Spring 2012 - Quad City Engineering and Science Council

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pounds from going into landfills and we sold those items, raising $2,500, which we donated to local charities. By collaborating with the United Way, resident hall coordinators, and over 200 volunteers, I initiated the 1 st annual “Give it up for Good Program”, a dorm salvage program for students to donate unwanted, reusable items. I am very proud of the program that I initiated at K-State, because of how successful it was after only the first time and from hearing students say they wanted this to become an annual program. In addition to my personal initiatives, I also have experience with water sanitation and improving health conditions in three countries from my involvement as project manager with Engineers Without Borders. As a freshman, I traveled to Dehradun, India (2009) to assess sites for building a water treatment system. Next, I traveled to Panajachel, Guatemala (2011) to monitor water filters in homes, distribute parasitic worm prevention medicine to schoolchildren, and I volunteered in a clinic taking the height and weight of patients. Currently I am preparing for my trip to Yakuñay, Ecuador in January 2012. To prepare for my trip to Yakuñay, I led our group by organizing workdays where we prepared materials to build a latrine prototype at K-State. What makes this a unique latrine is that we used plastic bottles collected from home football games that we stuffed with cleaned plastic trash and used this as a building material, instead of only using concrete to build the structure. This design solves two problems for Yakuñay. The first solution is that we are helping them reduce their plastic waste issue. The second is that we are providing a latrine and this is important because they currently do not have any proper solid and liquid waste containment systems so they are contaminating their water sources and infecting the villagers with intestinal diseases. However, with a latrine, their water sources are protected and with proper composting they can use the solid waste as fertilizer. These activities have further strengthened my engineering skills and allowed me to design and implement solutions that improve the quality of life in the villages that I have worked in. In addition to my studies and volunteer projects, I have fieldwork and research experience. In the summer of 2010, I toured wastewater treatment facilities where I saw many problems such as broken spouts and ineffective filters. As the city’s most energy intensive process, it is vital to assess these facilities and retrofit or repair broken equipment to ensure that the facility is optimally functioning. I have also conducted research at Kansas State University, in the bioenergy lab of Dr. Wenqiao Yuan, to isolate and analyze different species of algae. To do this, I grew several algae samples and then isolated the algae cultures on agar plates. This allowed me to analyze the algae cells in the sample to identify their different composition and properties, to determine which species of algae might be more efficient to use in biofuels production. Currently, algae is growing at an alarming rate and is creating a condition called hypoxia, meaning lack of oxygen, in many ocean areas. When this occurs, other marine organisms are negatively affected. Therefore, by researching the composition and properties of algae, we can explore the possibility of efficiently removing the algae and utilizing it for energy generation. With the world’s energy demands on a rise, it is crucial that more engineering designs and solutions have an energy efficiency and sustainability basis, which is why I plan to pursue a career in environmental engineering to accomplish this. I feel that my past and current activities reflect sustainability, energy efficiency, and taking a global initiative to improve the quality of life with sustainability, all of which are integrated in ASABE’s goals. I have successfully prepared myself to be a promising environmental engineer because of my exposure to fieldwork, my leadership, and my initiative to create solutions in innovative ways. I hope the ASABE QC Scholarship Committee can see my dedication to an environmental career and sees my work worthy of the 2012 ASABE QC Scholarship.” 8
Andrew Klopfenstein “There are many achievements I hope to accomplish over the next five years of my life. These range from college graduation to beginning a family and establishing a career. Some short-term goals though will occur during this next year. First of all, I want to be one of the top interns at Case-New Holland for the summer of 2012. Also, I want to have a 3.35 GPA at the end of this year in college. In addition to these goals, I have several long-term goals. Initially, one of my long-term goals is to graduate from college as a Top 20 Senior in the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences. Next, I would like to return home and work on my family farm as well as test farm equipment, using my degree in Agricultural Engineering, for a company such as John Deere or Case-New Holland. While working on the farm, I hope to marry and have a family. One of my biggest goals in college is to graduate debt free. In addition, an obstacle that is going to be hard to hurdle will be finding a company that wants to hire an onsite engineer such as myself. I plan to overcome this by taking a minor in Ag Business and being very involved in my college experience. No matter how each of these goals is refined or accomplished it will be my desire to put forth my best effort in all endeavors. I have been interested in the agricultural field ever since I was able to drive a tractor and help my father on the family farm. I have grown up working, living, breathing, and raising animals and doing the work on our farm. When I first started working with my dad, I can remember getting tools and helping him fix machinery. Nevertheless, the most vivid memory of all was my first tractor driving experience. I learned how to chop wheat stubble with our 4430 John Deere tractor. Since that first driving experience and many years have passed, I have acquired much bigger responsibilities. I have 9 grown to love the farm and everything in it. I have also raised lambs and dairy feeders for 4-H and FFA for 12 years. In addition, the problems and challenges that occur for a farmer interest me a great deal. When pieces of equipment break down or some operation needs improvement, I love the challenge. I have learned so much from my father, grandfather, and employees and there is much more for me to learn. I cannot wait for the day when I can work on the farm with my father and spend years watching the alfalfa, corn, and soybeans come in for another harvest. Over the last two years I have had the opportunity to work for Case-New Holland and travel the United States of America to test hay and forage equipment. I began my field experience at the California border near Mexico and concluded that portion of the work on the vast plains of North Dakota. These travels have opened my eyes not only to the vast array of agriculture, but to the different ways a company must meet the specific needs of the farmers in various geographical regions. Our jobs as engineers, then, are not limited to tasks in front of a computer or at a desk designing equipment. Engineers must communicate with the public to understand individual circumstances and to consider how these technological decisions will affect every aspect of the economy. As Bobby D. Moser, Vice President for Agricultural Administration and Dean, College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences at The Ohio State University wrote, “. . . we now ask ourselves four questions: Is it economically viable Is it efficiently productive Is it environmentally sound Will society accept it” He said this pertaining to agriculture, but I believe it will be of great importance in all aspects of engineering in the future, especially agricultural, where we are under constant scrutiny. Being an integral part of improving people's lives is one reason that I enjoy this field so much. My, Andrew Klopfenstein's, work may affect every part of the economy from how food is harvested to how it is processed, and even how it will be eaten. This privilege is not one to be taken for granted. It is my desire to pursue this vocation that I love, in order to
Page 1 and 2: ASABE Quad City Section Newsletter
Page 3 and 4: Tom Hitzhusen The design team inclu
Page 5 and 6: John D. Watt Douglas Graham Impleme
Page 7: Thanks to this year’s Nominating
Page 11 and 12: Milliman, Hannah Phares, Norbert Po

Spring 2012 - Quad City Engineering and Science Council

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