The sophomore at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology is creating a new line of sleeping bags designed for refugees who have few other options to keep warm during harsh winters in the Middle East. An avid backpacker in his youth, Liu came up with the idea last year after reading about Syrian families who were struggling to survive freezing temperatures after fleeing the country’s civil war.
“The only way for them to create heat is through fire and through blankets,” said Liu, a 19-year-old finance and political science student. “It’s tough to stay warm at 15 degrees Fahrenheit with a couple blankets.