Great Problems

Great Problems Project Presentation Day
May 05, 2015


President Leshin chats with Jaime Stephen

and Barrett Wolfson about their winning project.

Not pictured are Taylor Stephen and Joseph Berger.

On April 23, Project Presentation Day, student teams in the Great Problems Seminar presented their recommendations to an array of energy problems faced by communities across the globe. They explored the technical, social, economic, and environmental effects and challenges of power generation in this two-term class, and presented the positive and negative consequences of their proposed solutions.


People’s Choice winners James Macfarlane,

Katie Nugai, Rekik Tafesse, and Nelson Ndahiro

Judges’ Winner: Algae Biofuel Enhancement Project – Taylor Stephen, Jaime Stephen, Joseph Berger, Barrett Wolfson.

People’s Choice Award Winner: Implementing Solar Energy in Desalination Plants in Libya: James Macfarlane, Nelson Ndahiro, Katie Nugai, Rekik Tafesse.

Offices and Departments

Great Problems Seminar

The Great Problems Seminar (GPS) is a two-term course that immerses first-year students into university-level research and introduces them to the project-based curriculum at WPI. As part of The Global School at WPI, the course gives students and faculty the opportunity to step outside their disciplines to solve problems focused on themes of global importance. This culminates in annual Poster Presentation Days that celebrate students’ innovative research on a wide range of solutions to some of the world’s most critical challenges.

Related Stories