Other Affiliated Programs: Global Social Impact Fellowship

Students on Summer Project Team:
Brianna Cimaglia '21, International Relations & Economics
Jakob Donoghue '21, IDEAS
Samantha Powers '23, Industrial & Systems Engineering
Brianna Wanbaugh '21, Materials Science & Engineering
Rozhin Zahrouni '22, Molecular Biology

Faculty Mentor(s): Sabrina Jedlicka, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and Associate Professor of Materials Science & Engineering; Christina Haden, Professor of Practice, Mechanical Engineering & Mechanics

Project Video: Click here to view

Project description:
Copra, the dried sections of the meat of coconuts, is valued for its many uses including coconut oil extract, but is also a major agricultural export for the Philippines. It is often processed using traditional, time-consuming and inefficient methods including sun-drying and smoke-drying, before being processed into its various products. This project’s goal is to improve copra processing and process streamlining for increased income of copra farmers in the Philippines. Identified needs include a faster, all-weather processing technique that yields better copra quality compared to manual methods, and a way for farmers to communicate over long distances.