Everyone wants a house to live in. More and more, people around the world want the kinds of houses seen in Europe and North America, rather than those they grew up in. However, industrial building materials can be scarce and expensive — alternative, locally sourced, sustainable materials are often a better choice.

“In some places steel and concrete are perfect, while straw bales and bamboo are optimal in other places. We should be evaluating what is economically, socially and environmentally sustainable at the necessary scale in a given location,” said Khanjan Mehta, director, Humanitarian Engineering and Social Entrepreneurship Program and assistant professor of engineering design.

Mehta recently presented on sustainable housing in Africa at the 2016 annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in Washington, D.C.

Members of the news media interested in talking to Mehta should contact A’ndrea Messer at 814-865-9481 or aem1@psu.edu.