Open Student Projects

In the course of the project, the student will be responsible for: - transcribing metadata from project proposals of the ETH ORD programme into machine-readable data, together with the Open Science Team - following the publications of the funded projects and categorising to what extent they - - follow FAIR sharing guidance, for example whether an output has a license, a persistent identifier, and a copy in a public repository - documenting all work in version-controlled repositories on GitHub

Transcribe metadata from project proposals of the ETH ORD programme into machine-readable data and assess to what extent the outputs of the funded projects follow FAIR sharing guidance. **What you get** - a place in the Open Science Team at the Global Health Engineering group, working directly with Lars Schöbitz and Adriana Clavijo - two 4-hour introductory hands-on live workshops to establish efficient Git and GitHub workflows, followed by daily use of these workflows in the team - a practical understanding of open research data, how it relates to scientific work, and what the benefits of sharing research data are - experience in turning documents into a published, machine-readable dataset **What we expect** This project requires an eye for detail, the capacity for repetitive work, and a high expectation of quality in your own work (no typos in transcribed data). Prior experience with Git, GitHub, or programming is not required.

Interested and qualified students are invited to contact Lars Schöbitz at lschoebitz@ethz.ch

The goal of this project is to design and build a modified composting-toilet tank and an accompanying temperature-controlled treatment chamber that enable controlled, measurable decomposition and pathogen inactivation of human waste, ready for field deployment. The system must integrate active aeration, temperature control, fixed sensor ports (temperature and pH), air composition sensor together with a data logging system for documenting the full process.

n the course of the project, the student will be responsible for: - Reviewing composting processes and bioreactors, identifying most relevant parameters; - Designing (CAD) modifications to a standard compost toilet tank: drainage system, aeration inlet and distribution, and fixed ports for temperature and pH sensors placed reproducibly within the substrate; - Designing and building a temperature-controlled treatment chamber with attached sensor structure and a data logging system (thermocouples, pH, O₂/CO₂, load cell, airflow, humidity); - Documenting the build (drawings, bill of materials, assembly and operating protocol) for reproducible field deployment.

This project suits a Master’s- or Bachelor’s-level Mechanical, Environmental or Process Engineering student with skills in CAD, prototyping and fabrication, and sensor/microcontroller integration and remote data logging, and interest in sustainable development. Interested and qualified students are invited to contact Jules Peter (jupeter@ethz.ch).

In the course of the project, the student will be responsible for: - Researching best practices regarding the incineration of veterinary waste - Designing and renovating the existing (poorly designed) incinerator in collaboration with local contractors and masons - Conduct burning experiments to ensure that all medical waste is converted into a powdered ash - Monitor the air quality impacts of incineration - Maintain strong relationships with Blantyre organizations and staff

The goal of this project is to assess and rehabilitate the current incinerator used for veterinary waste (including animal carcasses that may or may not have been infected with rabies); conduct burning experiments (ratio of petrol, plastic, remains) to determine optimal incineration conditions; conduct air quality monitoring before and during incineration.

This research looks for a master-level mechanical engineering/environmental/civil engineering student with skills in CAD, construction, incineration, air quality monitoring, and most importantly a willingness to work with animal carcasses (dogs and cats). Interested and qualified students are invited to contact Dr. Jakub Tkaczuk (jtkaczuk@ethz.ch).

This work is part of the UNEP-funded Flowers project (Facilitating Local Organic Waste Exchange for Regenerative Systems): https://www.ccacoalition.org/projects/flowers-facilitating-local-organic-waste-exchange-regenerative-systems

Develop a simple and clean mobile app and data acquisition setup, together with an admin dashboard for Android users to track the amount of organic and inorganic waste generated in Ugandan and Malawian restaurants. Integrate a mobile payment system in the app with proposed safeguards and approval system to prevent misuse and unauthorized payments.

This is a semester project for a Mechanical or Electrical engineering student. Interested and qualified students are invited to contact Dr. Jakub Tkaczuk (jtkaczuk@ethz.ch).

In the course of the project, the student will be responsible for: - Build two or more ABCD devices - Test the set-up in a laboratory setting

The goal of this research is to build two or more ABCD devices, estimate its accuracy and precision, and compare it to higher-cost devices.

This research looks for multiple master/bachelor-level mechanical engineering students with skills in CAD, prototyping, air quality measurements, software. Interested and qualified students are invited to contact Dr. Jakub Tkaczuk (jtkaczuk@ethz.ch).

The proposed test site, the Warwick transport hub and shopping market in eThekwini Municipality (Durban), has the highest throughput of people in the City every day. The existing sanitation infrastructure in the area is in very poor condition and all municipal toilet blocks have been closed for several years. Urination in public areas by men is widespread with the result that the environment is unhygienic and unpleasant. Women who work in the area have in the most part resorted to using buckets while attempting to screen themselves from the public. This situation is not safe or hygienic for these women and the disposal of the urine in stormwater drains contributes significantly to pollution of the environment. In addition, the public spaces are used extensively for informal livelihoods and thus a degraded public environment is having a serious economic impact on these informal businesses. The NGO, Asiye eTafuleni which has been working in the Warwick area for several decades has responded to the crisis by building a number of informal male urinals for testing and operation by local entrepreneurs. The urine from these informal urinals is collected in twenty litre drums which when full are disposed of in local stormwater drains. Although the informal urinals have significantly improved the public spaces, the disposal of urine to stormwater drains contributes significantly to the pollution of the environment as these drains ultimately end up in the sea or other stormwater collection points.

