Blum Center for Developing Economies
@blumcenter.bsky.social
The Blum Center for Developing Economies is an interdisciplinary hub for understanding and acting on global poverty and inequality at UC Berkeley.
Attention, Berkeley students!
Want to design and build solutions to real-world civic challenges in your own backyard?
The Big Ideas Contest has launched the Civic Innovation Challenge, a fast-paced, 7-day design sprint that empowers you to do just that.
Apps due Dec. 1: bigideascontest.org/CIC/
Want to design and build solutions to real-world civic challenges in your own backyard?
The Big Ideas Contest has launched the Civic Innovation Challenge, a fast-paced, 7-day design sprint that empowers you to do just that.
Apps due Dec. 1: bigideascontest.org/CIC/
October 23, 2025 at 5:33 PM
Attention, Berkeley students!
Want to design and build solutions to real-world civic challenges in your own backyard?
The Big Ideas Contest has launched the Civic Innovation Challenge, a fast-paced, 7-day design sprint that empowers you to do just that.
Apps due Dec. 1: bigideascontest.org/CIC/
Want to design and build solutions to real-world civic challenges in your own backyard?
The Big Ideas Contest has launched the Civic Innovation Challenge, a fast-paced, 7-day design sprint that empowers you to do just that.
Apps due Dec. 1: bigideascontest.org/CIC/
Congrats to Bioengineering Professor and Blum Center Faculty Director Dan Fletcher for his induction into the @nam.edu!
Dan was recognized for his work developing mobile phone-based microscopy to diagnose infectious diseases in developing countries, among other contributions!
Dan was recognized for his work developing mobile phone-based microscopy to diagnose infectious diseases in developing countries, among other contributions!
October 22, 2025 at 8:42 PM
Congrats to Bioengineering Professor and Blum Center Faculty Director Dan Fletcher for his induction into the @nam.edu!
Dan was recognized for his work developing mobile phone-based microscopy to diagnose infectious diseases in developing countries, among other contributions!
Dan was recognized for his work developing mobile phone-based microscopy to diagnose infectious diseases in developing countries, among other contributions!
Congrats to Will Tarpeh on being named a 2025
MacArthur Fellow!
Will, who did a Development Engineering PhD at Berkeley, has developed ways of sustainably recovering and recycling resources like nitrogen, sulfur, and phosphorus from wastewater.
www.macfound.org/fellows/clas...
MacArthur Fellow!
Will, who did a Development Engineering PhD at Berkeley, has developed ways of sustainably recovering and recycling resources like nitrogen, sulfur, and phosphorus from wastewater.
www.macfound.org/fellows/clas...
William Tarpeh
Envisioning sustainable and practical solutions to treat wastewater and recover valuable mineral resources.
www.macfound.org
October 14, 2025 at 9:01 PM
Congrats to Will Tarpeh on being named a 2025
MacArthur Fellow!
Will, who did a Development Engineering PhD at Berkeley, has developed ways of sustainably recovering and recycling resources like nitrogen, sulfur, and phosphorus from wastewater.
www.macfound.org/fellows/clas...
MacArthur Fellow!
Will, who did a Development Engineering PhD at Berkeley, has developed ways of sustainably recovering and recycling resources like nitrogen, sulfur, and phosphorus from wastewater.
www.macfound.org/fellows/clas...
Kerosene lamps are vital to many people's lives. But they carry health and economic costs.
This is the story of how @berkeleylab.lbl.gov's Dr. Evan Mills, with Blum Center support, helped put off-grid solar on the map:
blumcenter.berkeley.edu/how-dr-evan-...
This is the story of how @berkeleylab.lbl.gov's Dr. Evan Mills, with Blum Center support, helped put off-grid solar on the map:
blumcenter.berkeley.edu/how-dr-evan-...
How Dr. Evan Mills, with Blum Center support, put off-grid solar on the map - Blum Center
With support from the Blum Center, the Berkeley Lab scientist and his colleagues provided the first substantive analysis of how electric lighting — specifically, high-efficiency solar-powered electric...
blumcenter.berkeley.edu
October 6, 2025 at 7:49 PM
Kerosene lamps are vital to many people's lives. But they carry health and economic costs.
This is the story of how @berkeleylab.lbl.gov's Dr. Evan Mills, with Blum Center support, helped put off-grid solar on the map:
blumcenter.berkeley.edu/how-dr-evan-...
This is the story of how @berkeleylab.lbl.gov's Dr. Evan Mills, with Blum Center support, helped put off-grid solar on the map:
blumcenter.berkeley.edu/how-dr-evan-...
Attention, Cal undergrads interested in understanding and tackling poverty!
