Megan Partridge ’14

Major

Civil and Environmental Engineering

Project Title

Just a Drop in the Bucket: Ceramic Water Filters for Global Health

I spent the summer introducing point-of-use colloidal silver impregnated ceramic ­water filtration technology to communities in Kenya, with the ultimate goal of ­reducing ­water-borne disease and stimulating economic development. After conducting ­laboratory tests at Princeton to determine the microbial removal and flow rate of the filter ­technology and designing a baseline survey and follow-up assessments to ­analyze the ­filter’s practical effect on user health and wealth, I initiated a six-month pilot ­project in ­Kenya. My work in Kenya provided insight into the design, distribution, and ­implementation of low-cost ceramic water filtration technology in a rural village. I conducted laboratory and field testing to begin identifying and evaluating customer ­benefits and opportunities for product refinement and a marketing entry strategy. I also ­developed community outreach programs for health and sanitation education. I hope to see the pilot project develop into a sustainable private sector supply chain for ­ceramic water filters in Kenya.



Internship Year

2011

Project Category

Health

Organization(s)

The Soboyejo Research Group, Mpala Research Centre, Kenya & Princeton University, New Jersey

Mentor(s)

Mahiri Mwita, Lecturer in Princeton Institute for International and Regional Studies; Winston Soboyejo, Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering and the Princeton Institute for the Science and Technology of Materials; Tiffany Tong, Graduate Stude