By: Abby Madan, 2nd Year Political Economy Major March 20, 2014 – UC Berkeley’s Development Impact Lab (DIL) is forging a new, interdisciplinary field of academic and applied research – Development Engineering (DevEng) – housed at the Blum Center. Development Engineering seeks to train a new cadre of experts to tightly integrate social and economic insights in the development of technology and services to address the problems of poverty. DevEng’s inaugural “Research in Action” speaker series explores current scientific and technological efforts to address global development issues, bringing experts together in an interdisciplinary space. “Too often, a great idea is tested and approved before its effectiveness on a larger scale can be evaluated,” explains Alice Agogino, UC Berkeley Professor of Mechanical Engineering. “It takes many aspects and disciplines that involve technology, impact analysis and economics. We want to engage the academic community to test and refine our approaches to development.” The seminar series features weekly talks from academics and professionals who contribute to the intellectual sphere that constitutes DevEng. Speakers come from a wide variety of disciplines, including computer science, economics, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, bioengineering, civil and environmental engineering, information management, public health, and business. All of the expertise is required to solve the big challenges facing society. DIL partner Gaetano Borriello, Professor of Computer Science & Engineering at University of Washington and creator of Open Data Kit (ODK), addressed a packed audience on the functions and processes of his technology at the inaugural seminar. ODK is an open-source toolkit that has simplified the ability for users to build forms, analyze, transfer and share data on various platforms. ODK is being used by thousands of people in a wide variety of ways. In Tanzania, ODK works with the Jane Goodall Institute to map unsafe areas for chimpanzees using data submitted over mobile phones; in the Congo, a visual version of the software enables illiterate Pygmies to track poachers’ locations; and in dozens of other countries, the tool is used to conduct public health and socioeconomic surveys. The “Research in Action” events create a forum where faculty and practitioners with extensive applied expertise can engage with intellectually curious students who bring their own innovative ideas. “We’re all coming together to this with different perspectives, different backgrounds, different biases,” said UC Berkeley bioengineering professor Dan Fletcher during a “Research in Action” seminar on CellScope, a smartphone-enabled microscope technology used for remote diagnosis in developing countries. CellScope, a student innovation, uses consumer technology to extend access to health care; it is being used to detect corneal diseases in Thailand, tuberculosis in Vietnam, oral cancer in India, and to image worms in Cameroon. The CellScope case study particularly resonated with the audience. According to Dr. Fletcher, its materialization was heavily dependent on the collaboration of technologies, ideas, and disciplines. The speaker series is helping build momentum toward the launch of a formal designated emphasis (DE) graduate program, which would be available to UC Berkeley doctoral students who have an interest in DevEng. The program is co-directed by UC Berkeley faculty Alice Agogino, Professor of Mechanical Engineering, and Clair Brown, Professor of Economics. The intention for this DE rests on the belief that the most powerful advances in development can be propelled through interdisciplinary collaboration and analysis of development solutions. “Specifically,” explained Brown, “the goal of a Designated Emphasis in Development Engineering is to facilitate and formalize an intellectual community to use advanced science, economics and technology for potential solutions to complex global issues.” The DE will require one main course, one research seminar, and a series of electives relevant to students’ research interests. It will focus on human-centered design along with participant feedback, impact evaluation, econometrics, automated data collection, and sustainability of new technologies. The program will be offered to doctoral students from the natural sciences, engineering, mathematics, computer science, information management, quantitative social sciences, and business programs. Weekly DevEng “Research In Action” seminars are held on Wednesdays at 4pm in B100 Blum Hall and will run through April 23, 2014. All students and faculty who wish to learn more about the program are welcome. Students and faculty at UC Berkeley are also encouraged to submit feedback and get involved in the creation of the DE. For more information, visit http://dil.berkeley.edu/students/designated-emphasis/ and subscribe to the DevEng

