In West Africa, about 21 per cent of childhood deaths are caused by pneumonia. Oxygen is crucial, among other things, for treating pneumonia – the number-one killer of children under five throughout the world.
Hospitals in developing countries usually rely on oxygen cylinders, which are heavy, can explode and may require a long drive over difficult roads just to refill—or on oxygen-generating machines, which require a steady power supply that simply might not be available. PhD candidate Beverly Bradley from the Centre for Global Engineering (CGEN) and a team of Gambian technicians have developed a battery-powered version of this machine that can last up to 20 hours. A member of Engineers Without Borders since 2003, she has visited Gambia three times to pursue her research.
This work earned Bradley the 2013 Claudette MacKay-Lassonde Scholarship, a $15,000 award provided through the Canadian Engineering Memorial Foundation (CEMF) to recognize a top female doctoral student each year. Bradley was not only chosen for her passion for biomedical engineering and its applications to poverty and global development, but also her mentoring and volunteer work.
Bradley also manages the Global Ideas Institute, a global development-themed enrichment program that provides interdisciplinary learning opportunities for high school students. She has spoken at events held by Women Empowered in Engineering and Leaders of Tomorrow. She has also served as a volunteer and vice president of content development for the Social Change and Youth Leadership Conference held at the University of Toronto.
“My participation as a mentor shows students, particularly young women, that engineers have an important role to play in finding solutions to big, global challenges,” said Bradley.