Innovations and inventions which can help people in developing countries were on display recently in Washington. Cutting-edge ideas of 13 college teams from across the United States, included a portable greenhouse, a better container for vaccines, and an earthquake-resistant concrete panel.
    創新和發明，它可以幫助發展中國家的人民。最近在華盛頓舉行展示會上，來自美國的13所大學推出了包括可擕式溫室，更好的疫苗容器，抗震混凝土板等高新理念產品。

    Many small-scale farmers in East Africa find it hard to grow crops year-round because of drought or too much rain. So a student team from Pennsylvania State University came up with the idea of kits to build small, easy-to-set up greenhouses to help the farmers increase their production up to 20 percent.  Team member Arianna DeReus says they're constructed with PVC pipe and rice bags.
    由於常年乾旱或暴雨，使得東非許多自耕農民不易種植作物。因此一群來自賓州大學的學生小組，想出了一種輕巧易搭的溫室設備，可以幫助農民提高產量達百分之20。成員 DeReus 表示元件組成是PVC管和冰袋。

    “Our design is affordable, durable and expandable, and it’s also made of local materials," DeReus explained. "That reduces transportation costs and it also supports the local economy.”

    The greenhouse is part of an exhibition called Open Minds, sponsored by National Collegiate Inventors and Innovators Alliance. Each year, it gives grants to more than 50 college student teams which create business models using innovative technology to help people around the world. The top teams are chosen for an annual exhibition.
    賓大溫室，是由 NCIIA(一間鼓勵創業精神的非營利組織) 贊助之"思想開放"展覽的一部分，NCIIA每年撥款給予50多間大學，利用創新技術建造利於地球人的商業模式。每年一度的展覽中會選出最佳表現隊伍。

    The Alliance was founded in 1995 by the Lemelson Foundation, which supports grassroots inventors.  Director Carol Dahl says the young entrepreneurs are helping to lift people out of poverty. “In the developing countries, we see the potential for our inventions to actually improve lives through addressing basic human needs, things like sanitation, access to clean water," she said. "The ability to have health and health products.”
    西元1995年 Lemelson 基金會創立 NCIIA ，旨在資助草根創業群。執行長 Dahl 說︰「新一代的企業家正在幫助人們脫離貧困。在發展中國家，我們看到發明物提升生活的能力，藉由解決如衛生設施和乾淨水源等人類基本需求。一種同時擁有健康生活和健康產品的能力。」

    This container may improve the health of many people in the developing world by better protecting vaccines. Standard Styrofoam boxes break easily, so the World Health Organization estimates that half the vaccines placed in them are damaged in transit.  But a student team from Oklahoma State University hopes that by using this collapsible box, temperature-sensitive vaccines will be saved.
    一個可以優良保存疫苗的容器，許能改善第三世界大多數人的健康。傳統的泡沫聚苯乙烯容易破裂，世界衛生組織統計約有半數的疫苗在運送過程中遭到損毀。於是，一個來自奧克拉荷馬州立大學的隊伍，利用可拆解盒裝挽救對熱敏感的疫苗。

    Saravan Kumar says the boxes are made from the same space-age material used to fashion small satellites. “They’re made with this thin, insulating material, and they are about 10 times more insulating than Styrofoam, and they’re about 10 times more impact resistant,” he added.
    隊員 Kumar 說︰「保溫盒是由超時代小型衛星的制成材料產生，特徵是輕薄絕緣、是泡沫聚苯乙烯的十倍絕緣力，和十倍的抗撞擊力。」

    This lightweight concrete panel may help homes in Haiti withstand an earthquake.  Students from the University of Notre Dame discovered that the masonry blocks used in Haiti are poor quality and not reinforced.
    一種輕質混凝土面板可以幫助海地家庭抵禦地震。聖母大學的學生發現在海地境內使用的磚石塊，不但品質惡劣也沒有鋼筋支撐。

    Dustin Mix says the cost of building with these panels would be about the same, for a much sturdier and safer home. “It’s a lot better quality and that comes from both the materials we use and the process we use to make them," he said. "It is also reinforced in a way that when the earthquake does come, it can withstand that.”
    學生 Mix 說︰「新型面板的建材費和傳統所差無幾，但有更堅固更安全的住所。有了我們採用的材料和生產過程，房屋品質會更好，地震來襲時也會更穩固、屹立不搖。」

    The students hope innovations like these will make a difference for those who need it the most.