Low cost solar heating and distillation systems

A college-based grass-roots project has been created to design and construct low cost solar heating and distillation systems for impoverished communities. The project (announced on October 9, 2008 at http://wiki.arialhome.org/College_Engineering_Challenge ) offers college teams $1,000 cash awards for proven ideas which improve living conditions for poor families in developing countries. There is no limit to the number of Awards, and all ideas that end up in a production product will be rewarded.
Teams must complete an application form by December 15, 2008 and submit all product ideas by June 1, 2009. Up to $500 in materials cost reimbursement will be available to the first 50 applicants whose idea submission is approved. Additional details on the competition are posted at the competition wiki site.
The solar powered heating and distillation projects are one component of the Arial Home Initiative which is sponsored by the Arial Foundation. The goal of this organization is to offer a low cost, panel manufacturing "factory-in-a-box" to any philanthropic or government organization in the world that is building schools, clinics, or homes for poor families. The metal insulated panels would be manufactured locally by unskilled workers and would enable classrooms, clinics or homes to be field assembled in one day with a small team of volunteers. Units have already been constructed in the United States and Ensenada, Mexico where a "proof of concept" production facility to manufacture the housing has been in operation for the past year.
This low-cost project is one that can achieved by any number of Mechanical Engineering students, as a class project, capstone design challenge, ASME Student Section activity, or as an engineering outreach program.
Vince Wilczynski
Head, Department of Engineering
U.S. Coast Guard Academy
Vice President, ASME Board on Public Awareness