By: Andrea Guzman, 3rd Year Media Studies & Political Science Major February 4, 2014 — Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright addressed a packed audience last Thursday, sharing her perspective on the issues facing the nation and world today. Sponsored by the Blum Center for Developing Economies, founder Richard Blum began the evening by introducing Albright as one of his three favorite women in politics today and described how he enjoyed working with her in The National Democratic Institute. In a discussion moderated by former Governor of Michigan Jennifer Granholm, Albright focused on two emerging megatrends: the rise of globalization and interdependence, and the evolution of technology and its role in politics. Albright discussed the importance of nations’ involvement with others in the global community, stating that growing interconnectivity binds countries’ political and economic fates. In the U.S., she said, foreign aid advocates struggle to win Congressional support, but it is both possible and prudent for Americans to support economic development domestically and abroad. When addressing the evolution of technology, Albright emphasized its power in fostering both political engagement and development. She noted, however, that channeling public opinion through social media can also lead to the disaggregation of social movements. “Tahrir Square came together with social media, but how do you get that to government?” she asked. In addition to the megatrends, Albright stressed the need for more representation in government, including that of women. “I do believe the world would be better if there were more women in leading positions,” she said. When Albright was appointed the 64th Secretary of State by President Clinton in 1997, Albright became the highest ranking woman in the history of US government. Albright later took questions from the audience, ranging from her views on the Syrian conflict to her thoughts on basketball diplomacy’s usefulness in North Korea. “I appreciated her honesty about the balancing act diplomats must engage in,” said Veena Subramanian, a student in the Global Poverty & Practice Minor who attended the event. “They have to manage a genuine respect for human lives against the political games of DC.” To close the evening, Blum presented Albright with a Campaign for Berkeley bear pin, jokingly promising her an even more honorable award during her next visit with the assistance of Chancellor Dirks. When asked what she would like to be remembered for, Albright said she would like it to be for something other than just being the first female Secretary of State. Quoting her granddaughter, she said, “What’s the big deal? Only girls are Secretary of State.” Instead, she said she would like to be remembered for her initiative to take U.S. action in Kosovo in 1999, making her a popular figure in the area. “There’s a whole generation of little girls in Kosovo with the name Madeleine,” she said. Watch “Megatrends in Foreign

Blum Center Hosts FINCA International President & CEO Rupert Scofield for Talk on Building A Global Microfinance Network By: Abby Madan February 21, 2014 – Last week, Rupert Scofield, President and CEO of FINCA International, visited UC Berkeley’s Blum Center for Developing Economies to share his personal journey and the remarkable story of the FINCA microfinance network, which has provided much-needed financial services to low-income entrepreneurs around the world since 1984. Frequently referred to as the ‘World Bank for the Poor,’ FINCA is credited as being one of the pioneers of modern day microfinance. Under Scofield’s leadership, the organization has grown to serve over 1 million low-income entrepreneurs in 21 countries. Key to the organization’s success was a willingness to take chances and a commitment to building solid partnerships. Scofield’s involvement with FINCA dates back several decades. After graduating from college, Scofield took a chance and deferred his military draft to Vietnam to work in Guatemala with the Peace Corps. It was while working on an agricultural project in rural Guatemala that Scofield witnessed how small-scale loans could transform lives and contribute to social good. It was an experience that would define the rest of his life. Memory of the successful lending initiative in Guatemala stayed with Scofield through several subsequent jobs, eventually inspiring him to co-found FINCA, which began as a small NGO serving communities in Latin America. After years of pitching their vision to investors and development agencies, FINCA secured their first major backer. USAID awarded FINCA $10 million to implement their innovative village-banking model, which relies on a system of social pressure and support and requires clients to build credit by saving 20% of their profits. The village-banking model has since been replicated by many organizations, as it is seen to help transform how the poor find a foothold in local, national and global economies. During his talk, Scofield described the resistance that often challenges