PSE Summer Camp…Continues to Leave Its Mark
June 23 – 28, 2019, the annual PSE High School Summer Camp came to life. Twenty-three campers attended “A Matter of Biomaterials” week long experience of lectures and labs administered by various professors from the department. The campers were assisted by Jennifer Piercy and Paula Harrod, as well as four current PSE students Tressa Glackin, Jake Forte, Corey Gibson, and Allison Brame. These students, acting primarily as counselors for the week, went above and beyond making lasting impressions with the campers. The main theme of the camp was sustainability and the potential ways to improve our environment and usage of our materials.
Creating Sustainable Products from Biomass
The week began with a lecture from Dr. Jameel on Biofuels. This lecture was applied in a two-day lab where they used sugarcane fibers to make paper and fermented sugarcane juice to produce ethanol. This lab helped the campers learn more sustainable ways to run our currently fossil fueled society. There were some bumps in the road as the campers and counselors found their stride but everyone was enthusiastic and excited for the labs to come as they began to get a taste of what the week would be.
Bio-Gel: A Bio-Macromolecule
Day 2, Dr. Lucia and camp counselor Allison Brame taught the campers about bioplastics and biogels. In the Bioplastics Lab, the campers made two different kinds of biogels: a soap-based jelly where the campers were really able to bring out their creative sides while using a lot of glitter, various food dyes, and a seed starter using gelatin and plant food. This lab allowed the campers to really experiment with different methods as various proteins were provided to make the biogels, and campers were encouraged to apply creativity to what may normally be considered a more rigid field.
Printed Electronic Challenge
Day 2 continued with a lecture from Dr. Pal on Biomaterials of the Future, which included concepts such as paper circuits and 3D printing. The campers then got to see these in action in the lab assisted by camp counselor Cory Gibson. The campers used a 3D printer, printed their own paper circuits, and competed in a challenge using paper circuits. The paper circuits for the challenge were connected to a soundboard that played audio clips of movies when the circuit was pressed. The campers had to figure out the order of the audio clips and guess which movie they were from, and the team that guessed the most audio clips in the correct order won.
Absorption & Adsorption lead to a Tea Bag Diaper
Day 3, campers were given a lecture on absorption and adsorption by Dr. Pawlak. They then went to a lab assisted by camp counselor Jake Forte, where they tested the absorbent properties of many different materials and then competed in a challenge to see which group could make the most absorbent tea bag “diaper”. The campers were then taken to Centennial, where they ate lunch “On the Oval” and received a tour of the Hunt Library. Afterwards the students were given some time to properly explore Centennial Campus before returning to the Pulp and Paper Laboratories. The afternoon, the students were properly introduced to Dr. Byrd and had a de-inking lab filled with music chosen by him. They were challenged to make the best sheet bringing out competitive natures in many of them, (much to the amusement of the counselors).
The Game of Sustainability Involves Ping Pong Balls and Fishing Nets
Day 4, the campers’ day started a little differently, arriving to be greeted with a game set up on the front patio. The theme of the game was sustainability, and the campers had to plan ahead in order to win. This led right into Dr. Scouse’s lecture on LCA, Life Cycle Analysis, which is used to determine how environmentally friendly something is, based on how it is used, made, and disposed of. The campers were given the opportunity to actually model this, comparing a paper cup to a reusable metal cup to see which was actually better for the environment and realize just how much thought goes into the concept of sustainable. The campers also took their fermented sugar cane juice and distilled it to create ethanol, which they then diluted and used to power a small fan. Most impressively, they completed this lab while also showing the staff their very loud rendition of “Take Me Home, Country Roads” by John Denver. The day ended with Jennifer giving a brief explanation of how to give a good presentation and the campers making presentations of various labs throughout the week to present to their families at the closing ceremony on Friday.
That’s a Wrap
Day 5 dawned with excitement as the campers wrapped up their time here at NC State. They gave amazing presentations to their families and demonstrated all that they had learned throughout the week. Families were then given the opportunity to ask the campers questions and the morning ended with the tours through the classroom, lab and pilot plant. The camp ended with satisfied campers who left with an enthusiasm for paper science. We hope to see them again in the future.
A huge thanks to Jennifer Piercy and Paula Harrod for all the effort they put into making this camp amazing, and to the professors who participated and allowed our campers to learn so much.
Guest Bloggers Allison Brame and Tressa Glackin
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