$100,000 Lemelson-MIT Award for Sustainability Awarded to Dr.
Elizabeth Hausler for Culturally Accepted, Sustainable Reconstruction in
Developing Countries
May 10, 2011 (Business Wire) -- Please replace the caption with the accompanying corrected caption.
Social Entrepreneur Wins 2011 $100,000 Lemelson-MIT Award for Sustainability for Innovative Post-Disaster Reconstruction Dr. Elizabeth Hausler, founder and CEO of Build Change, a nonprofit aimed at reducing deaths, injuries and economic losses caused by housing collapses from earthquakes in developing countries, received this year's $100,000 Lemelson-MIT Award for Sustainability. By leveraging materials, engineers, laborers, homeowners, and government officials native to the areas in which she works, Hausler has created a low-cost model that ensures lasting adoption. (Photo: Tim Pelling)
The release reads:
SOCIAL ENTREPRENEUR AND BUILD CHANGE FOUNDER HONORED FOR EARTHQUAKE-RESISTANT HOUSING INNOVATION
$100,000 Lemelson-MIT Award for Sustainability Awarded to Dr. Elizabeth Hausler for Culturally Accepted, Sustainable Reconstruction in Developing Countries
The Lemelson-MIT Program today announced Dr. Elizabeth Hausler as the recipient of the 2011 $100,000 Lemelson-MIT Award for Sustainability in recognition of her engineering accomplishments and creation of a model that establishes sustainable earthquake-resistant housing in the developing world. Hausler, CEO and Founder of Build Change, shaped a reconstruction solution to combat building collapses during natural disasters, which can potentially save thousands of lives.
A lack of building standards in many developing countries can lead to poorly designed and constructed homes that collapse when earthquakes strike, displacing, injuring and killing people. The 2010 earthquake in Haiti alone claimed hundreds of thousands of lives when the 7.0 magnitude tremor crumbled homes into rubble.1 Knowing there was a simple solution to this man-made problem, Hausler created a six-step process for home reconstruction that yields sturdy, economically and culturally feasible buildings which she has been implementing since 2004.
Empowering Homeowners to Rebuild
Build Change's model is based on simplicity.