the pursuit of innovation. Although FINCA’s efforts were successful in Latin America, any attempt to expand their initiatives to other developing regions was met with skepticism. Uncollateralized lending was thought too risky and region-specific to be successfully implemented elsewhere. But Scofield followed the advice of his long-time friend Muhammad Yunus: stick to what you know has worked. Scofield partnered with socially responsible investors and pushed ahead to test the model in new regions, resulting in FINCA’s successful expansion to communities in Africa and Eurasia in the 1990s, and to the Middle East and South Asia in the 2000s. FINCA is now launching FINCA+, an initiative to identify scalable and sustainable human and social development interventions. In Uganda, for example, FINCA has introduced a low-cost solar lighting device that can also charge cell phones. FINCA’s story is an uplifting one, particularly at a time when the microfinance industry has struggled with allegations of loan sharking and reaping profits from poverty. “Not everyone who calls themselves a microfinance organization is like FINCA,” Scofield acknowledged. Many of the major microfinance groups, including FINCA, are now banding together to establish rules that protect clients. Scofield also cautioned against treating microfinance efforts as an end-goal in global development and poverty reduction. “This is not a solution to poverty for everyone,” he said. “This is a solution for survival.” For more about FINCA International, visit FINCA.org or follow @FINCA and @rupertscofield on

For the last year, Abby, Professor Roy and the Blum Center staff have been running the #GlobalPOV show. In order to expand to the project, Abby and Professor Roy recruited seven undergraduate students to join the team earlier this fall through UC Berkeley’s Undergraduate Research Apprentice Program (URAP), which allows students to gain research experience and gather a few units while they’re at it. The students have been helping with outreach, tweeting, blogging (i.e., writing this blurb), storyboarding, and providing general assistance with video production. Adding youth, vigor, sass, and extra hands to shake their smart phones in the “Who Sees Poverty?” video, the URAP students have been hard at work throughout the semester and are excited to help the project continue growing. Read on to learn more about what each of them have been up to! Ailen Vega Ailen is a Political Economy and Geography major, with an overall focus on rural development policy as well as a regional focus on Latin America. She is part of #GlobalPOV’s video production team, helping with everything from creating visual representations of the script to working with sound effects. Ailen is interested in the way global development and poverty issues are presented to the public and is excited to join the #GlobalPOV team to encourage alternatives way of thinking about and reflecting upon conventional understandings of poverty. For the past three semesters, Ailen has been a member and an Administrative Vice President for Delta Phi Epsilon, Cal’s Foreign Service/International Affairs Co-Ed Fraternity. Apart from academics, Ailen enjoys traveling, kayaking with her family, and eating empanadas. My favorite “aha” moment was from a brainstorming session, when we figured out that there’s “a need for patience in a world of seeming urgency.” Poverty action cannot be reactionary, but must evaluate the relationship between varying social, cultural, historical, economic, and environmental influences upon a region. Alex Berryhill Alex is a Political Economy major and Public Policy minor. She is working with the outreach team, tweeting and blogging on current events, poverty issues and updates on all the awesome things the Global Poverty and Practice (GPP) Minor community is up to. Alex has a strong interest in the social movements, women’s rights and refugee law. For the last two years she’s worked at UC Berkeley’s student newspaper, The Daily Californian, where she’s helped publish several GPP students’ op-eds. Alex also is president of a non-profit on campus called FeelGood that sells grilled cheese sandwiches to help end world hunger. She’s studying in Nicaragua in the Spring to research youth advocacy, and is excited to apply the themes presented in the #GlobalPOV videos to her studies in Central America. Alex says her “hero” in the fight to end poverty is Eleanor Roosevelt, due to her independence, strength and influence in advocating for poverty programs and international human rights. Alex is currently looking for an I-heart-E-Roose tee-shirt. My favorite ‘GPP line’ is: “ideas, too, can be weapons.” That’s what the #GlobalPOV Project does — it gives Millennials around the world access to the world’s most powerful weapons against inequality: knowledge, a lens for critical analysis, and a foundation for new ideas. Shrey Goel Shrey is an Environmental Science major, minoring in Global Poverty and Practice