Shines! University Engineering Students Advancing Duluth's Sustainable Development

Introduction

A strong relationship was developed between the University of Minnesota Duluth (UMD) and the City of Duluth and area businesses through a unique and innovative program called Shines! The program paired cross‐disciplinary teams of civil and mechanical engineering students with local business owners or representatives of the City interested in conducting feasibility studies ranging from increasing the energy efficiency of their organization to implementing renewable energy technologies. Now in its third year, the Shines! Program, named because its roots were founded in solar power‐based projects, has successfully educated students in sustainability, prepared them for careers in the field, and is beginning to have an impact on citywide sustainability efforts. This article outlines the initiative's goals and provides an overview of the curriculum, several project examples, a discussion of the partnerships that developed as a result of the program, and the impacts that these projects have had on city‐ and university‐wide sustainability efforts.

Materials and Methods

Sustainable Energy Systems, offered in the Mechanical Engineering Department at UMD, historically included an overview of solar thermal and solar photovoltaics, wind energy, geothermal, fuel cells, and nuclear energy. Sustainable Design and Construction, offered in the Civil Engineering Department, was originally designed to follow the U.S. Green Building Council's LEED green building program as preparation for taking the LEED Green Associate exam. Spurred by the desire to increase active learning in a predominantly lecture‐based class, and with the goals of providing engineering students with experiences in solving real‐world, open‐ended problems and enhancing their professional skills, these courses have been transformed into a project‐based format with traditional classroom instruction and guest lecturers sprinkled in as needed to cover the original course content.

Project‐based learning promotes buy‐in from students, helps them to feel engaged in the material they are learning, and provides them with the opportunity to explore and investigate problems and scenarios similar to those they will find after graduation. ¹ Through a process of inquiry in which students are given real‐world scenarios and problems to solve, students become engaged and invested in a legitimate project and gain a greater understanding of the material. ² Presently, educators employ multiple methodologies in their instruction, often including case studies and real‐world scenarios. The Shines! program epitomizes this approach by pairing student teams with real clients. In the process, students are asked to clearly define problems or opportunities informed by their interaction with businesses; to provide researched responses that advance sustainability in governmental, institutional, and business environments; and to communicate information professionally. The level of engagement observed in the students during the semester‐long Shines! projects is a testament to the power of project‐based learning.

At the start of the semester, the professors meet with each client to discuss expectations and to develop a general scope of work. The students are presented with an overview of each project and then must to apply directly to the client sponsor of the projects they are most interested in via a professional cover letter and resume. Once assigned to their teams, an evening Kick‐Off Party introduces clients and students in a fun, professional atmosphere that sets the tone for the rest of the semester.

While a basic overview of the project is initially provided to the students, specific information on exactly how to approach the work is not. This forces students to think outside the box and figure out what questions they need to ask in order to determine how to move forward. At first, this ambiguity is usually met with some resistance, as students are used to more prescribed assignments; later, however, many students are thankful that they were pushed to explore independently, develop a strong relationship with their client, and find solutions on their own.

During the first half of the semester, students organize a site visit to see the building and meet with their client. Depending on the project, students attend an energy audit of their client's business, too. Audits are provided free of charge by the local electric utility and help teach students what to look for in terms of opportunities to improve the efficiency of a building. Often, the initial project scope, as fleshed out by the client and professors, ends up changing based on the student's exploration of the project. To help students understand the intent of each assignment, they are given a weekly writing assignment that includes student learning outcomes. These assignments include a project overview and scope, background on the technology, and review of relevant case studies.

At the midterm, students give a presentation to their client covering the aforementioned assignments as well as a list of possible solutions and a recommendation. Students are directed to use this opportunity to work with the client to identify which solution merits further study. The goal of this exercise is to help students understand the decision‐making process and the importance of communication. Often student teams are surprised when the client does not agree with their recommendation. This discrepancy is usually based on information the students were not provided with initially, for example, issues with cost, or other seemingly random reasons. Students learn the importance of verifying their assumptions, the value of communication, and importance of considering all factors of decision making, which can mean that the most technically logical choice is not always the most feasible, especially when financing is an issue.

