School Notes: School of Engineering & Applied Science
July/August 2015

SEAS dedicates design lab

The dedication of the John Klingenstein ’50 Design Lab in the Center for Engineering Innovation and Design (CEID) was held in May, in conjunction with John Klingenstein’s 65th Yale reunion. The Klingenstein Design Lab is the creative hub of the CEID and the site where teams work together to design, create, and construct solutions. Joining the celebration was a group of students and recent alums who have created businesses based on projects they started in the CEID. These Yale-born businesses include technology to transport organs, improve cell phone operations, detect bacteria in drinking water, and monitor the use of a medical brace. The projects foreshadow the continued creativity that will be spawned in the John Klingenstein ’50 Design Lab. Among those attending the dedication ceremony were Klingenstein’s wife Pat and their children Sally, Nancy, Tom, and Andy ’80, who was celebrating his 35th reunion, along with friends and other alumni.

Yale Team tests low-cost respirator

A team from Yale recently spent six days in Ethiopia to assess how their humidified high-flow nasal cannula—an infant respirator that can help prevent birth asphyxia, respiratory insufficiency, and complications stemming from preterm birth—could best meet the needs of health-care facilities in the developing world. While most respirators of this type cost upwards of $5,000, PremieBreathe can be produced for less than $500, and the team—including founder Charles Stone ’14, Global Health Leadership Institute program manager Shirin Ahmed ’12, Yale biomedical engineering alumna Katy Chan ’15, and current Yale mechanical engineering student Jordan Sabin ’16—is now using their improved understanding of conditions in low-resource nations to further refine the device for oxygen delivery and the possible inclusion of a battery to keep the device operational during blackout periods.  In addition to the support from the School of Engineering & Applied Science, the project has been supported by Yale Global Health Leadership Institute.