and on the Pre-Med track. Aside from helping out with the #GlobalPOV project on the Outreach Team, he is the Under-Secretary-General of External Relations for Berkeley Model United Nations (BMUN), a non-profit educational organization which runs an annual high school MUN conference on the Berkeley campus. For the past two years, Shrey has served as a hall staff member in the Berkeley residence halls, serving as a Residential Assistant last year at Clark Kerr and a Program Assistant this year at Unit 2. Shrey’s intellectual passion is learning about the complexities of how human health, environmental health, and poverty overlap and intersect. This upcoming summer, Shrey will be completing his GPP Minor Practice Experience in India for an organization called the Urban Health Resource Center. In his free time, he enjoys watching movies and listening to Arcade Fire all day. Doling out prescriptions to global poverty is easy — engaging in a critical conversation about the complexities and deep-seated contradictions inherent in poverty action, on the other hand, is more meaningful to me. That’s what I like about the #GlobalPOV Project: it doesn’t just claim to have the answers, but instead gives people the questions that need to be asked. Nathan Nguyen-Le Nathan is a Political Economy major and Creative Writing minor, and is working with Abby to create a short video describing her weekly schedule and all the processes involved in making the #GlobalPOV videos. He says that many would be surprised how many hours and days and weeks Abby must work to put out a quality product. Living in the information age, Nathan said it has become increasingly difficult to capture people’s attention, especially when education is thrown in the mix. Here is where he says the #GlobalPOV Project becomes very interesting: it blends the two, education and entertainment, into one seamless entity and keeps the audience’s attention through its creativity and visual effects. Although many volunteer in developing countries helping to feed the hungry, house the homeless, and give jobs to the jobless, #GlobalPOV brings light the economic and social cleavage between the poor and the rich, here in the USA. Rebecca Peters Rebecca is a senior in the Global Poverty and Practice minor, studying Society & Environment and Interdisciplinary Studies. She is working with the Outreach Team and focusing on creating a unified platform for Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and other multimedia for #GlobalPOV. She is working with Alex to create a blog that will connect students, faculty, and the global community to the #GlobalPOV Project. She hopes to further critical engagement with the ideas behind #GlobalPOV and create interactive ways for students to share their thoughts and learn from each other. She will continue critical engagement with these issues next year as a Marshall Scholar studying Poverty and Development at Manchester and Environmental Policy at Oxford. #GlobalPOV defies definition because it pushes the artificial boundaries of inclusion and exclusion, voice and dispossession, oppression and resistance with actors whose lines of identity — student and professor, microfinance donor and recipient, 99% and 1% — are mutable and always in motion. Julia Higgins Julia is a Political Economy major and Public Policy minor with an interest in international human rights, global development, and education reform and policy. She is working with the Outreach Team to help package the videos in a way that accurately conveys the project’s message and outlines the suggested use for the different types of people and groups who can use the work that the team has done to help raise awareness about global poverty. She is also going to be in contact with several GPP-oriented organizations that can help the #GlobalPOV Project “get the attention it deserves!” Julia has had an interest in poverty alleviation ever since she saw Professor Roy’s Ted Talk about un-knowing poverty and changing the public’s perspective on the poor. She is excited to help with the #GlobalPOV Project since it is a way to catalyze real, relevant change on a global scale. One of my favorite things about #GlobalPOV is that it challenges much quoted proverbs and age-old adages that have become clichés in the world of development…the videos do a great job of providing education about global poverty and alleviation strategies by pinpointing the real issues that need attention and calling Millennials to action to catalyze change in every way they can. Kelly Leilani Main Leilani is an Interdisciplinary Studies major with a focus on Art, Politics and Society. She intends to study Architecture and Urban Planning for her Master’s Degree with a concentration in post-conflict reconstruction and community planning in the Middle East. She also facilitates the “Art For Social Change” DeCal and is continuously inspired by the drive and creativity of the Berkeley campus. She thinks that the #GlobalPOV