October 22, 2021

Sustainable Homes Challenge: Meet Jack Roussos

I am Jack, I am a 3rd year mechatronic engineering student, I have a background in 3D modelling, project management and automation. I’m really fascinated by the implementation of industry 4.0 in a variety of fields.

I joined the sustainable homes challenge because I saw a possibility to implement the relevant tools that I have learned about industry 4.0 such as IoT, smart home design and more as well as an opportunity to collaborate with people outside of my discipline in a project. Initially, I entered the challenge with the idea of using a large-scale 3D printer to print houses using organic filament. Since then I have had the opportunity to explore different sustainable home design options. 

As someone who is interested learning how to live more sustainably and the effect that people have on the environment around them, the sustainable homes challenge was a good fit for me.  The opportunity to work with a team who is passionate about sustainability and are able to utilize such a diverse knowledge base is very exciting and rewarding. 

I’ve had the opportunity to learn a lot of things during guest lectures and the prepared modules, things I’ve never considered to be a part of sustainability like the circular economy as well as areas more relevant to my understandings such as the supply chain.

The most difficult part of the sustainable homes challenge has been researching, developing, and communicating ideas. Sustainable design is a field I am very interested in but only have a very limited understanding of, as I elected to research sustainable materials for a home there were a lot of factors to consider. I had to undertake significant research to ensure that I was choosing the right materials for the right reason. It was in this way that I could develop my understanding of the subject matter and improve my decision-making process. I had the idea to utilize a used cargo container and began modeling it for use in the model. As I understood more, I was able to further develop the ideas that I wanted to implement in the housing design that were more sustainable than the cargo container. After this I was able to communicate with the group my findings from a more knowledgeable perspective than when I first joined the group.

This cycle of iterative research and development is a valuable skill that I look forward to taking with me in my studies.