Honors News Archive

Honors: Your work sounds fascinating and like a good example of how multiple disciplines can be applied in real-world experience. How does this project combine science and the humanities (if it does)?

Justin: I’ve always had somewhat of a wall that runs through me--on one side is this highly analytical and logical part of my self, and on the other is a more creative and emotional side. I love math and science and puzzles, but I also love listening to music and creating it and reading fiction and watching films. And while I find things like special relativity and the fact that e^πi+1=0 to be cool, I also find the human experience and emotional spectrum to be fascinating. It took a really long time for me to recognize that those sides of my self didn’t necessarily have to be at war with each other. I remember being really nervous about picking a major because I felt like I would have to let one of those sides die out in favor of the other. I did whatever I could to find ways to combine the two.

This job is a really great bridge for the those two sides: my creative side is satiated by problem-solving and building; my analytical side is appeased through the technical calculations and scientific theory that governs my work (I’m still learning so much); my human side is satisfied through knowing that what we are working on could have a huge impact on people that need help. I realize that I just introduced a third side to what we agreed initially was simply a two-sided system, but we’re just going to have to accept that and move on.

Honors: Many recent college graduates are challenged by trying to find work in their chosen field. How did you come to secure this excellent position?

Justin: The Honors Program actually plays into this story—my freshman year roommate from the now defunct McMahon 4 Honors floor was Benjamin Janicki and his father is the founder and CEO of Janicki Industries. Benjamin used to toot their horn to me and I suppose I was just slowly brainwashed over time.  I ended up interning there one summer and really enjoyed the small, open culture. They started working on projects for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in the years following that internship. I knew I really wanted to work on an engineering project that had a human focus, so applying to Janicki was kind of a no-brainer from there. My internship went well and my relevant experience as president of the UW student chapter of Engineers Without Borders helped me get the job.

Honors: You mentioned an especially groundbreaking project last time we spoke: Janicki is converting human waste into useable water and fuel? That sounds amazing! What the heck is that project and how soon is it going to be up and running?

Justin: So essentially, it operates on the fact that human waste is actually pretty decent fuel for a fire, but in its fresh state, so to speak, it’s just too wet. This machine boils off the water content of the poop in a massive dryer: a metal monstrosity. That boiled-off water, now steam, is then purified, filtered, and condensed into potable, drinking water. Now that the water is gone, the poop is dry and can be burned in a special fire. This fire boils water to create steam, some of which is then used by a steam engine to turn a generator and create electrical power. The rest of the steam goes back to the dryer to heat up the incoming wet poop. Once the whole process is done, all the poop has been burned, destroying pathogens/health risks, and two pretty useful outputs have been created: electricity and clean, drinking water.

The machine is already up and running—we did a demonstration for Bill Gates in mid-November (which was pretty surreal). The first version will be shipping to Dakar sometime in the early part of 2015.

Honors: What is your role in all of this? 

Justin: I am on the engineering team for the second iteration of this machine, which is designed to be able to handle larger amounts of waste and in turn generate larger volumes of drinking water and larger magnitudes of power.

I can’t believe how fortunate I am to be working on this project. I feel so lucky, that as a knuckle-head 22 year old who’s still trying to figure out how to do this adult thing, I somehow get to be a part of this effort.  I hope that it does bring about beneficial and lasting change to the developing world’s sanitation issues. There’s not much more I want in my life than to make tiny changes (hopefully good) to Earth while I’m on it. I feel lucky that my job is one means by which to do that.

Honors: Does this mean you get to make “potty” jokes at the office?

Justin: You have no idea.

It’s a crappy job, but somebody’s got to do it.

I thought I learned a lot in my engineering classes, but ultimately I didn’t learn s*** until I started working on this project.

I’m so sorry…

Honors: Let’s change the subject. What poetry do you find goes best with turning waste into drinkable water?

Justin: I can’t say that I’ve found any poetic soundtrack to this project. That being said, I do like to balance out all the technical work of the day with some literature at night. I’ve been completely swallowed whole by Japanese author Haruki Murakami ever since I started this job and I have gone through six of his novels. Finishing one of his stories is like waking up from a strange and profound dream. I read one review that mentioned how any author can tell a story that resembles a dream, but only Murakami can make you, as the reader, feel like you’re dreaming it yourself. I thought that was a beautifully accurate description of his works and abilities as a writer.