Clean Water From Condensation - Even In The Desert

UMass Boston Biomimicry Student Deckard Sorensen Wins Venture Competition

Apr 13, 2012by Barbara Shepard

On April 11th, Deckard Sorensen and Miguel Galvaz’s Namib Beetle Design won top prize at the Boston College Venture Competition. A biomimicry-inspired product based on the Namib Desert Beetle, the design uses nanotechnology to trap water from condensation to produce a sustainable method of collecting clean drinking water. Top honors them $10,000 to continue improving their product.

Namib Desert Beetle

http://www.asknature.org/strategy/dc2127c6d0008a6c7748e4e4474e7aa1

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Namib_Desert_beetle

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Deckard started with the Namib Beetle idea as his final project design in Professor Anamarija Frankic’s biomimicry class at the University of Massachusetts Boston. They submitted their project to the Biomimicry Institute student design competition. Although the team was not selected they were even more inspired and continued improving the project design with their friends from different disciplines.

As their advisor and Center for Governance and Sustainability Project Director, Anamarija Frankic believes, “the key for success was the team work in doing biomimicry and applying nature’s solutions.”

For more information on the competition click here.

Barbara Shepard

About the author

Barbara Shepard joined the GEG team in June 2011 working as a research intern for the World Watch Institute. She now works for the project as the center coordinator for the Center for Governance and Sustainibility. Barbara graduated from Tufts University in 2010 with a degree in International Relations.