The Global Poverty & Practice minor is hosting info sessions Sept 25 and Oct 1 on Zoom.
The deadline to declare the GPP minor is Oct 14!
The Global Poverty & Practice minor is hosting info sessions Sept 25 and Oct 1 on Zoom.
The deadline to declare the GPP minor is Oct 14!
September 10, 2025 at 4:54 PM
Attention, Cal undergrads interested in understanding and tackling poverty!
The Global Poverty & Practice minor is hosting info sessions Sept 25 and Oct 1 on Zoom.
The deadline to declare the GPP minor is Oct 14!
The Global Poverty & Practice minor is hosting info sessions Sept 25 and Oct 1 on Zoom.
The deadline to declare the GPP minor is Oct 14!
Happy World Water Week!
We spoke with Development Engineering Prof. Kara Nelson about how water-infrastructure innovations — including producing fertilizer from urine — can combat poverty and address a changing climate:
blumcenter.berkeley.edu/world-water-...
We spoke with Development Engineering Prof. Kara Nelson about how water-infrastructure innovations — including producing fertilizer from urine — can combat poverty and address a changing climate:
blumcenter.berkeley.edu/world-water-...
World Water Week: Prof. Kara Nelson Talks Water, Waste, and Engineering for Climate Action - Blum Center
World Water Week is an annual conference and global observance focused on tackling the world’s most pressing water-related challenges — urging policymakers and innovators to take bold action on sustai...
blumcenter.berkeley.edu
August 27, 2025 at 8:07 PM
Happy World Water Week!
We spoke with Development Engineering Prof. Kara Nelson about how water-infrastructure innovations — including producing fertilizer from urine — can combat poverty and address a changing climate:
blumcenter.berkeley.edu/world-water-...
We spoke with Development Engineering Prof. Kara Nelson about how water-infrastructure innovations — including producing fertilizer from urine — can combat poverty and address a changing climate:
blumcenter.berkeley.edu/world-water-...
Allensworth, CA's groundwater is contaminated by arsenic, but the town has received little help remedying it.
So the community teamed up with Development Engineering Prof. Ashok Gadgil to purify its water, with minimal human intervention and affordable costs:
www.latimes.com/00000198-77d...
So the community teamed up with Development Engineering Prof. Ashok Gadgil to purify its water, with minimal human intervention and affordable costs:
www.latimes.com/00000198-77d...
Allensworth Rising: A Fight for Water
In the town of Allensworth, California, residents join forces with Dr.
www.latimes.com
August 7, 2025 at 9:31 PM
Allensworth, CA's groundwater is contaminated by arsenic, but the town has received little help remedying it.
So the community teamed up with Development Engineering Prof. Ashok Gadgil to purify its water, with minimal human intervention and affordable costs:
www.latimes.com/00000198-77d...
So the community teamed up with Development Engineering Prof. Ashok Gadgil to purify its water, with minimal human intervention and affordable costs:
www.latimes.com/00000198-77d...
“In this work, compassion isn’t a gesture of service, it’s a radical act of kinship grounded in the belief that there is no us and them, only us."
Congrats to the Global Poverty & Practice minor's Class of 2025!
blumcenter.berkeley.edu/gpps-class-o...
Congrats to the Global Poverty & Practice minor's Class of 2025!
blumcenter.berkeley.edu/gpps-class-o...
GPP’s Class of 2025 Driven by Compassion, Connection, and Humanity - Blum Center
The Blum Center for Developing Economies leverages the talent, enthusiasm, and energy of the University of California, Berkeley community to address the grand challenge of global poverty. Our interdis...
blumcenter.berkeley.edu
June 17, 2025 at 6:35 PM
“In this work, compassion isn’t a gesture of service, it’s a radical act of kinship grounded in the belief that there is no us and them, only us."
Congrats to the Global Poverty & Practice minor's Class of 2025!
blumcenter.berkeley.edu/gpps-class-o...
Congrats to the Global Poverty & Practice minor's Class of 2025!
blumcenter.berkeley.edu/gpps-class-o...
And this year's Big Ideas Contest grand prize winner is...
AgriSolar!
Their mobile and scalable solar-powered irrigation system designed for Nigerian smallholder farmers’ accessibility and affordability.
Read more about Grand Prize Pitch Day here: bigideascontest.org/2025/05/15/a...
AgriSolar!
Their mobile and scalable solar-powered irrigation system designed for Nigerian smallholder farmers’ accessibility and affordability.
Read more about Grand Prize Pitch Day here: bigideascontest.org/2025/05/15/a...
