AST Research

There is an urgent need to develop appropriate and sustainable technologies (ASTs) that are more specific to the developing world. Appropriate technology is usually characterized as being small scale, energy efficient, environmentally sound, labor-intensive, and controlled by the local community. It must be simple enough to be maintained by the people using it. Furthermore, it must match the user and the need in complexity and scale and must be designed to foster self-reliance, cooperation and responsibility. On-Going Research l Center for Drinking Water Optimization l GEEN 1400 - Engineering Projects l AST Databases l EDC Research and Development News

ON-GOING RESEARCH

Engineering students under the supervision of engineering faculty at the University of Colorado, Boulder have conducted various studies on appropriate technologies as part of their engineering classes. Examples include:

	Rope pumps for water wells and ram pumps
	Solar water pumping
	Water pasteurization (SolSaver system)
	Water storage and water treatment systems
	Micro-hydro systems
	Solar, wind and hybrid systems for energy production
	Solar heating, cooling, and cooking systems
	PV computer systems
	Phytoremediation and wastewater treatment
	Pesticide removal and drinking water treatment methods
	Cleaning Up Chemical from Carpet Washing in Afghanistan
	Biomass and Biofuel
	Thin-Shell Acrylic Concrete Roofs
	Sustainable building technology
	UV disinfection
	Compressed earth blocks (CEB)
	Biomass briquettes
	Sustainable Building Technology
	Improvement of existing clay pots units (filtron) for filtering purposes

CENTER FOR DRINKING WATER OPTIMIZATION

The Center for Drinking Water Optimization was established at CU Boulder in October 1997 with funding from the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA), Office of Groundwater and Drinking Water (OGWDW). The mission is to develop and provide a framework to achieve total system optimization of the nation's drinking water utilities, which will lead to maximizing public health protection.
 

GEEN 1400 - ENGINEERING PROJECTS

GEEN 1400 is a three-credit hour course offered to engineering students through the Integrated Teaching and Learning Laboratory in the College of Engineering at CU Boulder. This course is a first-year interdisciplinary and hands-on engineering project course for entry level engineering students. Since 2002, CU students have been able to sign up for a section that emphasizes appropriate technology for the developing world.

Click here to read about various appropriate technology design projects selected by students in one of the sections of GEEN 1400 since Fall'02.