Tonight’s Rose Cafe was especially exciting, as we were able to hear from our own House Professor Garrick Blalock. I enjoyed how Professor Blalock began his talk by asking the audience a series of questions, immediately drawing us into the discussion and also setting a tone of self-reflection for the entire cafe. We first discussed how most Americans agree that protecting the environment is important, and that driving a Prius reduces harmful emissions. Why, then, do most Americans not drive this carbon footprint – reducing vehicle? Is it that a Prius is too expensive, or not fashionable enough? Similarly, Ugandans are unlikely to adopt the use of modern stoves, despite their knowledge that doing so would greatly improve their health. Professor Blalock emphasized the concept that a product must fit the needs of the consumer. Just as a Prius is not large enough to fit American families with several children, a modern stove might not be large enough for a Ugandan to cook multiple dishes at once — both the Prius and the stove can thus be considered inconvenient. And though one might jump to the conclusion that Ugandans are reluctant to buy an expensive modern stove, Professor Blalock assured us that the stoves could be payed for in installments of small amounts of money. If Ugandans, then, are both aware of the health benefits of the modern stove, and able to afford this new technology, then it certainly must be the shortcomings of the product that prevents its full adoption? If the stoves and Priuses were larger, would Ugandans and Americans be willing to switch to these products? As Professor Blalock emphasized, in order to create change, we need engineers who design modern technologies to be working alongside sociologists and anthropologists who seek to understand human behavioral patterns. After all, what good is the most breakthrough modern technology if it is not adopted by society?