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Building minds: How Detroit grows mobility talent

Claire Charlton

February 19, 2018 |

Model D |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Detroit, Michigan

Michigan is becoming a leader in the field of autonomous vehicles. Fifteen colleges and universities across the state have joined in an academic consortium to ensure students entering the workforce will have the necessary skills to advance mobility technology. Competitions in vehicle development and robotics are equipping students to become leaders in the field.

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Here's one idea to make ‘Storrowing' a thing of the past

Matt Rocheleau

February 08, 2018 |

The Boston Globe |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Boston, Massachusetts

A persistent problem in Massachusetts of trucks going through tunnels or underpasses that are too low for safe clearance has prompted officials to look to Sydney, Australia for a possible solution. Officials in that city worked with a private company to develop a system where if a truck is too tall, it triggers a warning so officials can activate a sheet of water at the tunnel entrance upon which is projected the holographic image of a giant red Stop sign. It's proven successful in stopping drivers before they enter the tunnel.

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In Medellin, cable cars transformed slums—in Rio, they made them worse

Anoush Darabi

January 10, 2018 |

Apolitical |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: Colombia, Medellín

In the 20th century, Colombia’s city of Medellin was a center for drugs and violence. Then the city developed a cable car system that enabled cheap transportation for people to find employment. The cable car system revitalized the economy of the city and made it much safer. However, other cities have tried cable cars for revitalization and found less success, even failure.

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Gwadar's Growing Water War

Mariyam Suleman

January 04, 2018 |

Pak Voices |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Pakistan, Gwadar District, Balochistan

When Gwadar’s dams ran dry in May 2017, the government began trucking in water. But the solution is costly, the water isn’t clean, and the trucking companies protested in November, claiming they weren’t paid on time. Desalination is an alternative, but it’s expensive too and fatal design flaws have crippled prior attempts at desalination in the province.

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Officials patched and prayed while pressure built on Houston's dams

Mihir Zaveri

December 15, 2017 |

Houston Chronicle |

Multi-Media |

Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Houston, Texas

Following Hurricane Harvey, Houston officials are taking steps to better prepare the city for flooding. Two damns, Addicks and Barker, have long been in need of repairs to increase their capacity and resilience, and after decades of putting it off – and thousands of homes flooded – the city is hoping to invest in one of the large-scale remedies that have been recommended in the past.

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Harvey overwhelmed some levee systems. Future storms could do worse.

Emily Foxhall

December 14, 2017 |

Houston Chronicle |

Multi-Media |

Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Houston, Texas

The aftermath of Hurricane Harvey left many Houston residents questioning the efficacy of one of the city’s only protections, the Levee Improvement Districts (LID), responsible for providing flood protection. In neighborhoods prone to flooding, there has been much debate about the actual protection the current levees provide, leading many to call for solutions like the expansion of the LIDs through elections (rather than appointees) or raising the levees.

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Meet India's dam-building grandmother

Aamir Rafeeq Peerzeda

December 12, 2017 |

BBC |

Multi-Media |

Under 800 Words

Response Location: India, Rajasthan

In Rajasthan, India, the Aakar Charitable Trust is building dams in previously drought-ridden areas using traditional practices that use the contours of the land to retain water. These check dams are cost-effective, partially owned by local communities, and do not displace residents; the trust builds an average of 30 dams each year, but they hope to ramp up construction in the future while cautioning that the method will not work for every topography.

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Engineering solutions for the future of modern medicine

Lucy Jolin

November 28, 2017 |

The Guardian |

Text |

Under 800 Words

Response Location: England

The healthcare world is highly innovative right now as it tries to make medicine more personalized and harnesses engineering. Hitachi is trying to aggregate data in order to prevent disease and help the healthcare system function better.

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Where Birds and Planes Collide, a Winged Robot May Help

Tina Rosenberg

November 28, 2017 |

The New York Times |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Canada, Alberta

Airplanes and birds don't mix - thousands of birds are tragically killed around airports each year, and collisions (or "ingestions," as the industry calls them) of birds and jet engines can be extremely dangerous to flights. Finding an effective way to keep birds away has proven tricky, as birds are clever and quickly acclimate to many traditional methods, so the Edmonton airport in Alberta is "piloting" an exciting new technology: a robotic falcon that moves like a real predator, and seems to have had success in trial flights.

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The world is poorly designed. But copying nature helps.

Christophe Haubursin Roman Mars Kurt Kohlstedt

November 09, 2017 |

Vox |

Video |

5-15 Minutes

Response Location: United States, Missoula, Montana

In 1989, when Japan’s bullet train debuted, it reached nearly 170 miles per hour, but was also exceptionally loud as it left any tunnel. To remedy this, engineers and designers turned to nature – mimicking different bird features in their redesign of the train. Known as biomimicry, the practice of looking at nature’s forms, processes, and ecosystems and incorporating them into human-made designs has gained in popularity in the last three decades.

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