Friends of the Robbins Library presents "D-Lab: Design, Dialogue, Duct Tape" with Amy Smith of MIT, set for Wednesday, May 29, at 7 p.m. in the Community Room of the Robbins Library.

The award-winning D-Lab at MIT takes an innovative approach to addressing poverty through technology design. Collaborations between D-Lab student teams and community partners around the world lead to innovations and improved processes that increase incomes, reduce labor, or enhance quality of life.

These teams design and construct what communities need from whatever materials are at hand.

Some D-Lab innovations include low-cost devices for water testing purification, hand- and pedal-powered maize shellers, a new wheelchair mechanism suited for rugged terrain and processes for making charcoal from agricultural waste.

D-Lab collaborations demonstrate that the capability for innovation exists everywhere, and that people, regardless of their level of formal education, can participate in creating designs that improve their lives significantly.

D-Lab grew out of the dual interests of Smiht, the founder and director.

One objective is to help communities in developing nations to create affordable solutions to their specific needs in agriculture, energy, health, water and sanitation, and housing, using locally available materials and skills.

The D-Lab conducts workshops to get people started, and soon people are creating their own designs and even starting their own businesses.

The second objective of D-Lab is to engage MIT engineering students in the dialogue-design-development-dissemination process. D-Lab is a whole new way of learning for everyone involved.

This event is spondored by Science for the Public.
This program is free and open to the public.

This story was published Sunday, May 12, 2013.