Honors Solar Team
October 23, 2015
By Emma Alexander, Honors Communications Intern
Earlier this week, the Purdue Honors College hosted Meet the Innovator: Keri Kukral, co-founder and CEO of Raw Science as well as a proud Purdue alumnus. Keri is also partnering with the Purdue Honors College to provide an exciting opportunity to students in the form of an interdisciplinary, semester-long project. The project looks to aid in the installation of a 20 kW solar power system to power the Inwelle Center in Nigeria. The Inwelle Center is a STEM school specifically for girls, and the system of solar panels will provide the school with a reliable source of power and ensure they are able to stay connected to the internet.
In short, a team of Purdue Honors College students is currently working this solar project that stands to improve the lives of thousands of people on the other side of the globe. But how does the team intend to do this? The Solar Team’s student leader Theresa Saenz explains,
An organization called GRID Alternatives will be coming to Purdue to train our team in solar panel installation. We'll then be using a teleconferencing program called VSee that is designed for low internet speed regions such as rural Nigeria, as well as virtual reality cameras, to help teach the students in Nigeria how to install their panels. The entire project will be documented by Raw Science TV, and if it is successful, it will be used as a model for installing panels at other schools in rural Africa.
Following the solar project, several team members will be traveling to the Raw Science Film Festival in Los Angeles where their work will be featured in a documentary. Even more exciting though, is the invitation the team has received to visit the Inwelle Center in Nigeria to see the panels and meet the students they worked with in person.
“This project is just unbelievable in terms of its scope. We are helping to start something that could improve the education of thousands of people, and I'm proud to be a part of it.” -Theresa Saenz
To learn more about Keri and the other incredible science and technology projects changing the world please visit http://www.rawscience.tv/.
