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Classroom kudos
 By Beth Forbes
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Henry Quesada tests the durability of a chair on a device called the "torture chamber." (photo by Tom Campbell)
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Three Purdue University students who went south for spring break were not among the thousands on the annual quest for fun in the sun. Instead, their mission was to help build 50 sets of desks and chairs for classrooms in Costa Rica.
Making the trip were students Henry Quesada, Isaac Slaven and Ryan Bradford, along with Rado Gazo, assistant professor of wood processing, Eva Haviarova, manager of the wood research laboratory, and Bob Leavitt, a Lafayette, Ind., woodworker and retired shop teacher.
The project stemmed from Haviarova's doctoral thesis, in which she came up with a plan to create sturdy classroom furniture for developing countries using some of the cheapest materials available. Working with wood science Professor Carl Eckelman, she traveled to Costa Rica last year and built the prototypes for the desks and chairs. "We came up with a way to build the furniture using standardized parts made with simple techniques and scrap wood," Eckelman says.
Furnishing schools in developing countries is difficult because the humid weather conditions cause wooden desks and chairs to fall apart quickly--typically in one or two years. But the design created by Haviarova and Eckelman takes advantage of the humidity. After the desks and chairs are assembled, moisture causes the joints to swell, creating a strong, tight fit.
Wood for the project was donated by the Tropical American Tree Farm in Costa Rica.
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