Grand Challenges
Building Community: Students Help Provide Clean Water to Impoverished Families in Haiti
Sometimes small changes are the best solution to grand challenges. That’s what three students learned this summer when they traveled to Haiti to improve access to clean water for a group of families living in the village of Monchil, a suburb of Jacmel. History major Sarah Nusbaum ’13 (South Salem, N.Y.), English and psychology double [...]
Grand Challenges: Students Take on Water Issues in Haiti, Uganda, and Pakistan
The challenges facing society in this century are large, but not insurmountable, as three teams of Lafayette students are learning firsthand this summer. Each group is working on solutions involving engineering as part of the National Academy of Engineering Grand Challenges Scholars Program (GCSP). Most schools with active Grand Challenges Scholar programs are engineering schools at [...]
Jared Katz ’12 Presents Research at International Archeology Conference
By Michele Tallarita ’12 Jared Katz ’12 was one of the few undergrads selected to present research at the Society for American Archeology (SAA) annual meeting in Memphis, Tenn., last month. Katz, who graduated May 19, presented a paper entitled “Music of the Grave: The Significance of Music in Ancient Maya Funerary Ceremonies.” The SAA [...]
Grand Challenges: Yue Yuan ’12 and Felix Hutchison ’12 Build Electrical Models to Mimic the Human Brain
What if the breakthrough treatment for Alzheimer’s disease isn’t in a pill but in a computer? What if a paralysis victim could operate an electronic device just using the power of the mind? These are questions that Yue “Luna” Yuan ’12 (Wuhan, China), a mechanical engineering and policy studies dual major, and Felix Hutchison ’12 (Plainsboro, [...]
Jared Katz ’12 and Katherine Metcalf ’12 Study Ancient Languages to Improve Electronic Translation Programs
Anyone who has ever studied a foreign language or traveled to a country with limited knowledge of its language knows the value of electronic translation methods. Every language has nuances that aren’t always clear to a translating program, so Jared Katz ’12 (Stoneham, Mass.) and Katherine Metcalf ’12 (Springfield, Va.) are attempting to improve natural language processing (NLP) [...]
Living through New Zealand Quake Inspires Emily Melvin ’12 to Improve Emergency Plans for Study Abroad Students
When natural disasters strike, “the need to rebuild” is a common catchphrase. But for Emily Melvin ’12 (Seaford, N.Y.), restoring infrastructure is only half the battle in recovery. The rest involves something much less tangible – rebuilding lives. She got a taste of what it’s like to live through a natural disaster when a 6.3 [...]
Students Face ‘Grand Challenges’ with Interdisciplinary Approaches
“At 12:51 p.m., I was outside talking to a friend when the ground began to shake. We moved away from the apartment building that we were standing under and watched as it swayed back and forth. Having never been in an earthquake, none of us were aware of how strong it had actually been,” says [...]
Students Will Tackle Grand Challenges Facing Society
The people who will solve the challenges currently facing our society are most likely sitting in classrooms right now. And the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) wants to hear their ideas. Lafayette College is one of a handful of schools nationwide that is participating in the NAE’s Grand Challenges Scholars Program, in which students are [...]
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