Project is the essence of the future of education because of its interdisciplinary approach and analysis, and because she is passionate about the potential of the arts as a powerful educational tool. She is part of the creative team because of her critical eye and enthusiasm for the creative process. She also is program coordinator and education director for The Olive Tree Initative at UC Berkeley, a conflict-resolution and educational initiative, as well as an intern at the Berkeley Art Center, where she seeks to empower community action through cultural production and exchange. Poverty action isn’t about taking your camera to an underprivileged neighborhood on the other side of the world. Poverty action is recognizing the faults and flaws of one’s own neighborhood and one’s own self. It is working to make concrete, long-lasting changes by challenging

Dr. Laura Stachel (MD, MPH), a researcher with the UC Berkeley Blum Center for Developing Economies, has been named one of CNN’s Top 10 Heroes of 2013 for her work to bring life-saving “solar suitcases” to hospitals and clinics in developing countries. While on a graduate student research trip to rural Nigeria, Stachel, a board-certified obstetrician-gynecologist, was shocked to observe obstetric care in a Nigerian hospital with unreliable electricity. She watched as nurses struggled to deliver babies by kerosene lantern, surgeons worked in near darkness, and critically ill mothers were turned away at night. These conditions put mothers’ and babies’ lives at risk, contributing to the 300,000 maternal deaths estimated each year globally—99% of which occur in the developing world. Stachel saw a challenge and an opportunity to help. With funding from Big Ideas@Berkeley and the Blum Center, she and her husband, Hal Aronson, developed solar electric systems for the Nigerian hospital. With stable lighting, mobile communication, and a blood bank refrigerator, the maternal deaths at the hospital decreased. Stachel and Aronson next developed a “solar suitcase”—a portable, compact version of the hospital solar electric system—that could scale to rural hospitals and clinics. Together, they founded We Care Solar with the goal of providing simple, reliable light and power sources to healthcare facilities in developing countries. Since 2009, more than 400 “solar suitcases” have served mothers and babies in over 20 countries. The Blum Center and its USAID-funded Development Impact Lab (DIL) are supporting on-going efforts to scale the initiative. The user-friendly, mobile and nearly maintenance-free suitcases, which cost around $1,500 and take only an hour to install, have proved an important innovation in the fight against maternal mortality worldwide. Stachel’s goal is to light up 10,000 clinics in the next five years, serving 2 million mothers and babies. “We are thrilled that Laura has received this recognition and believe she deserves to be CNN’s Hero of the Year,” said Shankar Sastry, Blum Center Faculty Director and Dean of the UC Berkeley College of Engineering. “Her work has saved the lives of many women and newborns and shows the power of engineering for development, which is the hallmark of our new initiative with USAID, DIL.” Stachel is one of CNN’s Top 10 Heroes of 2013, which recognizes everyday people who are changing the world. Each of the Top 10 CNN Heroes will receive a $50,000 grant, and one of the honorees, as voted by fans around the globe, will be named the CNN Hero of the Year, receiving an additional $250,000 grant to further aid their cause. Online voting for the “CNN Hero of the Year” ran from October 10 to November 17.   About the Blum Center for Developing Economies: The Blum Center for Developing Economies links world-class research, education, and innovation to create sustainable solutions to global poverty. Its mission is to improve the well-being of the world’s poor by designing and developing sustainable solutions to the toughest development challenges and educating a new generation of innovators, activists, and scholars to engage global poverty and inequality in imaginative and effective ways. The Center brings a rigorous multi-disciplinary approach and real-world applications to the classroom, lab, and into the field. Combining an unrivaled disciplinary depth and breadth, cutting-edge thinking, and the University of California’s unique culture of global engagement, the Center translates and applies innovative research to address the world’s most pressing problems. For more information, visit http://blumcenter.berkeley.edu About Big Ideas@Berkeley: Big Ideas@Berkeley is an annual innovation contest aimed at providing funding, support, and encouragement to interdisciplinary teams of UC undergraduate and graduate students who have “big ideas.” Since its founding in 2005, Big Ideas@Berkeley has inspired innovative and high-impact student projects aimed at solving the world’s most pressing problems. Winners have leveraged more than $25 million in additional funding as they’ve used the initial results generated with Big Ideas support to mobilize other resources. For more information, visit http://bigideascontest.org About the Development Impact Lab: The Blum Center for Developing Economies leads the USAID-funded Development Impact Lab headquartered at Berkeley, with other academic, industry and non-profit partners, to source, evaluate and scale technologies for development. The Lab is supporting an pipeline of innovative projects, building an evaluation platform for data collection to speed rapid prototyping, and training the next generation of development engineers. Learn more at http://dil.berkeley.edu. # # # Press contact: Rachel Voss (510) 643-5316

