Faculty Mentor/s:
Sabrina Jedlicka, Materials Science and Engineering
Christina Haden, Mechanical Engineering and Mechanics
 
Students on the team this summer:
Brianna Cimaglia '21, International Relations and Economics
Jake Donoghue '21, IDEAS
Samantha Powers '23, Industrial and Systems Engineering
Briana Wanbaugh '21, Materials Science and Engineering
Rozhin Zahrouni '22, Biological Sciences (Molecular Biology)
 
Project Description:
Copra, the dried sections of the meat of coconuts, is valued for its many uses including coconut oil
extract, but is also a major agricultural export for the Philippines. It is often processed using
traditional, time-consuming and inefficient methods including sun-drying and smoke-drying, before
being processed into its various products. This project’s goal is to improve copra processing and
process streamlining for increased income of copra farmers in the Philippines. Identified needs
include a faster, all-weather processing technique that yields better copra quality compared to
manual methods, and a way for farmers to communicate over long distances.
 
Month/Year Project Began:
January 2020