May 2015

 SANTA CLARA, Calif., May 18, 2015 –  Inventing portable solar-powered coolers to store nutritious dairy products in remote communities off the electric grid in rural Mexico. Investigating how best to identify tuberculosis cases in Southeast Asia through the use of data science. Using mobile-mapping technology and marketing to recruit more students and tutors to a successful program for disadvantaged youth in South Africa.

These projects are among nearly 100 that will be showcased at Santa Clara University’s “Research with a Mission” Expo, which will demonstrate the ingenuity and exceptional work of some of its top students, whose efforts are driven by the university’s mission to to foster a more just, humane, and sustainable world.

Santa Clara University’s Miller Center for Social Entrepreneurship is hosting the Expo on Wednesday, May 20, from 2:15 p.m. to 4:15 p.m., at the Locatelli Center on the SCU campus, 500 El Camino Real, Santa Clara, CA 95053.

The Miller Center is partnering with the University Honors Program to feature work from students in the Miller Center’s Global Social Benefit Fellowship program, as well as from the University Honors program and from Wim & Maria Roelandts Grant recipients.

Additional projects that will be presented include:

• Mobile apps and other methods of tracking inventory, mobile payments, sales, customer service queries, and daily business tips for a company that manufactures sanitary napkins to keep girls from missing school every month.
• A drone system for “last mile” delivery of AIDS medicines in Zambia.
• Organic solar cells to produce clean, cheap and flexible alternatives to existing solar technologies.

The Global Social Benefit Fellowship provides a comprehensive program of mentored, field-based study and action research for juniors at SCU. Fellows work on the ground in the developing world within the Global Social Benefit Institute (GSBI®) worldwide network of social entrepreneurs. One former Fellow received a prestigious Fulbright Scholarship for continuing research in Uganda. The Wim and Maria Roelandts Grant funds faculty and student research projects that use science and technology for social benefit, locally and globally. The University Honors Program offers learning opportunities in small, seminar-style classes; seniors conduct a research project with faculty members. One Honors Program alumnus won a prestigious Rhodes Scholarship; one additional Santa Clara University senior plus two alumni received Fulbright Scholarships to study or teach abroad during the coming year.

“Social entrepreneurship is a popular subject in universities across America,” said Keith Warner OFM, director of education and action research at the Miller Center. “At Santa Clara University, we offer undergraduates the opportunity to conduct ‘action research’ – working on campus and in the developing world with GSBI social enterprises to create practical research and products that deliver a positive impact. The Miller Center is investing in the full entrepreneurial potential of its students through the Fellowship and Roelandts Grant programs.”

“We are excited to bring together our students to present the results of their efforts,” said Dr. Leilani Miller, associate professor of biology, and director of the Office of Student Fellowships, University Honors Program, and LEAD Scholars Program (no family relationship to the Miller Center). “The Santa Clara University Honors Program is providing our students with the skills they need to lead and contribute to enterprises here in Silicon Valley and around the world.”

About the Miller Center for Social Entrepreneurship
Founded in 1997, the Miller Center for Social Entrepreneurship is one of three Centers of Distinction at Santa Clara University. The Miller Center accelerates global, innovation-based entrepreneurship in service to humanity. Its strategic focus is on poverty eradication through its three areas of work: The Global Social Benefit Institute, Impact Capital, and Education and Action Research. To learn more about the Center or any of its social entrepreneurship programs, please visit www.scu.edu/MillerCenter.

About Santa Clara University
Santa Clara University, a comprehensive Jesuit, Catholic university located 40 miles south of San Francisco in California’s Silicon Valley, offers its more than 9,000 students rigorous undergraduate curricula in arts and sciences, business, and engineering; master’s degrees in business, education, counseling psychology, pastoral ministry, and theology; and law degrees and engineering Ph.D.s. Distinguished nationally by one of the highest graduation rates among all U.S. master’s universities, California’s oldest operating higher-education institution demonstrates faith-inspired values of ethics and social justice. For more information, see www.scu.edu.

Media Contacts
Deborah Lohse | SCU Media Relations | dlohse@scu.edu | 408-554-5121
Jaime Gusching | Miller Center Marketing | jgusching@scu.edu | 408-551-6048
 
 
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