Ashray ~ BU ’19

I had a wonderful experience taking part in the humanitarian engineering course at the American University of Beirut. We first had the opportunity to hear from a diverse group of experts on the refugee crisis in Lebanon as well as develop a sense for the kinds of tools and resources needed to address this crisis. Additionally, we were immediately able to put all this information into action by taking part in a hackathon as part of the course. Based on the feedback we received from refugees in the settlement, we decided to address the need for clean and adequate water in the community. We were able to assess the quality of water from wells in the settlement and able to develop a prototype for a novel filter design that would allow the settlement to use its own water rather than buying it from external sources. Overall, this experience has enabled me to discover and reflect on my own interests and get a better sense for the work I would like to pursue in the future.

Ashray is pictured above visiting the Shawiche’s home with his team: Fidda (Professional, Lebanon),  Anne (Norway), Sofie (BU), and Aline (AUB)

Ashray will graduate from BU with his biomedical engineering degree in the spring of 2019. He participated in the July 2018 session.