{"id":144631,"date":"2026-02-05T11:43:08","date_gmt":"2026-02-05T11:43:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/144631\/"},"modified":"2026-02-05T11:43:08","modified_gmt":"2026-02-05T11:43:08","slug":"usf-students-collaborate-on-solar-water-heater-prototype","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/144631\/","title":{"rendered":"USF students collaborate on solar water heater prototype"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/a>Zaid Alkhairi, on the left, and Thomas Culhane, in the middle, assemble the solar water heater prototype at Rosebud Continuum. SPECIAL TO THE ORACLE\/LOGAN RANCE<\/p>\n

Hot water is inaccessible to millions of displaced people worldwide \u2014 but two USF graduate students are working to change that.<\/p>\n

Chelsea Mandrigues and Zaid Alkhairi are both master\u2019s students in the USF Patel College of Global Sustainability.<\/p>\n

Last semester, Mandrigues and Alkhairi spent their weekends constructing a solar water heater<\/a> specially designed to bring hot water to people living in refugee camps.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Solar water heaters use the sun\u2019s energy to generate heat without relying on external power, and can be installed on rooftops and other sunlit outdoor spaces.<\/p>\n

Many solar water heaters rely on welds or custom parts, making them difficult to repair, replace or construct \u2014 especially in conflict zones.\u00a0<\/p>\n

However, Mandrigues and Alkhairi\u2019s design reflects a much larger ambition.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In fall 2025, Mandrigues and Alkhairi engineered a system and completed their first prototype using accessible materials \u2014 such as copper pipes and Plexiglas.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith what we\u2019re building, we want to be able to ship something ready to assemble, that can be put together with just a wrench and a hammer,\u201d Alkhairi said.<\/p>\n

Related: USF rocket team takes flight in NASA competition despite challenges<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n

Alkhairi, who grew up in Jordan, said he is no stranger to water security issues. He said he understood from a young age how limited access to water can make life difficult.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is something that I care passionately about, and I\u2019m here to provide ideas,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Mandrigues carries her own memories of water insecurity.\u00a0<\/p>\n

As a child living through Michigan\u2019s harsh winters, she said she sometimes lacked hot running water and remembers heating pots on the stove to take a warm bath.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cFrom my own experience, I know that having [hot water] is about dignity,\u201d Mandrigues said.<\/p>\n

Mandrigues and Alkhairi said those experiences instilled a desire to help others \u2014 especially people in crisis.\u00a0<\/p>\n

When they saw families struggling to access essentials such as clean water in places like hurricane-stricken Jamaica<\/a> and war-torn Gaza<\/a>, the project\u2019s purpose became clear \u2014 to help restore this basic human necessity.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Chelsea Mandrigues, on the left, Zaid Alkhairi, in the middle, and Thomas Culhane, on the right, display their newly constructed solar water heater. SPECIAL TO THE ORACLE\/CHELSEA MANDRIGUES<\/p>\n

Although Mandrigues and Alkhairi met at USF, much of the project\u2019s hands-on work took place at Rosebud Continuum<\/a>, a sustainability education center in Land O\u2019 Lakes.<\/p>\n

Many specialists helped guide the project, including Thomas Culhane, an assistant professor at USF\u2019s Patel College of Global Sustainability.<\/p>\n

Culhane said the project\u2019s design is inspired in part by his own work building solar water heaters<\/a> in Cairo and Palestine during the mid-2000s \u2014 when he was a graduate student studying urban planning.\u00a0<\/p>\n

According to him, blockades often prevent metal tools and welding equipment from entering Gaza.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Therefore, a solar water heater that can be assembled without welding or fuel-powered torches is critical in areas with similar restrictions.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith these embargos, you can\u2019t even get in medicine or food,\u201d Culhane said. \u201cSo you\u2019re certainly not going to get acetylene torches and gas cylinders needed for welding. But you could, feasibly, get in copper pipes and Plexiglas.\u201d<\/p>\n

Related: USF seniors launch Bulls Give Back to fight food insecurity in Tampa Bay<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n

Hot water is necessary to support disease prevention, sanitation and personal hygiene \u2014 but refugee camps often have limited access to the resource, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

But Mandrigues said the issue goes beyond physical health.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIn human rights work, one of the main tactics of genocide or oppression is to strip people of their dignity,\u201d she said. \u201cSometimes something as small as warm water helps restore that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Alkhairi added that water is essential for every human being.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIf we can\u2019t provide at least hot water to people who need it, then what are we really doing?\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

And though the team said the project has required persistence and dedication, Mandrigues and Alkahairi said it feels like they\u2019re hitting their stride.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow that we\u2019ve finished this first panel, the next one will come together quickly,\u201d Mandrigues said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Culhane said he envisions publishing videos, schematics and step-by-step guides after the prototype is up and running at Rosebud Continuum this semester \u2014 so anyone can replicate the system even if construction materials can\u2019t cross borders.<\/p>\n

Mandrigues and Alkhairi said they believe their solar water heater can serve as a model for communities around the world, and are hopeful other students will join them.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you can see a child smile because they took a warm bath, I feel like I\u2019d be happy for the rest of my life,\u201d Mandrigues said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Zaid Alkhairi, on the left, and Thomas Culhane, in the middle, assemble the solar water heater prototype at…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":144632,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[135,137,136],"class_list":["post-144631","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tampa","tag-tampa","tag-tampa-headlines","tag-tampa-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/144631","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=144631"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/144631\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/144632"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=144631"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=144631"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=144631"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}