From Volcanoes to bicycles: Roles and responsibilities for inventing in crisis mode

In the third session of the WebGyan series under the COVIDGyan initiative, Dr. Manu Prakash will be talking about inventing as scientists during times of crisis, drawing from his own lab's work at Stanford.

A volcanic eruption of 1815 and its aftermath prompted the invention of a bicycle. The COVID-19 pandemic has thrust the world into a global crisis. As scientists, how do we grapple with new roles and responsibilities that are on our shoulders, in a devastating crisis that is far from over? As a lab that traditionally works on developing frugal science-based solutions for medical problems in resource-constrained environments, we find ourselves exploring ways to invent our way through the current challenges, guided by needs identified by global community partners. Via a few examples, I will briefly describe our timeline from invention to implementation in crisis mode - using four projects as quick case studies.

Join the live stream on the COVIDGyan Youtube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLAygbmDnm5LBp7SoQafDwg

Register and attend on Zoom (first come, first-served basis):

https://zoom.us/webinar/register/8315904832378/WN_4E4qEbJSTVeDmOwzPnPinQ