Earth Day Combinations at the Whitehouse

Yesterday the President hosted successful young researchers and experimenters on the south lawn of the White House. From bio-fuel algae to nanotube early warning cancer marker tests, the student accomplishments are inspired.

A water purification system from high schoolers in Florida was particularly noteworthy because it combines commodity components in a surprising and useful way. The ten micron screen, ozone purification module, bycycle powered generator and other components are commodity grade and widely available on the web — it’s their combination that landed the team on the lawn of the White House.  The whole is greater than the sum of the parts and many of the parts have a duel purpose. The oversize box that contains the electronics also serves as storage when the system is not being used, and the enclosure converts into a trailer that can be hitched to the back of the bike to help with logistics and transportation.

Digital solutions follow the same pattern and share many of the same characteristics. Each REST, API and database component, on it’s own, is not headline news, but the combination is inspiring. Like the students at the White House Science Fair yesterday, agencies are in the “Combinations Business,” mixing and combining commodity components in ways that are surprising and useful.