Home page

This study presents a set of fabrication techniques for upcycling HDPE (High Density PolyEthylene) plastic bags. It enables not only recycling abandoned plastic bags but also creating 3D objects by folding and joining the newly fused plastic sheet.

When Ecuador was hit by a 7.8 intensity earthquake on April 16, 2016, the coordination efforts that unfolded relied heavily on the use and appropriation of social media such as WhatsApp, Facebook, and Twitter. While studies on informal volunteers in crisis situations have largely examined digital volunteerism and visible online activities, behind-the-scenes interactions among informal volunteers on the ground remain understudied. We present a qualitative interview study of how Ecuadorian informal volunteers self-organized to provide relief efforts in response to the earthquake.

In our research, we leverage ideas from citizen science and the open science movement to create an infrastructure for facilitating partnerships between volunteer STEM workers and social movement organizations. Towards this goal, we will do action research with the nonprofit organization Science for the People (SP). Science for the People engages in research, activism, and science communication for the betterment of society and the environment.