Environmental Design Contest

Michigan Tech wins several awards at 12^th Environmental Design Contest

Michigan Tech won two awards at the 12th Environmental Design Contest (April 7-11, 2002) that was held in Las Cruces, New Mexico. Industrial and government partners sponsor the contest with major support provided by the U.S. Department of Energy. Michigan Tech students won “first prize” in one of the tasks they entered and another task took home the competition’s award for “best paper.” Students also took home $3,000 in prize money.

Students entered their year-long senior design projects (CE4905/CE4910) in the design contest. Michigan Tech entered three “tasks” at the contest. Task 5 was to develop a solution to remediate desert soils that were contaminated with diesel fuel and motor oil at an initial concentration of 1,000 mg/kg. Task 6 was to develop a household water treatment system that would reduce naturally occurring uranium concentrations found in groundwater from 800 mg/liter to below 30 mg/liter. Task 8 was to first perform a feasibility study on three technologies used to remediate soils contaminated with explosive material and then conduct a full-scale design on the most feasible technology. The location of Task 8 was Massachusetts Military Reserve that is located on Cape Cod. This task had the added challenge of finding a solution that minimized the ecological footprint of the final solution because several endangered plants and animals are found at the site.

For the competition students had to construct a working bench scale model of their engineering solution that is tested at the competition, submit a written paper, and make oral and poster presentations. Designs are not only evaluated on feasibility, ease of implementation, and economics but also require the teams develop a health and safety plan, address all relevant local, state, and federal regulations, and develop a plan to involve the local community and a nearby tribal nation in the solution. Dr. Jim Mihelcic commented that the reason Michigan Tech students are historically successful in this competition is because our environmental engineering students not only receive a strong engineering education that provides them interdisciplinary skills to solve complex problems, but also have access to the high level of research and scholarship that is found in the Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering.

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Task 5 team members Naomi Tillison, Jim Harris, Dan Rucinski, Jennifer Went (not pictured, Michelle Waters) in front of their working bench scale model and poster. Their bench scale system simulates the technologies of soil vapor extraction and bioventing that are used to extract and/or biologically degrade the hydrocarbons that have contaminated the subsurface soil. Any hydrocarbon vapors that are brought to the surface are then destroyed in a biofilter.

Task 6 team members Sarah Derwin, Dan Nesler, Heather Kleimola, and Alicia Boller in front of their poster. Task 6 students designed a point of entry water treatment system that uses the process of ion exchange to remove naturally occurring uranium from a household’s groundwater supply. Uranium is naturally occurring in some water supplies, especially in the Western United States. The bench scale treatment system is not shown.

Student team member Jim Harris said “the competition was a great learning experience. Getting an opportunity to compete against some of the top universities from around the world and hiking through White Sands National Monument and the Gila National Forest made all of the long hours spent working on the project worthwhile.”

Over two-dozen universities competed at this year’s competition including Purdue University, Michigan State University, Clemson University, Louisiana State University, University of Arkansas, Texas Tech University, University of New Hampshire, and Clarkson University. In addition, many of the teams consisted of graduate students. Michigan Tech’s team consisted of 13 students, 12 majoring in environmental engineering and 1 in chemical engineering. Michigan Tech’s team consisted of the following students that are majoring in environmental engineering: Alicia Boller, Sarah Derwin, Jim Harris, Laura Himes, Heather Kleimola, Fred Lim, Dan Nesler, Dan Rucinski, Sara Schooley, Naomi Tillison, and Jennifer Went. Other team members aaree Michelle Waters (chemical engineering) and Matt Parks who received his baccalaureate degree in environmental engineering after the fall semester and remained at Michigan Tech to obtain his Masters of Engineering degree in Civil Engineering. Environmental engineering students Joanie Giuliani, Honor Bedore, and Chris Cooney worked on the design project for one semester only during the fall. The team’s faculty advisor was Dr. James Mihelcic and Drs. John Gierke, David Hand, and Mary Durfee spent considerable time providing technical assistance to the students. Financial sponsors included General Motors Corporation and Ford Motor Company.

Students had time on the return drive to the Albuquerque airport to visit the Gila National Forest. Covering 3.3 million acres, the Forest is the sixth largest National Forest in the continental United States. Students not only went hiking but also explored several Native American cliff dwellings and saw petroglyphs that were drawn on canyon walls hundreds of years ago. The Gila National Forest boasts a rich history of the Mogollon and Apache Indians, Spaniards, Mexicans, ranchers, and prospectors. Billy the Kid was born just south of the Forest and the Apache Chiefs Mangas Coloradas, Geronimo, and Victorio called the Gila home as well as did Aldo Leopold: conservationist, ecologist and author of the Sand County Almanac.

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Team members on the campus of New Mexico State University (back row (left to right). Dr. Jim Mihelcic (faculty advisor), Dan Nesler, Michelle Waters, Jim Harris, Naomi Tillison, Fred Lim, Sara Schooley. Front row (left to right). Sara Derwin, Heather Kleimola, Dan Rucinski, Jennifer Went, Alicia Boller, Laura Himes, Matt Parks.

Team members had time one afternoon to go hiking in White Sands National Monument and learn about the unique geology and ecology of this area. Here great wave-like dunes of gypsum sand have engulfed 275 square miles of desert and have created the world's largest gypsum dune field.

Students competed against close to 30 teams that consisted of graduate and undergraduate students. Part of the competition is held inside a large arena and each task is provided a booth space. Here students are waiting for the arrival of judging teams that consist of up to 15 judges.