May 19, 2025 at 8:57 PM
And this year's Big Ideas Contest grand prize winner is...
AgriSolar!
Their mobile and scalable solar-powered irrigation system designed for Nigerian smallholder farmers’ accessibility and affordability.
Read more about Grand Prize Pitch Day here: bigideascontest.org/2025/05/15/a...
AgriSolar!
Their mobile and scalable solar-powered irrigation system designed for Nigerian smallholder farmers’ accessibility and affordability.
Read more about Grand Prize Pitch Day here: bigideascontest.org/2025/05/15/a...
“We were interested in understanding the role of the household environment in bacterial transmission to humans,” said Prof. @seqh2o.bsky.social.
“And our findings showed that water is actually one of the most important transmission pathways for pathogenic and drug-resistant bacteria.”
“And our findings showed that water is actually one of the most important transmission pathways for pathogenic and drug-resistant bacteria.”
Berkeley researchers have shown that household environment might play a larger role in the transmission of gastrointestinal bacterial infections via drinking water than previously thought.
Household drinking water identified as key pathway for bacterial transmission - Berkeley Engineering
Research points to effective strategies for protecting community health
bit.ly
May 7, 2025 at 7:17 PM
“We were interested in understanding the role of the household environment in bacterial transmission to humans,” said Prof. @seqh2o.bsky.social.
“And our findings showed that water is actually one of the most important transmission pathways for pathogenic and drug-resistant bacteria.”
“And our findings showed that water is actually one of the most important transmission pathways for pathogenic and drug-resistant bacteria.”
The goal, Raghuwanshi said, was to “really understand the context & not push your assumptions on people”—not to parachute in & solve problems, “but learn from residents what they want” help with & to be a partner in co-developing community-oriented solutions: blumcenter.berkeley.edu/uc-berkeley-...
UC Berkeley Development Engineering Students Team Up with ABE Club to Strengthen Education in Kasigau, Kenya - Blum Center
Ekta Raghuwanshi and Maria Denna, her MDevEng classmate, worked at A Better Education Club as part of an internship pilot program that DevEng and ABE Club look to expand in the coming years. The organ...
blumcenter.berkeley.edu
April 23, 2025 at 7:24 PM
The goal, Raghuwanshi said, was to “really understand the context & not push your assumptions on people”—not to parachute in & solve problems, “but learn from residents what they want” help with & to be a partner in co-developing community-oriented solutions: blumcenter.berkeley.edu/uc-berkeley-...
Climate change is expected to make sub-Saharan Africa warmer and drier.
In @natcomms.nature.com, @seqh2o.bsky.social & co. explore how this affects the burden of collecting water—with impacts for health, hygiene, income, and gender equity:
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
In @natcomms.nature.com, @seqh2o.bsky.social & co. explore how this affects the burden of collecting water—with impacts for health, hygiene, income, and gender equity:
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Temperature and precipitation affect the water fetching time burden in Sub-Saharan Africa - Nature Communications
This study reveals that rising temperatures and decreased precipitation levels increase walking time for fetching drinking water in Sub-Saharan Africa. Rural areas are most affected, but community ele...
www.nature.com
April 21, 2025 at 8:18 PM
Climate change is expected to make sub-Saharan Africa warmer and drier.
In @natcomms.nature.com, @seqh2o.bsky.social & co. explore how this affects the burden of collecting water—with impacts for health, hygiene, income, and gender equity:
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
In @natcomms.nature.com, @seqh2o.bsky.social & co. explore how this affects the burden of collecting water—with impacts for health, hygiene, income, and gender equity:
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Congratulations to Development Engineering Prof. @agogino.bsky.social on winning an inaugural Berkeley Climate Action Proof-of-Concept Award for climate-focused multimodal methane (CH4) sensing!
bakarclimate.berkeley.edu/news/uc-berk...
bakarclimate.berkeley.edu/news/uc-berk...
April 18, 2025 at 7:30 PM
Congratulations to Development Engineering Prof. @agogino.bsky.social on winning an inaugural Berkeley Climate Action Proof-of-Concept Award for climate-focused multimodal methane (CH4) sensing!
bakarclimate.berkeley.edu/news/uc-berk...
bakarclimate.berkeley.edu/news/uc-berk...
For communities, most policy standards for "modern energy" are a connection to an electrical grid.
But in a new paper in Nature Cities, Prof. @dankammen.bsky.social and colleagues show a simple connection does not equal affordable, reliable electricity:
www.nature.com/articles/s44...
But in a new paper in Nature Cities, Prof. @dankammen.bsky.social and colleagues show a simple connection does not equal affordable, reliable electricity:
www.nature.com/articles/s44...
