! We persevered and found the campus, had a great meeting with the Director – a great example of “Intrapreneurship” in India with GE.
Now, that wasn’t the end of our adventure. The ride back was just as hairy – I’m just glad I wasn’t in the back of the car as 2 buses nearly rammed into us (Kaan was lucky, let’s just say)…! This journey is a little hazy for me though as I zonked out. All I remember is two things – 1) the crunch of a motorcycle hitting a tree near us (not our fault, or was it?), and 2) momentarily waking up and seeing the side of a bus within inches of my face. But we made it, and all was well.
Today was much tamer, our day off – some sightseeing and well needed R&R.
Tomorrow is our last day in Bangalore, and then we hit the sweltering heat of Dehli! But we’re tough. We’ll pull through, don’t worry! You can count on the Mayfield Fellows!!!
Leave a Comment » | Entrepreneurship, India, Mayfield Fellows | Tagged: Entrepreneurship, fellow, India, mayfield | Permalink
Posted by jonkburns
May 22, 2008
Well, our time in Mumbai was very short, we spent our 2nd and final day today. It was a great mix of sleep, business, and play. After a very exciting Manchester United win, half of the team spent the better part of the morning sleeping in until noon. That would include me. The other half (the better half I might add) spent this time enriching their perspectives by visiting the Ghandi Museum, which they said was very good…
We were productive today as well, as we had a great meeting with a venture capitalist with the Seed Fund, an early stage investment house focused on Indian startups dealing with education, IT, services, etc. It was a great meeting that almost never happened as the taxi drivers we commissioned didn’t know where the building was at all! Somehow we made it, on berkeley time of course (which is acceptable in India I’m told…).
To cap the night off, we just returned from a fantastic dinner on the rooftop of a hotel near the “Gateway of India” monument, which is on the water off of downtown Mumbai. Great views, super chill music, and probably some of the best Indian food I’ve ever eaten were had. Plus great company of course. Which leads me back full circle to the lesser half of the group who were intelligent enough to get enough sleep this morning. Ah, the art of spin…!
We head to Bangalore tomorrow VERY EARLY, leaving at 4am. Looks like this blogger will be running on fumes, but that’s the way I roll. Next time…pictures, I promise!!!
Leave a Comment » | Countries, India, Mayfield Fellows, Type of Experience | Tagged: Entrepreneurship, fellow, India, mayfield, venture capital | Permalink
Posted by jonkburns
