Milligan hosted its ninth annual Rise Above conference on April 7th. A culminating event for both graduate and undergraduate research, this year’s theme was “Caring for God’s Creation.” The conference allows Milligan students to share and present research from a variety of fields under the guidance of a faculty mentor. Amongst the research presented, the event included posters, demonstrations, and oral presentations. Rise Above involved 30 different research subjects.
Senior Samuel Kelly presented a poster on Survivalist Chemistry. Kelly’s research focused on finding primitive means of producing organic solvents in a wilderness environment. The poster included the main process of producing ethanol through anaerobic fermentation. After testing several methods, Kelly found that a boiled apple solution with a bread yeast starter culture produced the best results.
“Having ethanol in a survival situation would allow you to extract medicinally relevant compounds from plants, and it could be used as an antiseptic,” he said.
Technology and engineering demonstrations included “Plastic Life Cycle: Recycling Via Shredding” by Korynne Taylor, Braxton Dukette, Logan Brown, and TJ Wilson. The demonstration consisted of a built plastic shredder that turned plastic containers into small flakes that can be melted down and reused. The process involves collecting, pre-cleaning, shredding, cleaning, and storing the plastic for reuse.
“Disposable plastic containers are very common, and they create a massive amount of waste because every item is thrown out after only one use,” said Taylor. “Plastic is not biodegradable, so the containers just pile up in landfills.”
Taylor and her group’s research focused on the need to reduce plastic waste, and form an ability to produce new useful things.
“At RISE Above we were able to share some of the really cool ways the recycled plastic can be reused, such as molding new items and extrusion of the 3D printing filament,” she said.
Professor Hongyou Lu, Program Development Associate for Engineering, concluded the conference with a lecture on “Energy and Sustainability: A Focus on the Industry Sector.” Lu discussed global energy use and emission. The lecture emphasized industrial production and demand along with potential solutions for sustainable energy.
“From the research perspective, the key takeaway is that we have a number of emerging technologies, strategies, and practices that can improve our energy efficiency while also reducing energy cost, labor cost, and improving our environment,” said Lu.
Lu also noted throughout her presentation that industries are one of the biggest energy-consuming sectors globally, yet are essential for our society and basic needs.
“It is an exciting time to be an engineer, a scientist, a chemist, etc. – to analyze, design, research, and commercialize these technologies and innovations,” she said.
Lu, who grew up in Chongqing, China, an area of similar topography as East Tennessee, said this lecture gave her an opportunity to combine her personal interests with her training.
For more information on upcoming events at Milligan, please visit https://www.milligan.edu/events/.
Headline photo was taken by Rebekah McNerney – Technology and engineering demonstration, “Cedar Grove UV System Improvements”