What we’ve found at Berkeley about how to get people to work together is that you define some kind of very big problem that needs to be solved, and attack it from a range of viewpoints. — Richard Newton IdeaLabs, a component of the Big Ideas@Berkeley program, are student-led hubs for discussion and idea-sharing around issues that are important to students—anything from climate change and health to safe water, nanotechnology, or household energy. The groups are multi-disciplinary gatherings of undergraduate and graduate students designed to bring out a range of viewpoints, ideas, and strategies. Each IdeaLab is unique, reflecting the goals and passions of the students behind it. The groups host regular discussions and events where students can gain new perspectives, share ideas, and work together with peers they might never meet in a classroom—engineers, aspiring entrepreneurs, and science buffs talk over a common interest with anthropologists, health experts, and public policy majors. Estrella Sainburg, student Director of the Berkeley Water Group IdeaLab, said the most rewarding part of leading the IdeaLab was hearing a new member’s excitement at finding a place on campus where other students shared her passion for water issues. IdeaLabs are more than just discussion groups, however—they are geared toward connecting students who can together explore real solutions to critical challenges. The Visualizing Urban Data IdeaLab recently hosted a hackathon to make sense of data related to the impending BART strike, including BART employees’ salaries, traffic, and ridership. “It was a challenge to work on an event transpiring in real time,” said VUD IdeaLab Director Lewis Lehe. The resulting projects have spurred online discussions and attracted attention from students across disciplines. “Coders want to see our visualizations. Planners and civil engineers want to experience urban spaces in a fresh way,” Lehe shared. “We’re excited to see the ideas and projects that these IdeaLabs continue to produce,” said Phillip Denny, Manager of the Big Ideas@Berkeley program at the Blum Center for Developing Economies. “You can find real innovation at the intersection of so many different perspectives. The interdisciplinary Big Ideas@Berkeley projects we see every year are a testament to that.” IdeaLabs have shown the benefits of bringing together diverse groups of students. Zoe Chafe, the student Director of the Climate Change and Health IdeaLab, described a visiting researcher’s recent presentation on the health “co-benefits” of climate change mitigation strategies in China. At the end of her presentation, a public health student asked about her health methodologies. Participants from the China Energy Group at Lawrence Berkeley National Lab asked about her collaborations with institutions in China. Other students wanted to know more about the economic valuation she used when presenting trade-offs. “This is exactly the type of intellectual exchange we are hoping to support: an open forum where there are no stupid questions and everyone is encouraged to share their knowledge,” said Chafe. IdeaLabs operate under the umbrella of the Big Ideas program. All IdeaLabs invite new undergraduate and graduate student members from across campus. Visit bigideascontest.org/idealabs to join an active group or learn how to start your

August 21, 2013 – Dr. Lina Nilsson, Innovation Director of the Blum Center for Developing Economies, has been named one of this year’s Innovators Under 35 by the MIT Technology Review. For more than a decade, the global media company has recognized a list of exceptionally talented technologists whose work has great potential to transform the world. “We’re proud of our selections and the variety of achievements they celebrate, and we’re proud to add Lina to this prestigious list,” says MIT Technology Review’s editor in chief and publisher Jason Pontin. “Over the years, we’ve had success in choosing women and men whose innovations and companies have been profoundly influential on the direction of human affairs. Previous winners include Larry Page and Sergey Brin, the cofounders of Google; Mark Zuckerberg, the cofounder of Facebook; Jonathan Ive, the chief designer of Apple; and David Karp, the creator of Tumblr.” Dr. Nilsson