Daquari Hollins was standing in the shark section of the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta when a single poster board changed the trajectory of his college career.
The graphic revealed an intentionally vague loophole in consumer labeling: the generic term "fish products" tucked into the ingredient lists of household goods could mean a number of different things, including, possibly, that the product contained shark fins.
"I was really upset by that when I saw it," says Hollins, a philosophy major who will be a senior at the University of Minnesota in the fall. "And I didn't know that. What a terrible thing that they could be so vague. I started thinking, ‘Well, is there anything that exists that shows the sustainability practices of every product that you buy?’"
Hollins could not find an app on the market that offered that level of transparency, so he decided to build it himself.
The result is UConserve, a sustainability lifestyle app designed to give consumers immediate environmental transparency right at the grocery store shelf. By allowing users to scan the barcode of any domestic product, the application generates a screening-level estimate of its carbon footprint alongside deeper sustainability factors like acidification and eutrophication.
The tool bridges a critical gap for everyday shoppers trying to make ethical choices. In a time when socially conscious shoppers can find it difficult to understand a company’s carbon footprint, the app provides a glimpse into the hidden environmental toll of manufacturing, transportation and disposal.
An interdisciplinary solution
Turning his vision into a reality required bridging two historically isolated worlds: environmental data analysis and advanced computer science. When Hollins initially pitched the idea to peers in an environmental student group, he was met with skepticism. The work would likely be tedious to calculate an accurate environmental estimate for even a single item.
“I took that feedback in stride,” he says. “I was like, OK, it’s a huge undertaking, but that’s not impossible.”
To solve the scale problem, Hollins looked outside traditional sustainability disciplines. This interdisciplinary approach led him to the University of Minnesota’s AI Makerspace, where he collaborated with its manager, Joe Finnegan, and eventually consulted nationwide life-cycle assessment (LCA) professionals. By combining environmental science with machine learning, the team found a way to take massive, vetted government databases and translate them into an instantaneous mobile tool.
Demystifying technology at the AI Makerspace
Located in Walter Library, the College of Science and Engineering's AI Makerspace serves as a hybrid physical and digital sandbox designed to break down barriers for students from all academic backgrounds. Whether a student is studying computer science or philosophy, such as Hollins, the space provides free access to high-powered computing resources and expert guidance.
"We'll have undergraduate students come in with some idea that they want to execute, but they don't have the personal computing power that it would take to do it," says Finnegan, the manager of the AI Makerspace. "We offer them existing University computing services that they otherwise don't get exposed to or have direct access to."
Finnegan says the true value of the space goes far beyond the hardware and is rooted in an open-door philosophy that welcomes beginners and skeptics alike.
"I would invite everyone to come and just check it out," Finnegan says. "If you want to talk about what AI is useful for, if you want to learn how to make an app, then this is a fantastic place to start. Even if your basic question is, "What is AI? How do I use it? We are the perfect place to start for that kind of a journey."
Driven by the tech sandbox
Hollins, who serves as an immersive media ambassador teaching AI literacy at the University’s Toaster space in Walter Library, already had a strong interest in the technology. When the University opened the campus AI Makerspace right above his workplace, he recognized the exact tool he needed to process data faster than any human could.
The resource provided immediate momentum. After winter break research, Hollins brought his methodology to the space, and development exploded.
"We got started right away, and it really didn't take very long at all, about two weeks," Hollins says. "From there, a lot of stuff got vibe coded, and it was working pretty much from the jump."
The resulting app creates what Hollins describes as a "curiosity frenzy" for early users who begin scanning everyday household items. Testing has yielded both predictable and surprising findings: while single-use plastics register predictably terrible environmental scores, items like books and, unexpectedly, shaving cream have shown remarkably low carbon footprints.
The culmination of this hard work came to fruition when Hollins debuted UConserve at the University's Founders Day event in May, putting the app in front of the public, entrepreneurs and business leaders for the first time.
"It was kind of transformative because that was the first time that I was able to put UConserve out before a lot of public," Hollins says. "To get the validation from them was huge and is definitely a win for us."
As development continues, Hollins hopes his journey inspires other students across departments to look at technology as a collaborative partner for their ideas.
"I would encourage students to reach out and find ways to use AI responsibly," Hollins says. "Especially if you have an idea and you understand how AI can play a very specific role in empowering it. Give it a shot because it really can change things for you."
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