Last week I was a judge at a global technology design symposium, put on by Rice University's Beyond Traditional Borders program. While in Swaziland, our clinic mentored young, smart engineers who came to Swaziland to see what technologies we needed to help take care of our patients. Their task was to design useful, cost efficient medical technologies for the developing world. Well, just last week, Rice hosted students from all over the US, to come compete with their projects. Everything from autoclaves to lab machines to IV pumps to a simulated placenta, all were presented to a panel of judges in the engineering and medical professions. We then helped pick the winners.
But the real winner in my eyes was one of the students from last summer, who came to Swaziland with a very very simple technology, a clip that helps dose liquid medications from a syringe. My colleague and I thought this clip was fantastic, and put him in touch with the Clinton Health Access Initiative. Now, one year later, 200,000 clips are being sent to Swaziland to help accurately dose the liquid medications that the children need to prevent HIV transmission. The students were recognized on stage by President Bill Clinton at his Clinton Global Initiative University, a conference held in San Diego a few weeks ago.
What an incredible world we live in!
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Despite my attempts to influence you to choose Rice at 18, you chose UVA instead. I'm thrilled to see that you are now JUDGING Rice competitions and finding that the simplest inventions can be the best! YAY!
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