is being recognized for her work at the Blum Center as well as Tekla Labs, which works to enable scientists in the developing world to construct their own high- quality lab equipment using readily available, off-the-shelf items. Her selection highlights UC Berkeley’s strength in cultivating not only researchers and entrepreneurs, but also ambitious social innovators working across disciplines to meet global challenges head-on. One of 10 women on this year’s list, Dr. Nilsson also illustrates the growing influence of women in the fields of technology and innovation. “Lina is an extraordinarily talented researcher. Her work combines the best of innovative technology and a commitment to the alleviation of poverty in a new construct of development engineering. She is a ground-breaking thinker who truly embodies the Blum Center’s spirit of innovation and social engagement,” said Shankar Sastry, Dean of the College of Engineering and Faculty Director of the Blum Center. “We are delighted that she has been recognized for her pioneering achievements.” A biomedical engineer by training, Dr. Nilsson believes that global challenges in health, environment, and development require grassroots contributions from the entire global scientific community. While completing her MSc at the University of Washington, Dr. Nilsson received a Bonderman Fellowship to travel throughout resource-scarce areas in Asia and South America. She visited labs and met with scientists whose research was significantly hindered by a lack of standard lab equipment. Subsequently, she founded Tekla Labs as a platform for “thinking creatively about ways to sustainably improve access to equipment and other physical infrastructure” so that “more researchers around the globe will have access to the tools they need to act on their insights and transformative ideas.” Dr. Nilsson and this year’s other honorees are featured online at TechnologyReview.com and in the September/October print magazine, which hits newsstands worldwide on September 3. They will appear in person at the upcoming EmTech MIT conference from October 9–11 in Cambridge, MA. About the Blum Center for Developing Economies Established in 2006, the Blum Center for Developing Economies educates the next generation of global citizens to be agents of change in the struggle against global poverty. Its mission is to improve the well-being of three billion people in the world who live on less than two dollars a day by designing and developing sustainable solutions to tackle the toughest poverty challenges. The Center brings a rigorous multi-disciplinary approach and real-world applications to the classroom, lab and into the field. With its combination of unrivaled disciplinary depth and breadth, cutting-edge thinking, and the University of California’s unique culture of global engagement, the Center translates and applies innovative research to solving the world’s most pressing problems. About MIT Technology Review MIT Technology Review leads the global conversation about technologies that matter. An independent media company owned by MIT, it produces publications read by millions of business leaders, innovators, and thought leaders around the globe, in six languages and on a variety of platforms. The company publishes MIT Technology Review magazine, the most respected technology magazine; daily news features, analysis, and opinion; and Business Reports, which explain how technologies are transforming industries. It produces live events such as the annual EmTech MIT, international EmTech conferences, Summits, and Salons. The company’s entrepreneurial community organization, MIT Enterprise Forum, hosts 400+ events a year around the world. # # # For MIT Technology Review: David W.M. Sweeney 617-475-8018 press[at]technologyreview[dot]com For Blum Center: Fred Muir 310-278-9321 Office 310-600-8954 Cell fred[at]fredmuir[dot]com Christie Ly 917-617-2437

Distinguished scientist, Cabinet secretary and Nobel Prize winner brings national, global policy perspectives to next generation of global citizens Berkeley, Calif. (August 1, 2013) — The Blum Center for Developing Economies, a leading center for global poverty studies and innovative global development solutions, today announced that Dr. Steven Chu, former U.S. Energy Secretary and co-winner of the Nobel Prize for Physics, is returning as a member of its Board of Trustees. The distinguished scientist will provide important perspective and guidance on the future of the Center and its role in shaping future changemakers to address challenges faced by the world’s poor. “We are very pleased to have Dr. Chu rejoin our board,” said Richard C. Blum, Founder of the Blum Center. “To have someone of his stature and his level of scientific achievement will be a tremendous asset as we develop and offer world-class programs and innovative courses to this generation, who feel compelled to confront issues of global inequality.” Dr. Chu served as Trustee for the Blum Center from 