Georgia Van de Zande

•Worked with a graduate student and an undergraduate student to develop a cost-effective, solar-powered water desalination and purification system to be installed in off-grid Indian villages
•Traveled to various regions of India to conduct user research interviews and understand how consumers interact with current water purification systems
•Designed and built a batch production process setup for a reverse electrodialysis unit and ran desalination tests to determine energy needs of the system at varying salinity levels

•Worked closely with a team of five undergraduate students to lead them through the product design process
•Guided students by asking open-ended questions about design for children and entertainment, allowing them to generate their own ideas
•Attended weekly lab sections with team to help members become comfortable with common tools and techniques used for rapid prototyping

•Worked individually and in groups to complete a series of product design projects over the course of three weeks
•Designed and prototyped MoldMeter, a product used to aid blind people with cleaning their fridges by alerting them if stored food has gone bad
•Studied user needs, product branding, rapid prototyping, graphic design, and presentation skills

•Prototyped and tested two remotely operated underwater vehicles to be built in high school classrooms as engineering exercises
•Mentored sixteen high school students during a one-week engineering program and helped them experience the engineering design process
•Developed and taught labs and curricula for an introductory high school engineering program

•Worked in a group to design and prototype LaserMaze, a toy which allows kids to set up an interactive, customizable maze in their own homes
•Collected and incorporated reviews from elementary school children, academics, and industry professionals throughout the design process to improve LaserMaze
•Presented product to an audience of over four hundred members