Foundation Scholar Benjamin Shorofsky

Background on Ben

Ben is an Environmental Engineering major at Northwestern, with an interest in sustainability and renewable energy. He has traveled to Japan, Mexico, and Senegal with family and recently returned from Israel on a Birthright student trip. Ben has always loved the outdoors and is an avid skier.

Ben hopes to someday use his environmental engineering degree to work with NGO’s in developing nations to improve the quality of drinking water and the standard of living through environmentally friendly applications. This summer, he was in Evanston conducting research on renewable energy as part of the Kimberly Gray Group.

While at Northwestern, Ben has served as the Publicity Chair for the McCormick student advisory board hoping to improve the communication between student groups and facilitate student-administration relations.

Much of his winter quarter is spent on the slopes as part of the Northwestern Club Ski Team. Competing in the Midwest region, Ben participated in both Slalom and Giant Slalom racing throughout the season. He been serving as the Social Chair of the team working to promote team unity.

Ben is also a member of the Sigma Chi Fraternity. Serving as Derby Day’s Chair, he led a philanthropic event that raised $15,000 for Children’s Miracle Network. It was a rewarding experience that required him to both coordinate and promote both his fraternity and a large portion of the student body.

Ben hopes that with his experience as a Foundation Scholar, he will be able to promote sustainable development worldwide and use it as a tool that can improve the lives of individuals.

Ben's Research Topic

As an environmental engineer, Ben aims to find solutions to creating a sustainable society while improving the lives of people within local communities.

What does Sustainable Development (SD) mean and how is it being implemented worldwide? Ben plans a worldwide analysis of the many trial programs promoting SD in both developed and developing countries and how these programs work in various ways to meet the needs of a given community.

Ben will look at the technology being developed to make communities sustainable, and the effects sustainablitity has on the local populations. Understanding SD and the implications it has for communities will provide insight into the most effective technologies and strategies for improving environmental and living conditions worldwide.

Itinerary of Circumnavigation (draft)

• Ecuador
• Ghana
• England
• Denmark
• United Arab Emirates
• Indonesia