The CITRIS Tech for Social Good Program at UC Davis provides funding support up to $5K to student-led technology development projects in the interest of society. The 2019 funded projects include an app to support women in STEM, a medical supply delivery drone, a smart bin to sort recyclables, & a new pod design by to compete in the 2019 SpaceX hyperloop competition!
An App to Increase Women’s Belonging in STEM
In order to increase women’s belonging in STEM, this app serves as a platform for students to create opportunities to form meaningful communities and meetups, and to find mentors based on common interests. The app collects data on attitudes towards STEM majors and careers, retention rates, and efficacy for success in STEM.
Team
- Eric Harrison, Undergrad, Computer Science
- Megan West, Undergrad, English & Sociology
- Nathandis Wyley, Undergrad, Electrical Engineering
- Susanna Zheng, Undergrad, Psychology
Hyperloop Pod
The Hyperloop Pod Design Team at UC Davis is a student team dedicated to realizing the Hyperloop–a new mode of transportation based on pods moving at transonic speeds in a global network of vacuum tubes. Working towards this goal, we are competing in the annual SpaceX Hyperloop Pod Competition with the purpose of building a half scale, functional pod to race in SpaceX’s vacuum tube.
Learn more about the team here
Medical Supply Delivery Drone
According to the World Health Organization, around 400 million individuals do not have access to essential health services. Part of this is because of the difficulty in delivering medical equipment in remote areas lacking proper infrastructure. The goal of this project is to build a drone that can deliver one kilogram worth of medical equipment such as medicine and first aid to remote areas.
Team
- Sebastian Coronel, Undergrad, Mechanical Engineering
- Trevor Metz, Undergrad, Mechanical Engineering
- Yashdeep Sidana, Undergrad, Aerospace & Mechanical Engineering
- Reiko Yoshizawa, Undergrad, Mechanical Engineering
SmartCAN
To change an existing stigma around throwing away recyclables — an act thought of as time consuming, expensive, and stressful — SmartCAN categorizes trash and recyclable items and sorts them into their respective container.
Team
- Tayah Kirschenmann, Undergrad, English
- Tara Soudbakhsh, Undergrad, Mechanical Engineering