Origin
We met as Harvard undergraduates in an Engineering Sciences course at Harvard in a program known as the Idea Translation Lab. All of the members of our group have a deep background and interest in Africa, and we became interested in finding ways of passively harvesting energy to power lights and cell phones, taking advantage of the rich natural and human resources we knew existed in rural Africa.
What’s in a name?
In South Africa the Northern Sotho word for light, lamp, or candle is Lebone. Pronounced [La - bo - ney]
The Team:
Hugo Van Vuuren, Founder; Born and raised in South Africa, Hugo graduated from Harvard with a degree in Economics. He is a Fellow at the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences.
Aviva Presser, Founder; Aviva is a doctoral student at MIT Biology/Harvard SEAS, and founder of the nonprofit Bears Without Borders. She is a consultant for thehungersite.com, and is working on the technology and program development aspects of Lebone.
Stephen Lwendo, Founder; Stephen is from Tanzania and studies Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at Harvard. He has worked extensively on educational ventures in Tanzania.
Alexander Fabry. Founder; Alexander is studying History of Science and Physics at Harvard and is working on the technology development and grant application aspects of Lebone.
David Sengeh, Founder; David studies Engineering at Harvard and is from Sierra Leone. He is working on the technology design aspects of Lebone and develops our technological partnerships.
Zoe Vallabha , Founder; Zoe graduated from Harvard with a B.A. in Philosophy in 2007 and now lives with her husband in Bryn Mawr and teaches Mathematics.
Justina Ndaambelela Shilongo, Justy grew up in Epyeshona (Okatana), a small rural village in northern Namibia. Trained as an electronic technician her vision is to enable further research and to help train young Namibians. Justy is “committed to this project because I believe that providing light to our rural communities will help our youth to study after the sun goes down and inspire more young people to become interested in environmentally friendly energy.”
Advisers and Partners:
+David Edwards. Professor of Biomedical Engineering at Harvard. He has founded several companies, including Pulmatrix and Advanced Inhalation Research (AIR), the Idea Translation Lab, and a non-profit, MEND.
+James Russell. Senior Director of the Clinton Climate Initiative, former McKinsey consultant and graduate of Harvard College and the Stanford Graduate School of Business.
The Harvard Idea Translation Lab at Harvard and the Harvard Initiative for Global Health.
Contact
hello-at-lebone.org
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