In the course of the project, the student will: - Engage with all stakeholders on sanitation status quo and inputs - Design new male and female prototypes - Identify potential fabricators and finalise selection of prototypes and materials - Fabricate prototype – 1 male and 1 female - Deploy and evaluate prototype 1 to field - Modify and design prototype 2 for male and female - Fabricate prototype 2 male and female - Deploy and evaluate prototype 2 to field - Fabricate 5 male and 5 female urinals for rollout and integration with the operations of the proposed fertiliser plant

This research looks for a master’s project-level mechanical or process engineer with skills in design and fabrication, and who is interested in low-cost, contextually appropriate solutions. Interested and qualified candidates are invited to contact Dr. Jakub Tkaczuk (jtkaczuk@ethz.ch).

The goal of this project is to test and improve the existing solar water heater used for effluent pasteurization. More comprehensive tests for E. coli and Total coliform reduction are necessary to understand the system performance and drive the next adaptations.

In the course of the project, the student will be responsible for: - Testing the solar pasteurizer and its control system for pathogen reduction - Adapting the system to improve its performance (specifically adapting the control algorithm and improving the PCB design to better manage heat dissipation) and match the effluent yield - Perform comprehensive measurements of process-flow parameters, i.e., temperature, solar irradiance, heat exchanger performance, as well as the material degradation.

This research looks for a master-level mechanical or electrical engineering student with skills in prototyping, PCB design, building things from scratch with low-tech materials and adapting existing systems with whatever is available at hand. Some skills can be acquired during the project. Interested and qualified students are invited to contact Dr. Jakub Tkaczuk (jtkaczuk@ethz.ch).

# Data Streams - Battery: state of health, charge and discharge cycles, swap frequency, utilization per pack, and earnings from charging and swaps. - Fleet and GPS: location, distance traveled, and utilization from telematics. - Charging kiosks: uptime, energy dispensed, throughput, and revenue per kiosk. - Powertrain: motor and controller temperature, current draw, fault codes, and operating conditions. # Tasks - Map the data sources and build a pipeline to pull, clean, and combine them. - Design and build the dashboard, with views for each data stream and a set of summary indicators. - Battery and charging analysis (electrical engineering): characterize battery health and degradation, and assess charging and swap efficiency. - Motor and controller reliability (electrical engineering): analyze controller and motor data, including temperature, current draw, fault codes, and operating conditions, to identify what is driving controller failures and recommend calibration or operating limits to reduce them.

Build an operational dashboard that consolidates the fleet's battery, earnings, location, charging, and powertrain data, and use it to produce two clear outcomes: actionable findings on battery health, and a root-cause analysis of controller failures with recommended calibration or operating limits to reduce them. # Expected outcomes - A working dashboard in daily operational use, with a documented and maintainable data pipeline. - A root-cause analysis of controller failures, with specific recommended calibration or operating limits and a way to track their effect. - Battery health findings that inform charging, usage, and replacement decisions.

# Required skills - Electrical engineering, with an interest in battery, motor, and controller systems for the analysis outcomes. - Data engineering: combining data from APIs, exports, and databases; comfort with Python or a similar language; SQL; and data visualization. - Helpful, not required: IoT or telematics data, geospatial data, and an interest in clean energy and mobility in emerging markets. Interested students are welcome to contact Dr. Jakub Tkaczuk (jtkaczuk@ethz.ch).

The student will work within an interdisciplinary research and implementation team to explore how an existing community-based AHP collection system can be expanded to the adjacent Siyathuthuka settlement. The thesis will combine engineering design, modelling, prototyping (where relevant), and field-based system evaluation within a real-world implementation environment.

Key research objectives include: - Exploring how an existing collection system can be efficiently scaled while incorporating existing infrastructures. - Designing systems that integrate diverse collection points and housing typologies. - Investigating alternative collection models for feminine hygiene products in contexts lacking formal sanitation infrastructure. - Developing technologies and/or mechanical solutions for the sanitary and efficient transport of AHP waste between collection nodes. - Modelling logistics and system flows to optimise scale, efficiency, and workforce requirements. - Analysing how system expansion can contribute to sustainable and meaningful livelihoods for collection teams.

We are seeking an MSc student in MAVT with: - Strong interest in applied engineering for low-resource contexts - Experience or interest in: - Mechanical design - Transport systems - Logistics modelling - Prototyping - Systems engineering - Ability to work independently in dynamic field environments - Interest in interdisciplinary collaboration and socially embedded engineering The project is supported by funding by Kimberly Clark and would involve three months of active data collection on-site in Durban. Prior experience in Global South contexts or development engineering is advantageous but not required. Interested and qualified students are invited to apply. For more information, please contact Dr. Marc Kalina (mkalina@uwc.ac.za).