Improving Fathers' Involvement in ECD

Many children in Cape Town, South Africa do not grow up with an involved father in their lives, often leading them to engage in delinquent behaviors. This project aimed to help the Centre for Early Childhood Development (CECD) improve the involvement of fathers in early childhood development (ECD) in Cape Town. We conducted interviews with experts on father involvement, principals of ECD centers, and fathers of young children to gain different perspectives from multiple key informants. From these interviews, we identified challenges fathers face and supports they need. We developed a father involvement program for the CECD to implement through ECD centers across Cape Town. The recommended program is intended to improve the relationships of families in Cape Town

Automotive Waste Heat Recovery: A Semi-Truck Exhaust Application

The goal of this project was to determine the feasibility of using thermoelectric generation as a method of collecting waste heat from a standard semi-truck exhaust system. Prior research regarding the efficacy of thermoelectric generators to reclaim wasted energy in mechanical processes inspired this project. A device for housing thermoelectric generators on the exhaust stack of a semi-truck was designed and optimized based on its structural integrity, potential power generation, and subsequent cost savings. Results from simulation models predict that the device would improve fuel efficiency by at least 4.96%