FLINT – Chemical
Engineering and molecular biology students combined their skillsets to solve an
open-ended water filtration problem presented jointly by Michelle Ammerman
(Applied Biology) and Steven Nartker (Chemical Engineering) in each of
their respective classes.
The premise:
address biological problems in engineering projects and vice versa around the
theme of examining the impact of microbes in environmental and industrial
settings.
In groups,
Chemical Engineering students were each asked to produce adequate water for one
of the following purposes: cooling, potable, brewery, steam generation and
irrigation. Using Flint river water as a base, students were responsible for
designing a water filtration system to optimize the type of water that is required
for their assigned purpose. Each of the water types have different standards
and requirements based on its intended use.
“Water means
microbes. If it’s wet, something can grow on it,” Ammerman said.
That’s where
the Applied Biology students come in. The Chemical Engineering students were
required to design a flow system for their particular water use after
consulting with the applied biology students on the contents of the water. The
Applied Biology students were the microbial consultants for the chemical
engineering flow project.
“We wanted
to hit on connections in a client-customer relationship,” Nartker said.
Therefore,
engineering students were required to explain their process and problems to the
Applied Biology consultants and together derive a solution to purify the water
for each purpose.
“We are
trying to teach students collaboration and the idea that you might not know
everything but you need to be able to communicate your needs to individuals
from other disciplines,” Ammerman said.
Ammerman, in
partnership with Nartker, Dr. Cheryl Samaniego (Applied Biology) and Dr.
Jonathan Wenzel (Chemical Engineering), along with other distinguished faculty
members in multiple departments at Kettering University have received about
$40,000 each,for
a total of $240,000 over the last two years,from the Kern
Entrepreneurial Engineering Network (KEEN) to embed and incorporate various
aspects of innovation and entrepreneurship mindset into their individual
engineering and science courses. Additionally, Kettering granted six
internal topical grants valued at $7,500 each to faculty who creatively
infuse entrepreneurial elements in their classrooms.
“This
project fits with the entrepreneurship model because an entrepreneur is a
person facing new challenges and finding ways to get through them,” Ammerman
said.
The jointly
developed project by Ammerman and Nartker focuses on expanding students’
curiosity by presenting and open-ended problem and creating connections for
students with their peers in other fields. The students who participated in the
project found it beneficial to work with students in another discipline with
whom they weren’t familiar because it realistically resembled a customer-client
relationship in the real world. Next term, Samaniego and Wenzel will continue
this project jointly and with their respective applied biology and chemical
engineering classes.
“Our goal as
an institution is to help students develop an entrepreneurial mindset
regardless of their choice of major,” said Dr. Massoud Tavakoli, professor of
Mechanical Engineering and Director of the Innovation to Entrepreneurship
program at Kettering. “Whether it’s an engineering, biomedical science,
business or liberal studies classroom – we want to make sure that it includes
an entrepreneurial tilt so our students can develop a mindset that focuses on
identifying opportunities for creating value for the world around them using
the technologies that they learn and use every day.”
Kettering
University is a national leader in experiential STEM (science, technology,
engineering and math) education, integrating an intense academic curriculum
with applied professional experience. Through this proven approach we inspire
students to realize their potential and advance their ideas by combining theory
and practice better than any institution in the world. Kettering University is
dedicated to achieving the extraordinary through technological innovation,
leadership and service, built on values that foster respect, integrity,
creativity, collaboration and excellence in growth, global leadership,
community outreach and an engaged community of stakeholders.
