Former U.S. President Bill Clinton Inspires ETH Zurich Students

Former U.S. President Bill Clinton hosted the Clinton Global Initiative University (CGI U) last weekend on the sunny U.C. Berkeley campus inviting students, including three from ETH Zurich, to engage a network of more than 7,500 students from 925 institutions, and 145 countries. Each student participating in CGI U proposes a "Commitment to Action" that addresses challenges in education, the environment, human rights, the alleviation of poverty, and public health. As part of the CGI U consortium, ETH Zurich provides mentorship and limited seed funding to support its students in implementing their projects.

Eco-cycled 3D Printed Medical Devices
When ETH Zurich graduate student Georgios-Marios Papadopoulos and visiting researcher Aikaterini-Alexandra Zafeiropoulou observed recycling practices in Switzerland and other European countries, they became determined to realize a more environmentally sustainable solution to waste management in their home country of Greece. Papadopoulos' research in robotics, automated control, and entrepreneurship was a perfect match for Zafeiropoulou, who studies bio-medical and chemical engineering at TU Delft. Together they proposed to the Clinton Global Initiative University (CGI U) program a "Commitment to Action" to incentivize recycled plastics in a project called, "3D Eco-cycling."

Through the mentorship and support of ETH and the CGI U they hope to revolutionize waste management in Greece. The sustainable model that they have envisioned motivates people to think of waste as a capital resource. Their first project proposes a way utilize PET bottles and other plastic waste material, supplied by their clients, to create a 3D print filament. From the recycled plastic filament, they will generate customized 3D print products to meet their client/supplier's needs.

"We envision bringing value to medical centers where recyclable plastic PET bottles are '3D eco-cycled' into low cost medical equipment – such as syringes, stethoscopes, and thermometers," says Papadopolous. His team anticipates advancing technology that will allow 3D eco-cycling to expand beyond plastics using recycled glass, metal, and other raw materials. Papadopoulos previously participated in CGI U 2014 with a commitment to action called, “externe SeiteRobotics to Improve Healthcarecall_made” that was sponsored by the Ambassodor Gianna Angelopoulos and received awards in both national and international competitions.

Harnessing Solar Energy with Better Batteries
George Shaikouski's proposal for a cost-effective solution to keep refrigerators in impoverished African communities functioning around the clock earned him a place at this year's CGI U meeting. A graduate student at ETH Zurich's Information Technology and Electrical Engineering Department, Shaikouski acknowledged that there is a growing trend toward solar panel use in developing countries, but solar panels do not generate energy 24-hours per day. This means that during the night, essential devices like refrigerators function using a diesel generator back-up or they simply do not run at all.

"I am looking into a solution where a photovoltaic system plus a small battery can guarantee all day (and night) operation of a refrigerator, vital for keeping food fresh and preventing diseases," says Shaikouski. His current academic research involves a joint project with Daimler Business Innovation (Mercedes-Benz) and ETH Zurich's Institute for Dynamic Systems and Control to build battery storage for the electric grid based on Li-ion electric car batteries and a distributed control system architecture. The project aims to enable individual batteries to act as stand-alone energy storage.

An App for Managing Student Stress
The Clinton Foundation also hosted its annual Codeathon over the weekend in a two-day event that celebrates the intersection of social impact and technology. The Codeathon brought together nearly 60 student designers from across disciplines to generate an innovative mobile application prototype to address the problem of mental health on university campuses. Chelsea Clinton along with three other judges from the healthcare and IT industries judged the competition and personally congratulated two winning teams, one of which included ETH Zurich graduate student, George Shaikouski.

Shaikouski and his team created a mobile app that they named, "Quokka" after the “happiest animal in the world.” Quokka helps first year students adjust to the daily stressors of university life and new environments. Whether the stressor is the result of a new city, country, language, or culture, the app fosters positive mental health practices into their new campus experience.

Together Shaikouski, Papadopolous, and Zafeiropoulou proudly represented ETH Zurich at the Clinton Global Initiative University meeting and look forward making a difference in the world.