Not too many students can say that they are studying at MIT. Even fewer can say that their major is neuroscience. Even more infinitesimal are the number who can say that their picture is in the August issue of Popular Mechanics for class work conducted in Peru. Enter Jackie Gold, a 2005 Spanish River Community High School graduate, and certainly a student to watch.

This winter Jackie spent a month in Compone, Peru with a group of MIT students and faculty working to improve the lives of local citizens. The project was part of a class called the D-Lab run by MIT Professor and rising star Amy Smith. The D-Lab is a selective course with only 30 students accepted from over 100 applicants. The D stands for development, design and dissemination and as part of the class Professor Smith devises ways to improve poverty throughout the world using simple engineering solutions.

Among the projects that the MIT group worked on were water filtration, powering a grain mill with a stationary bike, and mechanical removal of kernels off corn cobs. The main project of the group involved transforming corn cobs into briquettes. The residents of Compone burned corn cobs as sources of heat, causing significant indoor pollution. The pollution was substantially reduced by using corn cob briquettes in place of corn cobs.

Jackie returned home with a new perspective on the world. The month in Peru benefited not only the people of Compone but also Jackie and her fellow students. Being featured in Popular Mechanics was an exciting added bonus for Jackie and these rising star MIT students and faculty.

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