{"id":4354,"date":"2018-04-11T14:58:21","date_gmt":"2018-04-11T19:58:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/for-wisconsin\/?post_type=campus_story&p=4354"},"modified":"2018-05-03T09:19:18","modified_gmt":"2018-05-03T14:19:18","slug":"hundreds-of-uw-stout-students-display-research-at-stemm-expo","status":"publish","type":"campus_story","link":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/story\/hundreds-of-uw-stout-students-display-research-at-stemm-expo\/","title":{"rendered":"Hundreds of UW-Stout students display research at STEMM Expo"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Photo<\/a>
Aryas Dodge, a mechanical engineering major, explains his research project at the STEMM Student Expo Dec. 14 at UW-Stout.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Some University of Wisconsin-Stout students may well have taken the first steps toward finding a way to turn whey, largely a dairy waste product, into ethanol to make vodka.<\/p>\n

Students searched Sweetland Dairy Farm in rural Menomonie to find a wild yeast that would ferment whey to ethanol. They used research techniques to take swabs around the farm and found a yeast that they named for two of the students. The yeast, 5-ckad-1, is named for students Connor Kesler, a senior environmental health major from Hortonville, and Aaron Doering, a junior majoring in biochemistry and molecular biology from St. Paul. Rachel Meyer, a junior majoring in dietetics from Eyota, Minn., also was part of the project.<\/p>\n

Whey protein is used in some products like protein bars and shakes, but the rest of the whey is a waste product, Kesler said. Finding a use for that waste product would create value for local dairies, he added.<\/p>\n

One yeast is known to ferment whey, breaking down the lactose, but the 5-ckad-1, does a better job, Kesler said.\u00a0\u00a0\u201cWe had to do a lot of our own research,\u201d Doering said. \u201cWe were entering some new territory.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Photo<\/a>
Sofia VanTassel, an apparel design and development major, explains her research on the history of clothing at the STEMM Student Expo Dec. 14, 2017, at UW-Stout.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Now that the yeast has been found, the next steps would be to determine if an ethanol product could be made that is palatable and a viable product, Meyer said. The research was done for the General Microbiology class.<\/p>\n

The project was one example of research at UW-Stout\u2019s STEMM Student Expo on Dec. 14, in the Memorial Student Center. About 115 projects by more than 370 students in the College of Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics and Management were featured.<\/p>\n

Chuck Bomar, dean of the STEMM College, said the research displayed by students is the core of the polytechnic experience at UW-Stout, Wisconsin\u2019s Polytechnic University.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese are real-time problems in engineering, science, computer science and mathematics,\u201d Bomar said. \u201cResearch is being embedded in the curriculum. We\u2019re not just taking an idea out of a manual. These are not artificial experiences. We\u2019re teaching the students how to research and how to solve problems.\u201d<\/p>\n

That experience is relevant as students enter the workforce and have to research questions and find answers \u2014 and in some cases even realize that scientists don\u2019t have all the answers, Bomar said.<\/p>\n

Having to explain their research during the expo helps students learn to communicate, Bomar said.<\/p>\n

\"Overview<\/a>
The STEMM Student Expo at Dec. 14 at UW-Stout featured 115 projects by more than 370 students.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cThat is always one of the criticisms of STEMM is students don\u2019t know how to communicate,\u201d Bomar said. \u201cThese students become experts at communicating scientific data. Making presentations is something they will do in the real world. Even the best idea, if you can\u2019t communicate it, is not going to be supported.\u201d<\/p>\n

One research project, Technicolor Radishes, focused on which color of light helps germinate and grow radishes the fastest.<\/p>\n

Dawson Wellman, a freshman majoring in plastics engineering from Ham Lake, Minn., and Becky Tabler, a freshman majoring in food science from Milwaukee, conducted the experiment for their College Chemistry I class. \u201cWe wanted to see if certain colored light promotes growth better,\u201d Wellman said.<\/p>\n

Radish seeds were picked because they usually germinate in five to 10 days. The experiment was simple to do using paper towels, seeds, plastic colored sheets and a light source. \u201cRed grew the best,\u201d Tabler said.<\/p>\n

This could be important information for starting seeds and growing radishes, Wellman said.<\/p>\n

Doing research as first-year students is valuable for her education, Tabler said. \u201cThe act of doing the experiment was helpful,\u201d Tabler said. \u201cWe had to figure out how to do the research.\u201d<\/p>\n

Anna Finnegan, a freshman majoring in mechanical engineering from Minneapolis, demonstrated the Claw, a device that helps those without grip strength to grab items. With a push of a button, the Claw would close around items, eliminating the need for a hand-driven reacher that requires the ability to squeeze a lever, she said. The project was developed for the freshman-level class Impacts of Engineering.<\/p>\n

Fellow freshman Nate O\u2019Neal, a mechanical engineering major from Grafton, was part of a project that developed a backpack umbrella, which had an umbrella that emerged from a backpack, freeing up the wearer\u2019s hands. It was a project for Impacts of Engineering as well.<\/p>\n

First-year students Josh Nitek, majoring in plastics engineering from Blair, Josh Pyykola, a manufacturing engineering major from Eau Claire, and Zack Westerlund, a mechanical engineering major from Minneapolis, demonstrated the wheelchair backup sensing device they created for their Impacts of Engineering class.<\/p>\n

Westerlund\u2019s grandfather uses a wheelchair. \u201cThe biggest thing is he can\u2019t turn around to see,\u201d Westerlund said.<\/p>\n

The sensor, much like a vehicle back-up alert, emits a tone when the wheelchair is getting close to anything. Westerlund plans to take the sensor and let his grandfather, Don Johnson of Minneapolis, try it.<\/p>\n

UW-Stout\u2019s\u00a0STEMM College\u00a0offers 18 undergraduate and eight graduate programs. The college includes seven departments and the Robert F. Cervenka School of Engineering.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Some University of Wisconsin-Stout students may well have taken the first steps toward finding a way to turn whey, largely a dairy waste product, into ethanol to make vodka. Students searched Sweetland Dairy Farm in rural Menomonie to find a wild yeast that would ferment whey to ethanol. They used research techniques to take swabs […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":4357,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","institution":[90],"story_category":[],"class_list":["post-4354","campus_story","type-campus_story","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","institution-uw-stout"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/campus_story\/4354","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/campus_story"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/campus_story"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4354"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4357"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4354"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"institution","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/institution?post=4354"},{"taxonomy":"story_category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/story_category?post=4354"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}