Returned Fellows 2017 - 2018

Paige spent her fellowship year in Friedland, Germany, partnering with the Innere Mission and Caritas Friedland to provide support for refugees and migrants. Friedland originally opened in 1945 and is the oldest German refugee camp. It was established by the British military as a transit camp for German expellees and war returnees from Eastern Europe. Today, Friedland is home to hundreds of immigrants seeking asylum in Germany. In the first half of 2015, Germany received twice as many applications for protection than in the entire previous year. Friedland is the first stop for many refuges before they are resettled in other parts of Germany.

For her project, Paige conducted research with the Women’s Center at Caritas Friedland.

David spent his fellowship year in Ketura, Israel, working with the Arava Institute, a leading environmental studies and research program in the Middle East. Travelling throughout Israel and Palestine, he witnessed firsthand many of the environmental justice issues stemming from the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, from communities in Area C of the West Bank being deprived of centralized water and electricity due to complicated (optional: and discriminatory) Israeli planning laws to wastewater overflowing in Negev Bedouin villages due to disagreements between the Palestinian Authority and the Israeli government.

David worked with the Arava Institute to help evaluate the water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) aid projects implemented throughout the West Bank. Through Arava, he had opportunities to work with leaders in the environmental movement and with regional water professionals as they investigate ways to sustainably manage the region’s fragile water resources. For his final product, David conducted a sustainability assessment of WASH projects in the West Bank through interviews and surveys, with a focus on greywater and wastewater reuse projects. He hopes to publish the results with partners from the Arava Institute by the end of 2018.

Henry spent his fellowship year working in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, with Nia Technologies. Henry focused on designing clinical implementation strategies for 3D printed prosthetics in one of Nia’s partner clinics, Comprehensive Community Based Rehabilitation in Tanzania (CCBRT). As an undergraduate at Duke, Henry focused on the intersections of 3D printing technology and prosthetic design, and was especially drawn to examining the efficacy of the use of 3D printed prosthetics as a method for increasing access to prosthetic care in underserved communities.  

In conducting his field research, Henry worked closely with prosthetists at CCBRT, and applied design thinking principles to collaboratively solve clinical bottlenecks and issues using 3D printed prosthetic technology. For his final project, Henry created a framework for future 3D printing operations of CCBRT, developed a process for creating 3D printed upper limb prosthetic sockets and devices, and designed multiple prototypes of sensor-based clinical technologies.