Welcome to the field school where we study more than just rocks ;) Are you wondering what engineering students do here at TBI? If so, this is the post for you! I’m writing to give you a little insight on the work we do. But first, let me introduce myself and my peer: My name [...]
Jambo! The Summer 2023 Field Schools are underway!! This year, we have both an Origins Field School and a Global Innovation Field School, being led by Dr. Nicholas Taylor and Acacia Leakey respectively, with Teaching Assistant Medina Lubisia. We arrived in Turkana earlier today, having spent an amazing few days at Mpala Research Center and [...]
This blog was written in collaboration with Natalie Lubaszka: On Monday June 18th we took a trip to see one of the hand pumps that was installed by a non-governmental organization. When we arrived there was a woman and a few children pumping out water. After speaking to them, with the help of our translator [...]
This blog was written in collaboration with Winnie Wang: Monday, June 11th marked the first day of the second class in the Global Innovation program, EAS 310: Global Design Engineering Innovation. Professor Rodrigo Peña introduced the class and the corresponding assignments. The students’ main responsibility for EAS 310 is to outline a long-term project to [...]
Meet Margaret Shuoro! A teacher at Ileret's primary school. She became a teacher just a year ago but has already inspired many students. Spotlight Teacher: Margaret Shuoro Growing up Daasanach, Margaret experienced many difficulties. Battling through it all she became one of the few in her family to earn an education, going all [...]
This blog was written in collaboration with Konnie Xu: Monday morning the team was energized for a week of finishing up their short-term projects, aimed at improving the daily lives of the Daasanach tangibly. This is to be completed within the two week period of the first course of the Global Innovation program, EAS 312: [...]
This blog was written in collaboration with Sam van der Poel: On the morning of our first full day in Ileret, we were fortunate enough to witness a revered local gathering: a post-wedding ceremony. Typically the day after a marriage family members, friends, and neighbors gather to socialize and enjoy a goat. Men and women [...]
This blog was written in collaboration with student Emily Aviles: Wednesday night the Global Innovation crew went to bed early after dinner and a game of Uno to prepare for a game drive Thursday morning. While animal sightings are never certain on a game drive, the animals were cooperative and did not shy away from [...]
This blog was written in collaboration with Professor Rodrigo Peña: The Global Innovation Field School is on the road again. As we arrived to the Nairobi Airport, on Tuesday May 22nd, unexpected rain with low temperature was waiting for us. Even though the commute was long (almost 24 hours) and made us all exhausted, the [...]
In their final week, the students visit a new area near Sericho, a small fishing town a mile away from the Ethiopian border. Here the group is introduced to new people and a new lifestyle. Very few people in Ileret town use fishing as a means of finding food sources. In fact, it is a [...]
This week the Global Innovation team discussed their ideas for long-term projects. The five short term projects had covered major aspects of the community’s ability to develop sustainably and thus are important topics the group will keep in mind on as they move forward. Among them are access to electricity, water management, building infrastructure, [...]
One of the great prospects that Kenya has is its abundance of open flat land and solar power. Because of this, photovoltaic, or solar panel systems are a very favorable form of obtaining energy for the communities that need it. Professor Rodrigo has created a full day lecture around photovoltaic, or PV, systems to enlighten [...]
Classroom Relocation Project Building a classroom is no small task, but the Global Innovation team is up to it! Last week, after consulting with Mwang’ombe, the team was generously offered many materials from the TBI campus to conduct their project. Metal and plywood was provided from the TBI Ileret facility and TBI staff offered to [...]
On Tuesday May 30th, a vast storm hit the Ileret area and brought an immense amount of rain. Within a short period of 9 hours, TBI Ileret facility documented a record-high rainfall of more than 200 mm (8 inches). This amount is much more than a typical rainstorm at Ileret (~20 mm), and more than [...]
Classroom Relocation Project A new development arises: The day after Alan and Saffron moved the students out of their old classroom and into the dining hall, the local primary school received food rations from the government. (Up until now, the school hadn’t received any rations for three months; hence, the building had been abandoned.) This [...]
A Tour of TBI Last week, students took a tour of the Turkana Basin Institute for the opportunity to see what resources TBI uses, understand what makes the campus so unique, and discover what materials are available to be used in their projects. The first stop was the energy systems of the campus. TBI is [...]
MPALA TO TBI After entering the TBI plane, the students flew north towards Ileret to reach the TBI facility. On the way, they saw new horizons and different landscapes that surprised them: remnants of volcanic reactions, a sea of sand that layers the land, and Lake Turkana. When they arrived in Ileret, the students were [...]
As most people are enjoying the beach and sunshine in the US, some Stony Brook students took a long shot and came to the shores of Lake Turkana, Kenya. They are here for the brand-new Global Innovation Field School! The Global Innovation summer program is organized by the College of Engineering & Applied Sciences, Stony [...]