Sonam Wangchuk (engineer)

This article is about the engineer and inventor. For the Indian Army officer of the same name, see Sonam Wangchuk.

Sonam Wangchuk
Wangchuk in 2017
Born (1966-09-01) 1 September 1966 (age 58)
Alchi, Jammu and Kashmir (now in Ladakh, India)
Education
  • B.Tech (Mechanical Engineering)
  • DSA (Earthen Architecture)
Alma mater
Occupation(s)Engineer, educator
OrganizationStudents' Educational and Cultural Movement of Ladakh
Known forIce Stupa, SECMOL, Ladags Melong, Operation New Hope
Parents
  • Sonam Wangyal (father)
  • Tsering Wangmo (mother)
AwardsGlobal Award for Sustainable Architecture (2017)[1]
Fred M. Packard Award (2016) [2]
Rolex Awards for Enterprise (2016)[3]
Real Heroes Award (2008)
Ashoka Fellowship for Social Entrepreneurship (2002)[4]
Ramon Magsaysay Award (2018)[4]

Sonam Wangchuk (born 1 September 1966) is an Indian engineer, innovator and education reformist.[5][6][7][8][9][10] He is the founding-director of the Students' Educational and Cultural Movement of Ladakh (SECMOL), which was founded in 1988 by a group of students who had been in his own words, the 'victims' of an alien education system foisted on Ladakh.[11][12] He is also known for designing the SECMOL campus that runs on solar energy and uses no fossil fuels for cooking, lighting or heating.[13][14][15]

Wangchuk was instrumental in the launch of Operation New Hope in 1994, a collaboration of government, village communities and the civil society to bring reforms in the government school system.[16] He invented the Ice Stupa technique that creates artificial glaciers, used for storing winter water in the form of a cone-shaped ice heap.[17][18][19]

  1. ^ Rana, Nikita (2 June 2017). "World Environment Day 2017: Sonam Wangchuk's ice stupas ensure there's water in Ladakh". Firstpost.
  2. ^ "Packard Awardees". IUCN. 10 June 2020.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference ht1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference ashoka was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ "These 10 Innovators Are Changing the World, From Oceans to Eye Care". National Geographic. 25 November 2016. Archived from the original on 16 November 2016.
  6. ^ Khattar, Sakshi (26 July 2008). "Teach India: Think local, think Ladakhi". The Times of India.
  7. ^ "3 Idiots pato के असली फुनसुक वांगडू, फेल छात्र भी इनसे पढ़कर बनते हैं वैज्ञानिक" (in Hindi). Daily Bhaskar. 30 May 2015.
  8. ^ "Meet the real life 'Phunsukh Wangdu' from '3 Idiots'". The Economic Times. 18 November 2016.
  9. ^ Varghese, Shiny (22 December 2016). "The best solar device is timing". Indian Express.
  10. ^ Griffin, Peter (29 December 2014). "Ice Stupas: Conserving water the 3 Idiots way". Forbes India.
  11. ^ Khanna, Aastha (24 November 2019). "There is greater need for basic intelligence than artificial intelligence, says Sonam Wangchuk". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 19 December 2022.
  12. ^ Cite error: The named reference DNA was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  13. ^ "From Leh comes a mountain of ideas". The Times of India. Delhi. 26 November 2016.
  14. ^ Ranjendra, Ranjani (8 December 2016). "In the land of little rain". The Hindu.
  15. ^ "लद्दाख में बच्चों के लिए उम्मीद की नई किरण हैं 'सोनम वांगचुक'" (in Hindi). Zee News. 18 January 2017.
  16. ^ Cite error: The named reference mint was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  17. ^ Lenin, Janaki (24 February 2015). "Artificial glacier could help Ladakh villagers adapt to climate change". The Guardian.
  18. ^ Saxena, Siddharth (22 February 2015). "Ice stupas to end water woes". The Times of India.
  19. ^ Ibrar, Mohammad (26 November 2016). "पानी की किल्लत से जूझते लद्दाख में सोनम वांगचुक का आइडिया किसानों के लिए साबित हो रहा गेमचेंजर" (in Hindi). Navbharat Times.