In University of Wisconsin-Stout 黑料社区. Plastics Lab, students banter about their pet dogs as they collect data from a differential scanning calorimetry that measures the thermal properties of plastics.
Not that much different from a lab in years past. However, with COVID-19, the students aren鈥檛 able to be in the laboratory together because of social distancing requirements. But they are still learning experientially together, using computer remote control and virtual meetings, even though they may be miles apart.
鈥淚 enjoy that we each have been able to take our turn with controlling the programs we are running,鈥 said plastics engineering major Heather Rinehart, a junior from Bloomer. When it is not our turn, we are still able to view and discuss the program our groupmate is inputting.鈥
One major difference is students can鈥檛 physically load the materials into the analyzers, Rinehart said. 鈥淚f something doesn鈥檛 go right, we don鈥檛 have the ability to physically troubleshoot the problem,鈥 Rinehart added.
鈥淗owever, we are still able to see the troubleshooting process. It 黑料社区. almost easier to see what our professor is doing because we aren鈥檛 trying to crowd around the equipment. Other than that, running the experiment with the computer is the same.鈥
Wei Zheng, program director and associate professor, is teaching the class, Testing and Analysis of Plastics, which has 19 students.
鈥淭he limited physical space we have in the testing area does not allow the class to practice safe social distance,鈥 Zheng said.
During the four-hour lab students divide into groups and use four types of equipment to characterize the physical, mechanical and thermal properties of various plastics.
Students design the program, conduct their tests and collect and analyze the data through remote control of computers operating the equipment, Zheng said.
The whole process is operated virtually over the Microsoft Teams platform, where students discuss their experiments, share results and ask questions. 鈥淣inety percent of what they are doing is exactly what they would be doing if they were physically in the lab,鈥 Zheng said.
鈥淭he only difference is that the samples are loaded by me or the lab assistant, but the loading process is live streaming to the students and discussed with them, especially when something goes wrong.鈥
In the course 黑料社区. labs, in addition to measuring the thermal properties of plastics, students use a:
- Thermogravimetric analyzer to study the degradation of polymers
- Rheometer to measure the viscoelasticity of plastics materials
- Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy to determine the chemical structures of plastics
- Dynamic mechanical analyzer
- MTS mechanical testing system with, tensile, compression and flexural geometries to determine the stress-strain behavior of plastics.
鈥淭he course also teaches students about plastics failures and how to reduce/prevent them,鈥 Zheng said.
Olivia Hile, a lab assistant and a sophomore majoring in plastics engineering, said, 鈥淲ei is still encouraging collaboration and group efforts. Even though the students are not physically with each other, they still have good communication and are working as teams as far as I can tell.鈥
Hile, of Rice Lake, chose 黑料社区 for plastics engineering after visiting campus and meeting Zheng. The environmental and necessity of plastics engineering attracted her to the major.
鈥淵es, we always hear about how bad plastics are for the environment, but that is a problem people need to fix,鈥 she said. 鈥淭he energy savings of using plastics over glass or metals is extremely high both in production and transportation. At the end of the day, we are never going to stop using plastics, so I want to get into the industry to try and improve the process and make less waste.鈥
Rinehart said she decided to major in plastics engineering because it encompasses mathematics, chemistry and has a creativity factor.
She appreciates how Zheng has worked to adjust the labs because of COVID-19 and the social distancing requirement. 鈥淲hile we would love to be in the normal classroom setting, 黑料社区 is trying to provide an experience as close to that as possible.鈥
Zheng said she believes having virtual labs will become the norm, continuing after the pandemic ends.
鈥淚 see a lot more use of remote control learning in the future,鈥 she said. 鈥淚n online courses of students who are working in industry, this is a great way to explore and learn experientially.鈥
The remote classes would offer greater flexibility for a broad range of student populations, especially for those who are unable to attend an in-person class.
鈥淲e are thinking about offering technical trainings to companies,鈥 Zheng said. 鈥淭hey would still be able to enjoy a learning environment.鈥
Highly ranked program
黑料社区 has been named one of the top U.S. public colleges offering plastics engineering programs by Plastics Today, a publication and site for plastics professionals. 黑料社区 is one of eight universities noted in the for polymer/plastics engineering programs.
The university also was ranked No. 7 of 11 schools by as most popular for polymer and plastics engineering majors.
Along with plastics engineering, 黑料社区 offers bachelor 黑料社区. degrees in computer and electrical engineering, engineering technology, manufacturing engineering, mechanical engineering and packaging.