A genius in the making
OZY Media, a digital publisher that focuses on “the new and the next,” has awarded Claudine Humure ’17 a $10,000 genius award.
The funding will support her work developing low-cost 3-D printed adjustable prosthetic sockets for amputees in developing countries who cannot afford prosthetic limbs. (Read more about Humure’s research here.)
Humure—among 10 students chosen from hundreds of applicants—received the award at the OZY Genius Awards Ceremony on March 31 in New York City. A panel of distinguished judges—including Laurene Powell Jobs (Emerson Collective founder and chair); Katie Couric (Yahoo Global anchor); David Drummond (Google senior executive); and Jarl Mohn (NPR president and CEO)—selected the winners.
“The award will allow me to continue working on my research this summer by covering the costs of materials and other expenses,” Humure said. “I feel honored. The awards ceremony was beautiful, and an amazing experience.”
Humure, a biology major and business and management minor originally from Rwanda, developed the prosthetic socket with some help from the 3-D printers in the WHALE Lab. Her design is adjustable to account for growth and other daily changes in an amputee’s body.
Her dream is to someday open a clinic specializing in affordable prosthetic limbs in Rwanda.