Brad Rogers

Brad Rogers is a Professor of Engineering and Engineering Technology at ASU Polytechnic campus and Director of R&D for GlobalResolve, a social entrepreneurship program to start business ventures around solutions for developing countries. His research and teaching involve thermodynamics, heat transfer, fluid mechanics and rural development. He won the ASU Creasman Award in 2009 for Excellence for his work in GlobalResolve.

Brad Rogers has applied for and been awarded 1 grant

• GlobalResolve: Development of the Twig Light

  Began May, 2009 and ended August, 2010

  GlobalResolve, a social entrepreneurship program at Arizona State University, respectfully requests an E-team grant of $19,000 to support the development, testing, initial distribution and evaluation of a technology developed at ASU that produces clean, ultra low cost lighting. The project was conceived during interviews conducted by GlobalResolve with villagers and poor urban dwellers in the West African country of Ghana, in which a commonly identified problem was the need for affordable, clean lighting. Responding to this challenge, an innovative technology called the Twig Light has been developed in which a low cost, compact thermoelectric generator, powered by combustion of small pieces of wood or other combustible material, is used to light a bank of LED lights sufficient to illuminate a small room. This project has the following primary objectives: • Perfect the existing prototype to overcome identified technical problems and manufacturing issues. • Manufacture 20 units and distribute them to homes in the sub-Saharan African countries of Malawi and Ghana as part of the GlobalResolve African trip during July and August of 2009, which is already scheduled and funded. • Return to Malawi and Ghana during the Summer of 2010 to evaluate performance and acceptance of the technology, and initiate commercial enterprise. We believe that this innovative idea has potential to improve the economic and social conditions of impoverished people, and we hope that NCIIA will view this project as a natural extension of its efforts and respond favorably to this request.

  With the team:

  • Brad Rogers
  • Dr. Mathews Mary Sponsored Projects Officer, Sponsored Project Services, Arizona State University at the Polytechnic Campus
  • Dr. Scott Danielson Chair, Engineering Technology, Arizona State University at the Polytechnic Campus