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christopher r. wronski michigan tech open sustainability technology group photovoltaics , protocrystallinity , open source hardware , open source appropriate technology , materials engineering michigan tech , queen 's university joshua pearce.jpg joshua pearce
 joshua m. pearce the pennsylvania state university
joshua pearce

joshua m. pearce is an academic engineer at michigan tech known for his work on protocrystallinity , photovoltaic technology , open source appropriate technology , and open source hardware including reprap 3d printers .
dr. pearce received his ph.d. at the pennsylvania state university , where his work on protocrystallinity helped develop low-cost amorphous silicon solar photovoltaic technology .
his solar research continues , but he is also a vocal advocate of an open source approach to technical development .
ars technica compared him to richard stallman , an american software freedom activist , for his work related to open-source nanotechnology .
he applied open-source 3-d printing and electronics to scientific equipment design , where he has claimed both superior innovation and lower costs .
his research has shown that printing household items with a reprap is less costly and better for the environment than purchasing conventionally manufactured goods .
similarly , his group developed the recyclebot , a waste plastic extruder , which drops the cost of 3d printing filament from $ 35/kg to ten cents per kg while making recycling even more environmentally beneficial .
in 2013 his group released an open-source 3d printer capable of printing in steel , which cost less than us$ 1,200 .
in order to encourage more rapid technological development according to `` scientific american '' .
this cost reduction was significant as the `` new york times '' reported commercial metal printers at the time cost over us$ 500,000 .
following the same approach , dr. pearce developed the early work on open source appropriate technology , which is technology that is designed with special consideration to the environmental , ethical , cultural , social , political , and economical aspects of the community it is intended for -rrb- that are designed in the same fashion as free and open source software .
for example , he further developed inexpensive methods such as sodis to disinfect drinking water in the developing world , using sunlight , water bottles , and salt .
