Changing the World, One Flush at a Time

In a small, cream-colored building on the site of a cotton mill in Coimbatore, India, sits a toilet with a lot riding on it. No ordinary commode, its life-changing mission is to stop the spread of deadly diseases, conserve dwindling fresh water, and even keep girls in school. Can a toilet change the world? Brian Stoner, who leads the Duke team behind the unit in Coimbatore, thinks this one could. “I certainly believe it has that potential,” says Stoner, a professor of electrical and computer engineering who is also part of the Duke Global Health Institute. But is the world ready to change its toilets?