Summer Sustainability Scholars

Inaugural Summer Sustainability Scholars Present Projects in August Poster Session

Rose-Hulman's inaugural Summer Sustainability Scholars cohort welcomed five students to deepen their passion for sustainability with paid research projects this summer. After 10 weeks of working one-on-one with a faculty mentor, the scholars presented their projects at an August 15 poster session in Rose-Hulman's Fowler Academic Building.

The Summer Sustainability Scholars Program was created this year in service of Rose-Hulman's strategic plan, Advancing by Design.

The program supports one of the four major themes of the plan, "Infuse Sustainability into Rose-Hulman Education and Culture" by increasing the breadth and depth of co-curricular activities related to sustainability.

The Summer Sustainability Scholars were chosen from a competitive pool of applicants, which included students from all years and several disciplines.

In addition to a research stipend, the program supported summer housing, as well as research workshops and off-campus experiences related to sustainability topics. Scholars explored reTHink, Terre Haute's nonprofit dedicated to helping residents live healthier and more sustainable lives, as well as the Wabash Valley Resources Plant. They also enjoyed the beauty of nature through bonding activities, including canoeing at Turkey Run State Park.

“This program provides students with experiential learning in a co-curricular way that enhances their education and academic experience,” said Associate Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Alfred R. Schmidt Endowed Chair for Excellence in Teaching Jenny Mueller, PhD.

“As engineers, scientists, and mathematicians, we are equipped with analytical skills to help tackle the complex, multi-faceted challenges that we face on local to global scales.” -Jenny Mueller

Mueller, who served as a faculty mentor this summer, added, “The ingenuity and talent that I see in our students at Rose can be channeled toward the greater good of sustaining flourishing and resilient communities. If we are not promoting sustainable design and systems thinking in our students, we are not fully preparing them for future challenges they are sure to face.”

Several students worked with faculty members outside their major, broadening their perspectives of the interdisciplinary nature of sustainability.

For senior biomedical engineering major Katie Calderon, the program was an exciting way to further her goals of pursuing biomedical research in graduate school.

She worked with Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry Amy Lane, PhD, on a biochemistry project to grow different bacteria in a lab and analyze their natural products, searching for more sustainable methods of discovering and delivering pharmaceutical drugs.

"Working with Dr. Lane was amazing," Calderon said. "She really meets you at your level. I didn't know much about biochemistry beforehand, but she definitely prepped me well."

Donovan McMillan, a sophomore mechanical engineering student, worked with Roland E. Hutchins Endowed Chair and Associate Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering Kyle Kershaw, PhD, on a project exploring how wetting and drying cycles of soil samples affected their shear strength and likelihood of slope failure.

The project's implications can be used to predict and minimize catastrophic soil slope failures that may lead to landslides or collapsed highway infrastructure.

"As an ME doing a civil engineering project, I utilized my materials science background to understand the basic principles underpinning how soil mechanics are enforcing infrastructure projects." - Donovan McMillan

Riley Heasley, a junior chemical engineering major, also stepped outside the comfort zone of her discipline this summer. She worked with Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering Ben Mertz, PhD, on a project to develop pumped water energy storage for application in the campus community garden.

"It makes your brain work in different ways," she said. "I'm no longer just looking at things as a chemical engineer, but looking at things as an engineer as a whole."

Heasley was one of three Summer Sustainability Scholars working to advance the community garden. Miki Harding, a sophomore mechanical engineering major, also worked with Mertz on a vertical axis turbine for the water pump, an innovation she hopes to see implemented in Rose-Hulman labs as well as small bodies of water around the world.

"The important lesson is that we don't have to compromise or give up the conveniences we are all used to," she said. "We just need to design more sustainable models or replacements for them."

Harding hopes that continuous innovations such as this one will lead to great strides toward a more sustainable world.

"This isn't the biggest milestone in sustainability, but I think it's important for everybody to be aware of small steps in sustainability to eventually grow and shape our world," she said.

Also working out of the community garden this summer was sophomore civil engineering major Katerina McSweyn, who researched Indiana-native plants that could be used in building green roofs. She and mentor Mueller built a green roof prototype in the garden, which they will continue to develop and cultivate during the upcoming academic year.

McSweyn's passion for sustainability came from visiting her grandmother's village in Russia, which does not have access to running water and relies on farming and foraging for food, contrasting greatly with McSweyn's lived experiences.

"I enjoy going to the grocery store, but the fact that I can't go outside and grab an herb without worrying about everything that's been on it is upsetting," she said. "I just think sustainability is really important for our community and for the future."

The Summer Sustainability Scholars brought together a small cohort with similar goals, creating unique opportunities for the students to learn from each other. McSweyn considered this to be one of her favorite elements of the program.

"I still had that individual research experience where it was just my mentor and me, but there were also four other people working on sustainability-based projects," she said. "I just think it's really interesting seeing everyone furthering sustainability at Rose-Hulman."