Fluid Innovation

Though a global pandemic made travelling to South Africa to build a hydroponic gardening system on-site impossible, one School of Engineering Senior Design Conference team still delivered. Winning the Engineering Humanitarian Award, teammates Andrew Feldmeth, Alex Estrada, Claire Pavelka, Andrew Jezak, Katya Fairchok, all ’20, and Carson Edgerton ’21, worked with a South African high school via video chat to build a system that filters greywater from the kitchen to grow produce without the need for soil. They also built a working prototype at campus’ Forge Garden, which produced lettuce that was donated to local food-insecure families.