PSE 472…Pinnacle of the Program

PSE 472 course, officially called “Paper Process Analysis” is something Allison Brame, a senior in the PSE program looked forward to ever since her freshman year.  Allison said, it’s a spring semester, senior course, that has six planned paper machine runs and she has  always thought of it as the “paper machine” class. Seniors, in  PSE 472 are able to apply the knowledge they have learned throughout their years in the program, in an incredibly hands-on lab, where exclusively, they run the Wolfpack Baby Paper Machine. Students are introduced to this machine in their freshman introduction course, PSE 201. It is introduced as an aid in understanding the basics of the paper machine. Allison said, “As a freshman, every Monday, we experienced the smell, heat and excitement of knowing  seniors were running the paper machine, and we knew one day our day would come!”

Spring semester 2020 will go down in the history books for many more reasons said Allison, “but missing out on the PSE 472 course and not being able to complete all six planned paper machine runs is a missed experience indeed.”

Hands On Major

“Paper Science and Engineering is an incredibly hands-on major from the beginning to the end,” commented Brame. This hands-on learning typically culminates in the paper machine lab, where students rotate through different sections of the machine, and that provides different duties every week. Thus, the missed labs caused missed experiences for everyone. Allison further noted “when we were able to run the machine, before shut-down, it was exciting to see our class start with dry sheets of pulp, and end with paper that was  made in this lab.” The shift to online learning did allow the students to focus more specifically on the trends of data retrieved from the machine, and those implications, rather than the retrieval of that data and how to apply it. Brame personally missed the hands-on experience and teamwork that, as a class, they would have used in order to run the machine to the best of their ability.

Team Work

Matt Burleson, a senior in the PSE program, was also very anxious to take PSE 472, “I had yet to work around a paper machine during any of my internship experiences. PSE 472 was going to provide that unique learning experience where students perform hands on trials and make supervised changes to correct issues during the production run of the Wolfpack Baby Paper Machine. There are six roles that each group performs on the pilot machine: stock preparation, wet end, dry end, paper testing, paper machine operations (PMO), and coating. Matt’s team was able to complete half of the machine runs; however, upon returning  from spring break, they were forced to complete the remaining labs online. Matt said  he felt very fortunate that his team was able to do the coating, stock preparation, and wet end before online labs began. Stock preparation, in-person, is one of the more physically demanding labs and Matt enjoyed using the Hydrapulper to prepare batches of stock. “While it was not the most fun lab rotation, the coating lab taught me a lot about coating preparation and gave me a respect for how sensitive coating properties can be to small changes in the formulation,” said Matt.   “My biggest regret was not being part of the PMO team, as this would have allowed me and my team, to go through the process of starting up the machine from standstill and make process changes that affected the sheet properties.” The PMO team was new this year and promised to provide a unique opportunity for students to not only suggest changes to improve run conditions, but also choose the set-point for these changes.”

Both Allison Brame  and Matt Burleson both expressed how very thankful they were for  Dr. Pal’s effort to provide a valuable learning experience despite the unfavorable conditions.   “Nothing compares to being in the lab, hands-on, but Dr. Pal’s effort putting this lab on-line is a highlight in itself,” they said.

Rosy Result

Matt Sholar, a third year student, contributed his talents in creating the red roses seen in the featured image.  Matt took red paper that had previously been made in a PSE 472 course and crafted red paper roses that each graduating senior received.  Thank you Matt!

By guest bloggers Allison Brame and Matt Burleson