About

I have some ideas on how to fix that. They're not very good ideas, but at least they're ideas!

Adam Savage

I started Benja! while studying Engineering in Upstate NY, where I spent 5 years destroying my social life and replacing it with knowledge! I found the lectures my major offered to be an incomplete experience, so I spent a good chunk of my time outside of classes and coursework applying what I'd learned to various projects. In the end, the opposite occurred - the projects helped me learn the concepts!

Eight years later, my journey has taken me through a variety of disciplines, across the United States and abroad, and over many snares and obstacles. More recently in my life, something has clicked in how I see the world and my place in it. I study the design of Cities and Transit in my free time, I feel a strong concern for the climate, the loss of natural ecosystems, and have an urge to take action using the skills that I've got. While the areas of research and creation posted here are broad, they tend to fit into the following foci:

Effective and Efficient Urban Form

Bringing cities and people closer together, bringing the things we need closer to cities, and making our existing dense places pleasant and vibrant.

Sustainable Agriculture

Producing food near to where its eaten, with a reduction in the fuel, water, and other resources involved. The goal is to survive changing weather patterns, reduce carbon emissions, and give land back to the natural ecosystems which previously regulated our planet's climate.

Making things which aren't Disposable

In particular, redesigning and rethinking single-use plastics and gadgets so they can be easily recycled. Also: Zero Waste design, and improving recycling to accept more materials.

I don't expect to accomplish all of these, but hey, you have to give yourself options. Admittedly, some of what I share on this blog has no big-picture application. But, with some tweaking, some of them might. And who knows what lies ahead!