Megan Partridge ’14
Civil and Environmental Engineering
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.
2011
Health
The Soboyejo Research Group, Mpala Research Centre, Kenya & Princeton University, New Jersey
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