2008 to 2009. He is currently Professor of Physics and Molecular and Cellular Physiology at Stanford University. Prior to his appointment, he served as the U.S. Secretary of Energy from January 21, 2009, to April 22, 2013, during which time he was charged with helping implement President Barack Obama’s agenda to invest in clean energy, reduce the country’s dependence on foreign oil, address the global climate crisis and create millions of new jobs. “Dr. Chu brings a wealth of experience working on sustainable energy solutions and novel technologies,” said Shankar Sastry, Dean of the University of California Berkeley College of Engineering and Faculty Director of the Blum Center. “His knowledge will greatly enhance the Blum Center’s work in leveraging the talent of faculty and students—particularly those in the STEM fields—toward global development, and will help us build up the innovative field of development engineering at UC Berkeley.” Prior to his Cabinet post, Dr. Chu was the Director of the Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Lab, where he led the pursuit of alternative and renewable energy technologies. He also taught at UC Berkeley as a Professor of Physics and Professor of Molecular and Cell Biology. Previously, he held positions at Stanford University and AT&T Bell Laboratories. The award-winning scientist is the co-recipient of the Nobel Prize for Physics (1997) for his research for the cooling and trapping of atoms in laser light. The Blum Center’s Board features many dignitaries, including former U.S. presidents, Cabinet members and senators; former government officials from foreign nations; and global business leaders, innovators and entrepreneurs. In addition to Dr. Chu and Mr. Blum, the list includes Board Chair Laura Tyson, Professor in the UC Berkeley Haas School of Business and Former Chair of the President’s Council of Economic Advisors; Former U.S. Secretary of Labor Robert B. Reich; Former U.S. Secretary of State George Shultz; Caio Koch-Weser, Vice Chairman, Deutsche Bank Group and Former Deputy Finance Minister of Germany; Former U.S. Senator Thomas A. Daschle of DLA Piper, LLP; and Vinod Khosla, President of Khosla Ventures, among others. About The Blum Center for Developing Economies Established in 2006, the Blum Center for Developing Economies cultivates and educates the next generation of global citizens to be agents of change in the struggle against global poverty. Its mission is to improve the well-being of three billion people in the world who live on less than two dollars a day by designing and developing sustainable solutions to tackle the toughest poverty challenges. The Center brings a rigorous multi-disciplinary approach and real-world applications to the classroom, lab and into the field. With its combination of unrivaled disciplinary depth and breadth, cutting-edge thinking, and the University of California’s unique culture of global engagement, the Center translates and applies innovative research to solving the world’s most pressing problems. More information at http://blumcenter.berkeley.edu/ # # # Media Contacts: Fred Muir, For Blum Center 310-278-9321 Office 310-600-8954 Cell fred[at]fredmuir[dot]com Christie Ly 917-617-2437 Cell christiely3[at]gmail[dot]com

NextBillion, an initiative of the World Resources Institute’s Markets and Enterprise Program in partnership with the William Davidson Institute (WDI) at the University of Michigan, is a web forum for the community of business leaders, social entrepreneurs, NGOs, policy makers and academics who want to explore the connection between development and enterprise. NextBillion recently highlighted The #GlobalPOV Project as part of its “NexThought Monday” coverage. Regarding the third video in the #GlobalPOV series, “Who Profits From Poverty?,” NextBillion writes: Taking on directly the idea of the “fortune at the bottom of the pyramid,” [Prof. Ananya] Roy and Abby [VanMuijen] illustrate with words and pictures the opportunity, risk, and history of creating markets for the poor. Not all of that history has been good for the poor, in fact much of it has been very costly for them while generating plenty of profits for the privileged and wealthy.” Regarding the #GlobalPOV audience—undergraduate students at the start of their careers, NextBillion quotes Roy: Most centers focused on global poverty in America are focused on cutting edge research for graduate level, and that is very important, but we felt they were very disconnected with this larger generation of undergraduates who are really the most passionate about poverty action,” Roy says. “We recognized that our goal wasn’t to turn them into development specialists; they could do that in graduate school and they could do that in work after college. The main idea of the program has been the ethics of global citizenship—not global leadership, but global citizenship, to produce a different kind of architect or engineer or lawyer.” Read the full article on Next Billion