Developing countries

Engineers at MIT have found a way to cut the cost of solar-powered drip systems by half, by optimizing the drippers. Furthermore, these new drippers can halve the pumping power required to irrigate, lowering energy bills for farmers. Pictured is an example of a current drip system.

Watering the world

New design cuts costs, energy needs for drip irrigation, bringing the systems within reach for more farmers.

April 19, 2017

Tata Center students and staff pose with Ratan Tata (center-right), chair of the Tata Trusts.

Tata Center adds 14 new projects to its portfolio for 2017-18

MIT principal investigators will apply cutting-edge research to the challenges of the developing world, seeking a large-scale impact.

April 7, 2017

MIT D-Lab researcher Eric Verploegen (seated) kicks off a CITE evaluation of vegetable cooling technologies with partners at the World Vegetable Center.

MIT researchers launch technology evaluations for global development in Mali, India

MIT's Comprehensive Initiative on Technology Evaluation announces its latest product evaluations and global partnerships.

April 6, 2017

Renato Lima de Oliveira in front of a shipyard in Baku, Azerbaijan.

Grounded in geology

PhD student Renato Lima de Oliveira examines how a country's natural resources affect its politics and policies.

April 6, 2017

“In the future I want to be an innovator of the visual arts, with respect to technology. To become a technical artist, if you will,” senior Evan Denmark says. While interning at Pixar Animation Studios last summer, Denmark built tools for modeling artists to use to when creating animations.

Exploring the world and filming the unfamiliar

Senior Evan Denmark explores new cultures through travel and documentary making.

March 28, 2017

MIT scientists have found that climate change will likely worsen drought conditions in parts of Africa, dramatically reshaping the production of maize throughout sub-Saharan Africa as global temperatures rise over the next century.

Climate change to worsen drought, diminish corn yields in Africa

Over the next century, southern Africa will see widespread decreases in maize production.

March 16, 2017

MIT's Maria T. Zuber and Conservation International's Peter Seligmann

MIT, Conservation International announce collaboration on climate adaptation and mitigation

Collaboration will explore ways of working with natural systems to address climate change.

January 27, 2017

Kevin Kung, a Tata Fellow and PhD candidate in biological engineering, feeds rice husks into the torrefaction reactor in his lab at MIT. A thermochemical process will convert the biomass to a more energy-dense form, making it easier to transport and use as fuel.

Tapping the hidden value of farm waste

MIT researchers are developing mobile torrefaction technology that can convert biomass into clean-burning fuel, unlocking potential income for farmers.

January 25, 2017

MIT Assistant Professor Amos Winter (right, blue shirt) and Tish Scolnik ’10 were inspired to build a more rugged wheelchair after visits to Tanzania.

Building the mountain bike of wheelchairs

An MIT professor helped turn a class project into a mass-produced product that is helping people in developing countries.

January 23, 2017

“MIT has not only provided a very valuable classroom experience, but also given me all these other tools in research, technology innovations, and social entrepreneurship that I can take and [use to] help people in developing countries,” says Jiwon Park, a chemistry major, global traveler, and accomplished pianist.

Jiwon Park: Reaching out to the world

MIT senior leads diverse projects to help women and students in developing countries.

January 23, 2017

Researchers are systematically exploring a variety of alternative packaging materials and containers to see which work best, and most cost-effectively, at reducing losses in food aid. Pictured are food aid bags in a Texas warehouse.

Reducing spoilage in food aid shipments

Large-scale tests compare damage from insects and moisture using a variety of containers.

January 6, 2017

A new study estimates that, since 2008, access to mobile-money services — which allow users to store and exchange monetary values via mobile phone — increased daily per capita consumption levels of 194,000, or roughly 2 percent, of Kenyan households, lifting them out of extreme poverty (living on less than $1.25 per day).

Study: Mobile-money services lift Kenyans out of poverty

Greater access to services raises daily spending, especially among female-headed households.

December 8, 2016

MAX, a fledgling Nigerian startup, is trying to solve the problem of so-called “last-mile delivery” in cities where many people don’t have an address. Company co-founder Adetayo Bamiduro MBA ’15 will tell MAX’s story to a London audience at an upcoming MIT conference on entrepreneurship and finance in the developing world.

In London, extending MIT’s entrepreneurial ecosystem

Five events build connections between industry, startups, governments, faculty members, and financiers.

December 5, 2016

The TechCon conference, hosted by MIT and USAID's Higher Education Solutions Network from Nov. 10 - 12, convened researchers and innovators to collaborate on solving global issues.

At TechCon, science-based solutions for world issues

Innovators and researchers tackle global issues through actionable research and collaboration.

November 15, 2016

Ruo-Qian Wang (left) worked with engineers at Jain Irrigation Systems in Jalgaon, India, to understand the design requirements for high-efficiency irrigation technology.

Re-engineering the sprinkler

New MIT research on the flow of water in flexible tubes could make irrigation technology more sustainable and cost-effective.

November 9, 2016

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