Grid connections and inequitable access to electricity in African cities - Nature Cities
To investigate inequalities in energy access, Kersey and co-authors conducted a mixed-method study with 25 informal settlements in Kampala, Uganda. They found that despite the expansion of electrical ...
www.nature.com
April 14, 2025 at 5:01 PM
For communities, most policy standards for "modern energy" are a connection to an electrical grid.
But in a new paper in Nature Cities, Prof. @dankammen.bsky.social and colleagues show a simple connection does not equal affordable, reliable electricity:
www.nature.com/articles/s44...
But in a new paper in Nature Cities, Prof. @dankammen.bsky.social and colleagues show a simple connection does not equal affordable, reliable electricity:
www.nature.com/articles/s44...
"If the impact part is missing from a business, it’s not very sustainable.”
CarbonSustain — a venture by Paul Bryzek, a 2023 Big Ideas Contest winner — helps small and medium businesses with the onerous work of tracking their carbon emissions:
alumni.berkeley.edu/paul-bryzek-...
CarbonSustain — a venture by Paul Bryzek, a 2023 Big Ideas Contest winner — helps small and medium businesses with the onerous work of tracking their carbon emissions:
alumni.berkeley.edu/paul-bryzek-...
Paul Bryzek: ‘Without Impact, a Business isn’t Sustainable’ - Cal Alumni Association
Paul Bryzek tells how Berkeley Haas and Cal helped launch his newest success.
alumni.berkeley.edu
April 7, 2025 at 10:30 PM
"If the impact part is missing from a business, it’s not very sustainable.”
CarbonSustain — a venture by Paul Bryzek, a 2023 Big Ideas Contest winner — helps small and medium businesses with the onerous work of tracking their carbon emissions:
alumni.berkeley.edu/paul-bryzek-...
CarbonSustain — a venture by Paul Bryzek, a 2023 Big Ideas Contest winner — helps small and medium businesses with the onerous work of tracking their carbon emissions:
alumni.berkeley.edu/paul-bryzek-...
Ashmita Kumar and Code Blue — her Big Ideas–winning innovation — are piloting her AI-powered in-phone stroke-detection tech with @ucsanfrancisco.bsky.social doctors and are competing this week at the Atlantic Coast Conference InVenture Prize: news.berkeley.edu/2025/03/27/w...
With AI and an iPhone, UC Berkeley student's startup aims to detect stroke signs and save lives - Berkeley News
Using smartphones, computers and other smart devices, Ashmita Kumar's startup aims to shake up stroke health care, with ambitious plans to grow.
news.berkeley.edu
March 31, 2025 at 9:40 PM
Ashmita Kumar and Code Blue — her Big Ideas–winning innovation — are piloting her AI-powered in-phone stroke-detection tech with @ucsanfrancisco.bsky.social doctors and are competing this week at the Atlantic Coast Conference InVenture Prize: news.berkeley.edu/2025/03/27/w...
In California Management Review, our board of trustees chair @lauradtyson.bsky.social looks at climate finance and breaks down progress, challenges, and opportunities on the path to Net Zero and a sustainable planet: cmr.berkeley.edu/2025/02/67-2...
Climate Finance: Progress, Challenges, and Opportunities on the Path to a Sustainable Planet
Net Zero by 2050 requires significant capital deployment through innovative climate finance and supportive policies.
cmr.berkeley.edu
March 6, 2025 at 12:13 AM
In California Management Review, our board of trustees chair @lauradtyson.bsky.social looks at climate finance and breaks down progress, challenges, and opportunities on the path to Net Zero and a sustainable planet: cmr.berkeley.edu/2025/02/67-2...
Attention, Berkeley undergrads!
Join a community of students seeking to make an impact on poverty and inequality!
The Global Poverty and Practice minor is hosting an info session:
This Friday, 12pm, Zoom
RSVP here: forms.gle/y8fozsdyyHkk...
More info here: blumcenter.berkeley.edu/gppminor
Join a community of students seeking to make an impact on poverty and inequality!
The Global Poverty and Practice minor is hosting an info session:
This Friday, 12pm, Zoom
RSVP here: forms.gle/y8fozsdyyHkk...
More info here: blumcenter.berkeley.edu/gppminor
forms.gle
February 18, 2025 at 6:22 PM
Attention, Berkeley undergrads!
Join a community of students seeking to make an impact on poverty and inequality!
The Global Poverty and Practice minor is hosting an info session:
This Friday, 12pm, Zoom
RSVP here: forms.gle/y8fozsdyyHkk...
More info here: blumcenter.berkeley.edu/gppminor
Join a community of students seeking to make an impact on poverty and inequality!