During the second half of the semester, the students delve more deeply into the technical design and economic analysis of the option selected by the client. Students often reach out to vendors and installers to obtain actual quotes on labor and materials. This information is sometimes difficult to obtain, which forces them to make assumptions, use engineering judgment, and keep their calculations fluid, flexible, and well documented in order to incorporate new information as it becomes available. These open‐ended challenges seem to be where the most headway is made with regard to developing students' independence and critical thinking skills. The process teaches students how to communicate degrees of uncertainty to a client and to develop an array of optimized solutions based on the specific details of the project, instead of searching for the one right answer that is often part of academic problem sets.

Guest lecturers from other colleges and the community are helpful in demonstrating more abstract concepts to the students. Guest topics include how to identify your audience and communicate appropriately, how to be clear and concise when discussing technical content with members of the community, and how to perform an economic analysis, including payback, the consideration of state and federal incentive programs, and the development of financing models. At the end of the semester, students write a cumulative final report and invite their client to a formal presentation in which they outline their technical design and economic analysis of the final recommendation(s). In addition, students create a poster outlining their project for display at a final Shines! Poster Show where the community is invited to attend.

The first iteration of the Shines! program, in 2014, centered on projects located in Lincoln Park, a low‐income area of Duluth, and focused on the design of solar PV or solar thermal systems. In 2015, the projects were focused primarily on the UMD campus and included an investigation of the best locations for solar PV and the design of a more efficient irrigation system for watering athletic fields. The scope of the program in 2016 was expanded to include projects all around the city, and included a feasibility study on heat recovery options for a large regional hospital and an analysis of efficiency options for a local fire hall.

A project during the first year, with Duluth Grill, a local restaurant that prides itself on using fresh, local, organic ingredients was carried out all the way through to implementation. Student teams investigated, designed, and installed a solar thermal system to heat a hoop house where produce, fish, and rabbits for the restaurant are raised year‐round. To maintain the required temperature of 80 degrees Fahrenheit in the 5,000‐gallon fish tank inside the hoop house, the owners were paying approximately $1,000 per month for electricity. While a solar PV system was initially considered, the students quickly identified the advantages of adding extra insulation on the northern side of the structure and a solar thermal heating system to preheat the tank water. Using an available solar thermal system, the students dug the trenches for the pipes, and installed the hot water heater, heat dump, and control system. Since the installation, the owner has reported that his electric bill has been reduced significantly. Figure 1 shows the solar thermal system in front of the hoop house.

OPEN IN VIEWER

Figure 1.

The solar thermal system proposed and installed by students for the local farm‐to‐table restaurant

Discussion

While the Shines! program was initially developed to advance the professional skills of engineering students through providing technical assistance to local entities that could result in implemented projects, a large unexpected co‐benefit of the university–community collaboration has been its impact on furthering sustainability at the community‐scale.

A community organization, Ecolibrium3, served as the initial program design and implementation partner with UMD professors. Ecolibrium3 had previous experience working with university partnerships that had varied success. A major concern when working with community organizations, government, and businesses is developing a process that is not too onerous for the client and a product that meets the client's needs, and also has a realistic potential for spawning adoption of sustainability recommendations. Often, when university programs reach out to the community, there is a lack of understanding regarding the needs of the community partner. The result is projects or assignments that meet an academic need but are more of a burden than a benefit to the client. A key component of the Shines! collaboration is a process in which assignments are used to scaffold the understanding and professional performance of the students. The process assists students in defining and meeting the needs of their client and begins an essential professional transition from academic performance to professional requirements.

A strong match between university and community partners fosters trust and transparency and is mutually beneficial, enabling significant expansion of working relationships and programmatic partnerships. The Shines! project has demonstrated this progression and expects continued growth in university‐community partnerships, as demonstrated with the following partners.

Conclusion

One of the main goals of the next version of Shines! will be to increase community outreach and education. The Shines! Poster Show offers a great opportunity to educate the community about what is going on at the university and about sustainability efforts by the City and local businesses, and to teach people about renewable energy and energy efficiency. Additionally, plans are underway to expand the Shines! program to include partners from the School of Business and Economics and the Department of Communication within the College of Liberal Arts, making it truly multidisciplinary.

The Shines! Program has resulted in a successful model for the university to act as a change agent in the community. ³ These projects represent unique opportunities to provide a practical educational experience. Because the projects are open ended, students engage their creativity and utilize problem‐solving skills in ways that extend their classroom experiences. By giving control of the project to the clients, students are immersed in a more real‐life experience. Classes and projects such as those mentioned are ideal places for students, in particular engineering students, to learn what drives sustainable changes, how they are achieved, and the important role that students can and will play as they enter the professional world and become members of a community.