Mar 11 2019
Some of the earliest and most adverse impacts of climate change are being faced by tiny island communities around the world.
Participants in a Martha's Vineyard net-zero carbon design thinking workshop included MIT Energy Initiative staff; representatives from Martha's Vineyard, Shell, and Viessmann; and students from MIT, Harvard University, and Tufts University. (Image credit: Viessmann)
In fact, a majority of these islands are moving from conventional energy sources in an effort to lower their own carbon footprints and also encourage comprehensive conversations on the urgent requirement for all communities to come together to lessen climate change, through a considerable reduction of the emissions of carbon dioxide.
Of late, MIT students and the Massachusetts island community of Martha’s Vineyard are engaged to discuss ways toward a future of net-zero carbon. However, reaching the goal of net-zero carbon emissions requires the implementation of a number of measures such as switching to low- or no-carbon energy generation, offsetting emissions by buying carbon credits, using energy efficiency measures, and so on.
Now, Martha’s Vineyard—encouraged by the Vineyard Sustainable Energy Committee—is seeking ways to reach net-zero carbon by 2030. Even with its comparatively small carbon footprint, the Vineyard can possibly act as a model for communities in other islands.
In order to meet this challenge, Martha’s Vineyard is teaming up with the MIT Energy Initiative (MITEI) to devise a multifaceted action scheme. As an initial step, a net-zero carbon design thinking workshop was hosted by MITEI during Independent Activities Period in the month of January. This program, conducted for a week, provided participants an opportunity to innovatively study the options of clean energy via a process called the design thinking model. The net-zero carbon design thinking workshop was co-hosted with MITEI’s founding member, Shell.
Design thinking happens to be a special collaborative process in which groups are continuously engaged in creative activities and thought exercises like rapid prototyping sessions and fast-paced brainstorming. Although the concept is still comparatively new, it has demonstrated itself as an effective problem-solving tool, repeatedly.
The design thinking process—according to senior Allison Shepard—has redefined the way she thinks about everything. “Design thinking really brings creativity and hands-on, quick thinking to the forefront and makes things happen,” she stated.
At the time of the workshop session, undergraduate and graduate students from Tufts University, Harvard University, and MIT operated in three cross-institutional teams, each tackling an individual energy-associated problem on Martha’s Vineyard. While one team focused on agriculture, another addressed transportation and the third one examined the problem of the economic stability of year-round residents in Martha’s Vineyard. Thanks to the aid of design thinking specialists from Viessmann—a German producer of industrial heating, and refrigeration systems—the students were able to experience a constant state of creative flow that led to novel results.
At the start of the week, students were made aware of the situations in Martha’s Vineyard and to the fundamentals of design thinking, and as the workshop advanced, the team studied more intricate topics that posed new challenges and opportunities.
Through brainstorming sessions that involved a countless number of LEGO prototypes, sticky notes, and many coffee cups, each group came up with a unique solution for reducing carbon on the island. Towards the end of the week, each team presented their solutions to the residents and stakeholders of Martha’s Vineyard.
The effort was headed by Antje Danielson, MITEI’s director of education, and she was helped by a MITEI project coordinator, Aisling O’Grady. The team engaged a panel of experts, industry leaders, and Martha’s Vineyard stakeholders in order to teach and work along with the students. The workshop was also associated with the National Science Foundation-funded study that was carried out by Danielson on model-based reasoning, which is proximally associated with design thinking.
The main point of contact on the island was Rob Hannemann ScD ’75, who first suggested the concept of a partnership between Martha’s Vineyard and MITEI.
“My goal in working with the Institute was to tap MITEI’s expertise,” he stated. According to him, this partnership will benefit both parties because it helps Martha’s Vineyard to work toward its objective of net-zero carbon, and, at the same time, offers “a conceptual test bed” to MIT, allowing scientists to analyze the impacts of micro-scale clean energy technologies.
In the workshop, students were introduced to the design thinking process to observe how team dynamics were influenced in collaborative settings.
Every grad student starts off wanting to change the world. But how do they get from, ‘I want to change the world’ to ‘This is a project that I can do in a year for my master’s degree’?
Antje Danielson, Director of Education, MIT Energy Initiative
According to Danielson, the clearly cooperative nature of the design thinking model and other techniques can have important roles to play in assisting students to get a deeper insight into their respective fields and thus foster actionable plans. Danielson also stated that she is looking forward to seeing where the concepts created in the workshop may actually go.
Many communities in the U.S. have now set timelines for going to net-zero carbon—not an easy task. The collaboration with Martha’s Vineyard allows us to train our students in this area. By working on a real example, they can practice using new tools and apply their skills in a safe but meaningful way.
Antje Danielson, Director of Education, MIT Energy Initiative
The National Science Foundation and Shell supported the workshop.