REU Site: Tackling Some of the Grand Challenges of Engineering

Purdue University, West Lafayette IN

Investigators

Abstract

This three year REU Site program at Purdue University will engage twelve undergraduate students in research which will be built upon four of the Grand Challenges of Engineering: 1) Provide access to clean water; 2) Restore and improve urban infrastructure; 3) Manage the nitrogen cycle; and 4) Develop carbon sequestration methods. The objectives of the REU program are to foster student knowledge of the environmental impacts of their professional activities, ignite student interest in advanced studies in environmental engineering and related fields, and prepare students to enter the global green economy. The engagement of undergraduates in exploring the environmentally-related Grand Challenges of Engineering will advance knowledge across many disciplines of engineering and science, and will contribute to new paradigms of environmental engineering. The REU Site program has an international component. In conjunction with existing collaborations among Purdue University, the University of Notre Dame, Indiana University, as well as two universities in sub-Saharan Africa, specific water projects will be indentified. For example, several of the villages and informal settlements that are located close to the Moi University campus have water supplies that are characterized by high concentrations of microbial pathogens and fluoride. To address these issues, water treatment systems will be designed and tested for their ability to remove or inactivate microbial pathogens and fluoride. The REU students will be involved in development and testing of these reactor systems. At the end of the summer, participants will travel to the target village and work with the local water board to educate users as to the function of these water treatment systems, their construction and implementation. In order to create a supportive cohort community of the REU participants, the students will participate in a series of special activities, in addition to their work within a research group. These will include: a weekly two-hour REU Cohort session, a series of planned interactions with engineering professionals, and support for social and community-building activities. At the end of the research program, students will be required to make both an oral and poster presentation of their research work. In addition, students will be invited back to present their poster again at Purdue's annual Ecological Sciences and Engineering symposium. This REU Site program will help train students who can enter the workforce and meet an area of national need (environmental engineering). Purdue will partner with 2 and 4-year colleges to encourage undergraduates from these institutions to participate in this research program. The PI will place an emphasis on the recruitment of students from underrepresented groups in engineering, including female students. The outcomes of the undergraduate research projects will be disseminated through various means, including scholarly publications and also in undergraduate engineering curricula as case studies, demonstrations, or modules related to environmental sustainability.