The Global Poverty and Practice minor is hosting an info session:
This Friday, 12pm, Zoom
RSVP here: forms.gle/y8fozsdyyHkk...
More info here: blumcenter.berkeley.edu/gppminor
Congrats to Dr. Elizabeth Hausler on her election to the National Academy of Engineering!
Dr. Hausler was recognized "for transformational impact as an international social entrepreneur, saving lives by building sustainable communities with natural hazard resilience."
www.nae.edu/331605/NAENe...
Dr. Hausler was recognized "for transformational impact as an international social entrepreneur, saving lives by building sustainable communities with natural hazard resilience."
www.nae.edu/331605/NAENe...
National Academy of Engineering Elects 128 Members and 22 International Members
National Academy of Engineering Elects 128 Members and 22 International Members to the Class of 2025
www.nae.edu
February 12, 2025 at 9:55 PM
Congrats to Dr. Elizabeth Hausler on her election to the National Academy of Engineering!
Dr. Hausler was recognized "for transformational impact as an international social entrepreneur, saving lives by building sustainable communities with natural hazard resilience."
www.nae.edu/331605/NAENe...
Dr. Hausler was recognized "for transformational impact as an international social entrepreneur, saving lives by building sustainable communities with natural hazard resilience."
www.nae.edu/331605/NAENe...
"We all have limited time on this planet, and what we do is in our hands. Development Engineering exists in an unfair world to make it a little bit more fair."
–Prof. Ashok Gadgil
Applications for the 2025–26 Master of Development Engineering cohort are due March 4!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=DEDX...
–Prof. Ashok Gadgil
Applications for the 2025–26 Master of Development Engineering cohort are due March 4!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=DEDX...
This is Berkeley Development Engineering
YouTube video by Blum Center for Developing Economies
www.youtube.com
February 11, 2025 at 6:18 PM
"We all have limited time on this planet, and what we do is in our hands. Development Engineering exists in an unfair world to make it a little bit more fair."
–Prof. Ashok Gadgil
Applications for the 2025–26 Master of Development Engineering cohort are due March 4!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=DEDX...
–Prof. Ashok Gadgil
Applications for the 2025–26 Master of Development Engineering cohort are due March 4!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=DEDX...
We have our finalists!
Out of 150+ apps, here are the final 15 student teams of the 2024–25 Big Ideas Contest — from an AI-powered device to help restore Alzheimer’s patients’ autonomy to a sustainable medical product replacing single-use plastics in healthcare:
bigideascontest.org/2025/02/03/u...
Out of 150+ apps, here are the final 15 student teams of the 2024–25 Big Ideas Contest — from an AI-powered device to help restore Alzheimer’s patients’ autonomy to a sustainable medical product replacing single-use plastics in healthcare:
bigideascontest.org/2025/02/03/u...
February 11, 2025 at 6:16 PM
We have our finalists!
Out of 150+ apps, here are the final 15 student teams of the 2024–25 Big Ideas Contest — from an AI-powered device to help restore Alzheimer’s patients’ autonomy to a sustainable medical product replacing single-use plastics in healthcare:
bigideascontest.org/2025/02/03/u...
Out of 150+ apps, here are the final 15 student teams of the 2024–25 Big Ideas Contest — from an AI-powered device to help restore Alzheimer’s patients’ autonomy to a sustainable medical product replacing single-use plastics in healthcare:
bigideascontest.org/2025/02/03/u...
And the results are in!
The 2024 Development Engineering Photography Contest invited students to submit photos and videos that show what DevEng means to them and to capture the impact of their work over the summer through creative media: blumcenter.berkeley.edu/visualizing-...
The 2024 Development Engineering Photography Contest invited students to submit photos and videos that show what DevEng means to them and to capture the impact of their work over the summer through creative media: blumcenter.berkeley.edu/visualizing-...
Visualizing Impact: DevEng Photography Contest Winners Showcase Work and Community - Blum Center
The Blum Center for Developing Economies leverages the talent, enthusiasm, and energy of the University of California, Berkeley community to address the grand challenge of global poverty. Our interdis...
blumcenter.berkeley.edu
February 11, 2025 at 6:12 PM
And the results are in!
The 2024 Development Engineering Photography Contest invited students to submit photos and videos that show what DevEng means to them and to capture the impact of their work over the summer through creative media: blumcenter.berkeley.edu/visualizing-...
The 2024 Development Engineering Photography Contest invited students to submit photos and videos that show what DevEng means to them and to capture the impact of their work over the summer through creative media: blumcenter.berkeley.edu/visualizing-...