With an idea that began in a Bucky Fuller course about systems thinking, taught by Curt McNamara as part of MCAD's Sustainable Design program, it sparked into what became the focus of my Master's thesis project – the SolDrop solar still concept. SolDrop is an affordable, sustainable, adaptable, and scalable water purification solution designed for the growing number of people living with contaminated water supplies. This biomimetic design is based on modular solar distillation pods, made from recycled plastic bottles and other locally available materials used to purify water at home. The concept was developed using biomimicry methodologies and refined in the context of Biomimicry 3.8’s international 2012-13 Biomimicry Student Design Challenge (BSDC). With a small interdisciplinary team comprised of an industrial designer, graphic designers, and an engineer, we worked on prototyping and developing the plan to bring the SolDrop concept to market As we moved forward with the idea --advancing as one of the top 10 teams from Round 1 to Round 2 of the BSDC competition-- we positioned the concept for developing nations where it could have the most significant impact. We aimed to create a business model and strategy using biomimicry that would result in a robust and resilient systems design. We focused on using a human-centered design approach to refine the design idea for local materials and while engaging local communities in the development and implementation of the project. Stay tuned for more information about the SolDrop project! Categories Biomimicry Published on July 01, 2013 Tags biomimicry Biomimicry Student Design Challenge BSDC Bucky Fuller MCAD sustainable design Solar Still SolDrop Stefanie Koehler systems thinking