Welcome to our first official Big Ideas @ Berkeley newsletter!

Submitted by annie on Thu, 2007-11-15 15:03. Big Ideas Donor Newsletter

Big Ideas is now supporting over 90 student-led projects that are changing the world. Please forward this to your friends, family and social networks to help spread the word.

New Ideas for Big Ideas
Bears Breaking Boundaries
Seeking Mentors - Alumni, Donors, and Enthusiasts
Featured Big Idea: BAAG
Students in Renewable Energy
Big Ideas Marketplace

New Ideas for Big Ideas

To increase the capacity of the Big Ideas program, we are planning to launch a Student Leadership Council. At our student mixer on November 15th, 2007, students will identify leadership positions that they would be interested in. The event will also include Thomas Kalil and Big Ideas project leaders. Stay tuned for announcements of events that will be open to Big Ideas alumni, donors, and potential partners in the future.

Bears Breaking Boundaries

Our campus-wide Bears Breaking Boundaries 2007 contest was a great success! Seeking out the creativity and innovation of the UC Berkeley community, Big Ideas awarded $150,000 in prize money to the best student-led projects in 10 different areas. We’re now gearing up for BBB 2008! If you’d like to sponsor a contest or have a new contest idea that you’d like to propose, please contact Thomas Kalil (tkalil@berkeley.edu) and Annie Yeh (annieyeh@berkeley.edu).
Also visit http://contest.berkeley.edu to join the mailing list for future announcements.

Seeking Mentors

Are you a Big Ideas donor, a Big Ideas enthusiast, or a UC Berkeley Alum who was involved in the Big Ideas program?

We are seeking volunteers to become external project advisors who would be willing to share their experiences, advice, and connections with our current Big Ideas student teams. Please send an email to Annie Yeh annieyeh@berkeley.edu to describe those areas in which you would be interested in sharing your expertise, or what types of projects you’d be interested in mentoring.

Featured Big Idea: BAAG

Berkeley student researchers join fight against arsenic-contaminated drinking water

On July 1, 2007, two Berkeley student researchers embarked on a 16-day venture to Bangladesh to continue their research on a new technology that removes arsenic from drinking water.

Johanna Mathieu, a Mechanical Engineering graduate student, and Tasnuva Khan, an Economics undergraduate student, are members of the Berkeley Arsenic Alleviation Group (BAAG). In conjunction with scientists at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, BAAG is researching the possible implementation and commercialization of ARUBA (Arsenic Removal Using Bottom Ash), a system that may cheaply and effectively remove arsenic from the world’s drinking water. The technology takes sterile waste material from coal-fired power plants, known as bottom ash, and coats it with ferric hydroxide. When applied to water, the treated particles convert arsenic into a molecule that can be filtered out.

Arsenic-contaminated drinking water is a global public health issue, affecting many countries including India, Chile, Argentina, Hungary, Nepal, Thailand, Australia, China, Mexico and Peru. The problem is especially significant in Bangladesh and the surrounding region, which is currently experiencing the largest case of mass poisoning in human history.

In March 2007, Mathieu and another Big Ideas student, Susan Amrose (PhD, Physics), made a first trip to Bangladesh to test the effectiveness of ARUBA. The trip helped the researchers to clarify new objectives for developing their business plan. After entering and winning first prize in the 2007 Bear Breaking Boundaries/Global Poverty Reduction contest, the team won additional support and funding needed for a second trip to Bangladesh.

By all accounts, this past summer’s trip was another huge success. Not only was the team able to continue their research on improving the ARUBA system, they also collaborated with two Bangladesh universities that gave them access to laboratory facilities and equipment. Arrangements have been made for further collaboration in the future.

The team also had the opportunity to work with Bangladesh’s largest NGO, BRAC (Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee). According to Johanna, “BRAC was great because they have a presence in all the villages. They introduced us to village leaders, which helped us work more efficiently with the community.”

The importance of this research is not only derived from its innovative nature but also its applicability. The BAAG’s vision goes beyond just research, as they are currently developing a business plan to make the ARUBA technology an economically viable project. This would allow this innovation for safe drinking water to move from the lab to communities in Bangladesh.

While they have made significant gains on their project, BAAG has plenty of work ahead of them. For more information on their mission, research and the Bangladesh trip, visit their website at http://arsenic.lbl.gov/index.html.

We would like to thank our donors again for their generous contributions to this project. If you would like to support this project, please go to http://bigideas.berkeley.edu/node/146.

Students in Renewable Energy

Several Big Ideas students doing research in renewable energy were featured in the Nov. 8th edition of UC Berkeley news:
http://www.berkeley.edu/news/media/releases/2007/11/08_pvscene.shtml

Big Ideas Marketplace

If you are interested in supporting a Big Idea, financially or in-kind, please visit our online marketplace and browse amongst the 10 themes: Art & Culture, Education, Entrepreneurship, Environment & Energy, Global Development, Health, Human Rights & Social Justice, IT & New Media, Public Policy, Science & Technology.

You can then GIVE NOW or SPREAD THE WORD. http://bigideas.berkeley.edu