Student Team from MIT Wins the $100K, 2009 Buckminster Fuller Challenge

“Sustainable Personal Mobility and Mobility-on-Demand Systems (SPM/MoD)”, submitted by an interdisciplinary team of students at MIT has been selected as the winner of the prestigious 2009 Buckminster Fuller Challenge. The team will receive a $100,000 prize at a conferring ceremony on June 6th, 2009 at 2pm at The Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago followed by a reception and celebration featuring a presentation by design innovator Bruce Mau.

“Given the nature of the crises we are facing, from climate change to economic collapse, what is important is to demonstrate that the approach to design and problem solving at the core of the Buckminster Fuller Challenge - while always thinking big - has the potential to bring about changes in the near-term. The winning project is a perfect example of the kind of radical, transformative change that is possible when we reconceive the old ways of doing things and take a systems-based approach to design,” said The Buckminster Fuller Challenge jurors in a statement about their decision. “SPM/MoD isn’t just about the design of these lightweight, highly efficient, electric vehicles, it is about inserting that technological innovation into the social and cultural environment and designing an intuitive system within which they function.”

“We are thrilled with the selection of a team of students as this year’s winner. Fuller spent a great deal of his life inspiring and being inspired by university students all over the world,” said Elizabeth Thompson, Executive Director of The Buckminster Fuller Institute. “He often chose to work closely with student teams on significant projects. This prompted Fuller in 1961 to propose a ‘design science decade’ in which universities around the world would engage in a ten-year project studying global trends and needs in an effort to make the world work for everyone. MIT’s entry represents the real spirit and substance of such an endeavor applied to a new vision of personal mobility.”

In addition to the winner, the distinguished jury selected a runner up and two honorable mentions from a pool of nearly 200 entries. “Dreaming New Mexico (DNM)”, a Bioneers project with support from Google Earth’s Outreach program, submitted by Kenny Ausubel and Peter Warshall was selected as the runner-up. DNM is based on the strategic premise that “dreaming the future can create the future.” This project provides a systemic template, methodology and collaborative mapping tools for communities to engage in place-based and bioregional planning. “Cycle for Health”, submitted by Joseph Agoada, Dr. John Baptist Niwagaba, and Patrick Kayemba and “Mukuru BioCentres”, submitted by Umande Trust and GOAL Ireland, were awarded honorable mentions for their work in Africa to dramatically improve economic conditions and human health.

The Buckminster Fuller Challenge, launched in 2007, promotes a systems approach to design pioneered by Buckminster Fuller which aims to address complex problems through comprehensive, anticipatory design thinking. Through the recognition of outstanding entries, The Challenge supports and draws attention to individuals and teams around the world whose innovative strategies have the potential to help solve humanity’s most pressing problems.

Previously on Bustler: Entries to the 2009 Buckminster Fuller Challenge Published

Images: Buckminster Fuller Challenge