Emily Cummins of the United Kingdom is only 23, but she's already invented a solar-powered refrigerator currently being used in Africa. The thing uses zero electricity, can be partially manufactured locally, and keeps its contents at a cool 6 degrees Celsius (43 F).
"I'm passionate about encouraging young people to reach their creative potential, especially in the field of sustainable design," said Cummins, who learned to tinker in her grandfather's shop as a child. Cummins was recently named an Oslo Business for Peace Honoree, an award bestowed by Nobel Prize winners, and also won a Ten Outstanding Young Persons of the World award from Junior Chamber International, a global nonprofit youth service organization.
via daily mail
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Instead, we may need to rethink our attitudes towards indigenous innovation.
I compared Emily's refrigerator, with similar ones from Africa and India, in my post:
http://littledesignbook.in/2010/11/this-business-of-rural-refrigerators/
There is nothing new under the sun. (Pun intended)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Botijo
To me, this is a classic example of a designer redesigning an object that is in no need of a redesign and, in so doing, complicates the object far beyond its original form. The original technique utilizes two terracotta pots and a lid with some sand. Very simple.
The recognition that this young woman has received for her work is incredibly frustrating.
http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Botijo (in spanish, english article is very poor)
There is absolutely nothing new on this design and she deserves no credit. As said, hundreds of others have built similar devices based on the same principle, this is no different and definitely not better.
But maybe optimized...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Botijo
Re-hashing an article from the Daily Mail, which is a rehash of a press release, is just bad lazy journalism.
Please take a little more care in researching your posts on 77 to maintain the excellent quality of posts that have made this site what it is today.
5 minutes on Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zeer_pot
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coolgardie_safe
and:
http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1936165_1936254_1936632,00.html
It great to see young designers focusing on these real world design and engineering problems - but credit where credit's due - this is not a new concept.
Keep up the good work at core77 and thanks for the great blog.
Drew
Where is the innovation in this product? Where is the invention in this product? Seems like a half baked design project that happened to get a lucky break.
Core77 seems like you've just jumped on the bandwagon with this post.
Another application for the same design could be keeping things warm in the cold ambient, by using the latent heat of another suitable 'phase change material' (liquid-solid) instead of water (also phase change material: liquid-vapor).
Perhaps she gets the recognition in the same way that columbus 'discovered' something that had already been known by humans for millennia.
Mohammed Bah Abba: http://www.celsias.com/article/a-refrigerator-that-runs-without-electricity/