West Orange Resident Named 'Champion of Change' by White House

A West Orange resident was named a 'Champion of Change' by the White House Tuesday afternoon for his innovative projects benefiting the world since 2003.

'Champions of Chnage' are ordinary Americans are doing extraordinary things in their communities to out-innovate, out-educate and out-build the rest of the world, according to the White House's website.

The White House honored Marcin Jakubowski along with 11 others from across the country at 2:30 p.m. on Tuesday in Washington D.C.

Jakubowski founded Open Source Ecology in 2003 in order to make closed-loop manufacturing a reality. Closed-loop manufacturing returns recycled products to the supply chain, according to Thomasnet News.

Jakubowski then started to develop the Global Village Construction Set (GVCS), an open source tool set of 50 industrial machines necessary to create a small civilization with modern comforts. An Open Source Tools is free software forconsumers, according to MIT's website. 

His work has recently been recognized as a 2012 TED Senior Fellow, as a 2013 Shuttleworth Foundation Fellow, and in Time Magazine's Best Inventions of 2012. Jakubowski graduated with honors from Princeton and earned his Ph.D. in fusion physics from the University of Wisconsin.

This award event will focus on entrepreneurs use crowdfunding to fuel the growth of start-ups, small businesses, and innovative projects across the country, according a release from the White House. Crowdfunding raises money in small increments from many individuals, typically using an Internet platform.

“Crowdfunding is the 21^st century equivalent of barn-raising," said Thomas Kalil, Deputy Director for Technology and Innovation for the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. "We can use it to help our neighbors and fellow citizens start a business, enrich our culture, and apply grassroots creativity and imagination to challenges big and small.”