Lessons from Senior Design and a Shifting Interpretation of Appropriate Technology

In this paper we describe how engineering-for-society and the participatory design process is integrated into our senior design program. Two ongoing projects, the ‘Mali Sorghum Project’ and the ‘Ethiopian Injera Project’, are discussed as a means of illustrating how the engineering requirements and constraints, the cultural aspects and gender roles, and the economic and business challenges found in material resource poor populations are addressed in this integration process. Keywords—Development engineering, humanitarian engineering