UPenn Awards Bryn Mawr Student Grant to Develop Drinking Water System in Kenya

A University of Pennsylvania senior will start packing his bags soon and heading to Africa to help a region get access to drinkable water.

Matthew Lisle, of Bryn Mawr, has been named one of the recipients of the university’s 2015 President’s Engagement Prize.

“Along with fellow senior Adrian Lievano, Lisle will spend the 2015-16 academic year designing and implementing a sustainable rainwater catchment and filtration system in Kimana, Kenya, where access to clean drinking water is a daily struggle,” according to a statement from UPenn’s communications department.

The President’s Engagement Prizes, the largest of their kind in higher education, provide winners with as much as $100,000 to support project implementation and $50,000 for living expenses. Launched by Penn President Amy Gutmann, the awards are supported by Trustee Judith Bollinger and William G. Bollinger, Trustee Lee Spelman Doty and George E. Doty Jr. and Emeritus Trustee James S. Riepe and Gail Petty Riepe.

Lisle and Lievano, students in the mechanical engineering and applied mathematics program, will now spend a year designing, prototyping and implementing a rainwater catchment and filtration system that incorporates the moringa seed as a biodegradable and sustainable alternative to industrial purification agents.

In January, Lisle and Lievano will travel to Kimana for six months to install their rainwater filtration system and provide ongoing community support and education. They plan to travel throughout the region, meeting with community leaders and scoping out other sites that could benefit from similar systems.

(Photo: Matthew Lisle/UPenn Department of Communications)