Wish For Wash

The Georgia Tech Engineers Without Borders Wish for WASH team has the ultimate goal of bringing innovative research, design and education solutions to global water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) problems that plague society both domestically and abroad. Our work aligns with the United Nations' 6th Sustainable Development Goal that seeks to ensure access to water and sanitation for all by 2030.

Our EWB-GT team's current projects are as follows:

1. Design Thinking Team Over the past 4 years Wish for WASH has been running design thinking workshops and courses with partners such as OpenIDEO, The Paideia School, The Weber School, Girl Scouts of Atlanta, and the Museum of Design Atlanta as a part of our educational and advocacy workstream. Through our workshops and curricula we seek to empower the next generation of STEM learners, design thinkers, and human-centered problem-solvers to use empathic, interdisciplinary and iterative tools to build sustainable and inclusive innovation in the water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) sector, helping the world reach the 6th Sustainable Development Goal by 2030.

2. Menstrual Health and Bioplastics Research Team looks to investigate further the sustainability of menstrual products in the US and the EU and publish a paper based on these findings. We recently completed single-material testing to determine which materials to utilize in pad construction based on properties such as absorption and pH. In the fall, we will begin composite testing based on our findings.

3. Septic Innovation Research Team seeks to research and develop a new septic systems to replace those failing in coastal regions due to climate change and increased flooding. Last semester, we focused on looking at target communities and researching a biofilm coating procedure. This year, we plan to start working on the procedure in a wet lab.

4. Period Futures is a project that seeks to spark curiosity, conversation, and commitment in the menstrual health space through provocation, amplification, and incubation. At the end of last year, the team finished writing a research paper on critical gaps in the menstrual health space and what actions need to be taken to address these issues.