My decision to commit to Penn State was heavily influenced by my passion for the work the HESE program does. HESE does humanitarian aid right. The program focuses on stakeholder relationships, building successful business with Kenyan input at the center, and doing what's best for the Kisumu community not what looks best in a research paper. I am incredibly proud of the work I accomplished in this program and even more proud of how the program molded me into a better leader, team member, and human. I always love to discuss my time in HESE and working in Kisumu. Find more information about the HESE program at this link or contact me!

Avicon the Quelea Deterrent

My team's project called Avicon focused on the quelea bird found across East Africa. It is a deceptively small bird that gathers in flocks numbering in the millions and eats staple crops including rice, millet, and sorghum. Due to changes in weather pattern the birds were forced out of their native Central Africa habitat towards the coast and their numbers grew exponentially when exposed to the grain farmland in countries like Kenya and Tanzania. The birds cause enough damage to bankrupt smallholder farmers and make a negative impact on the Kenyan economy. My team worked on creating low-cost deterrents to keep the quelea bird away from rice fields. See the two research papers we published on our work below.

Team Co-Lead Job Description

• Coordinated and motivated team of six undergraduate students and multiple stakeholders

• Built relationships with members of the Kisumu agricultural community via WhatsApp, video calls, and during field work creating long lasting business relationships based on reciprocity and respect

• Organized and implanted a survey campaign that reached over 300 Kenyan smallholder farmers

Team Member Job Description

• Researched, designed, and developed a business plan and product for a new venture idea

• Created, organized, and updated contact sheets, research documents, and prototype designs

• Conducted a three-week research project including field experimentation in Kisumu, Kenya

• Co-Authored two research papers in IEEE format

• Presented two research posters on the findings of the field research 

• Presented business pitch presentations during the process of creating the business model and research plan

• Presented research papers at IEEE conference and participated on the panel of a Q&A session for agricultural focused humanitarian aid.

Agriculture Subject Matter Consultant Job Description

• Mentored HESE teams who interacted with members of the agricultural community in Kisumu

• Connected established Kisumu contacts with HESE teams as deemed appropriate by myself and the professor

• Supported the teams three-week research projects in Kisumu, Kenya through instruction on proper meeting etiquette, cultural norms, and agricultural background information

Publications - click citation to view full text

Aumen, Alexander & Gagliardi, Gianna & Kinkead, Colleen & Nguyen, Van & Smith, Kaylee & Gershenson, John. (2024). Influence of the Red-Billed Quelea Bird on Rice Farming in the Kisumu, Kenya Region. 64-71. 10.1109/GHTC62424.2024.10771535. 

Aumen, Alexander & Gagliardi, Gianna & Kinkead, Colleen & Nguyen, Van & Smith, Kaylee & Gershenson, John. (2024). Operational and Financial Analysis of Smallholder Rice Farming in Kisumu, Kenya. 364-370. 10.1109/GHTC62424.2024.10771571.