Ethan Rice
MPS Class of 2026, Global Development
- Pronouns: He/him
- Grand challenge: Low tech engineering solutions to combat waste generation, fight climate change, and boost agricultural productivity
- Connect: ekr46 [at] cornell.edu (Email) | LinkedIn
Ethan Rice received his B.S. in Environmental Engineering from the University of Oklahoma. After graduation, he worked in the private engineering sector where he worked on and managed a variety of environmental projects. In early 2022, Ethan travelled to Zambia to serve in the Peace Corps as an environmental volunteer, living and working with his local community to promote forestry practices, sustainable agriculture, and improved nutrition.
As a Master of Professional Studies (MPS) student at Cornell University, Ethan is interested in taking his engineering background and developing low tech methods for improving production in rural agriculture. During his time in Zambia, he saw the challenges the local farmers faced in his community, including limited access to new
and improved technology, high prices of seeds and inputs, and a fragmented local market for products. Ethan would like to work on taking agricultural and human produced waste and boosting crop production in an effort to tackle these problems. He is focused on using circular loops to minimize waste and add beneficial inputs back into the agricultural cycle to promote economic prosperity, improved nutrition, environmental sustainability, and gender equality. Ethan saw firsthand the importance of community engagement at the grassroots level, with a focus on outreach, extension, and capacity building.
As a Coverdell Fellow, Ethan plans to continue living and working by the values instilled in him as a Peace Corps volunteer. Using a sense of empathy, curiosity, and flexibility to make a positive impact on the world around him.