While the rest of campus remained quiet over summer break, the engineering labs in Stark Hall remained active. The first of its kind America’s Cutting Edge (ACE) Composites Bootcamp was held at Winona State University.
Winona State’s Composite Material Engineering (CME) program is the only accredited program in the country, offering students the opportunity to study composites at a level not often seen until graduate school. It was from within this program that the ACE Composites Bootcamp was born.
A composite is a material that is made from two or more physically or chemically distinct materials. The combined materials then have unique properties, often making them stronger and stiffer than the materials they are made of.
The camp included three, week long sessions held throughout the summer. The students attending the camp had the opportunity to be in the labs throughout the day and stay in the dorms at night. Food was also provided at no cost to the students. The only cost they had to pay was transportation to Winona.
Eric Kerr-Anderon is an associate professor in the CME program and the program director for Winona’s ACE Composite Bootcamp site. He worked with ACE to help more people get exposed to composite materials. During the camp, students would get to make a composite car.
“The car consists of a bunch of different components that are made with different processing methods. So, the idea is to start them off with simple things, slowly build their skill sets and go to harder and harder things. It complements the online curriculum that was created by the ACE program,” Kerr-Anderson said.
The processes to make the car included resin-casting for the wheels, infusion for the car body, hand layups for the back foil, thermoforming for the windshield and compression molding for the under carriage. In addition, the students were also exposed to injection molding, CNC machining and waterjet cutting.
The program was designed to appeal to a wide variety of age groups with varying skill levels. 27 participants this summer included high schoolers, high school teachers, college students and industry professionals.
“A lot of people were really impressed that we were able to provide curriculum at all levels. Not only would it be for somebody that may have never touched this stuff before, but also for those that are really experienced,” Kerr-Anderson said.
Luke Poglayen, a fourth-year student majoring in composite materials engineering, was one of the 3 rising seniors hired by Kerr-Anderson for the bootcamp to be an instructor.
“I think it was really good for me to be able to explain all these processes to different people, because if I’m able to explain these processes that means that I understand them very well,” Poglayen said.
Poglayen worked alongside two other Winona State students, Noah Misukanis and Dominic Perez. While they all needed to understand and perform the processes, they also needed to know how to teach them.
“I’m going to use a lot of the skills that I used from this program when I have to explain more complex procedures to somebody,” Poglayen said. “It helped me develop those skills.”
Although this summer was considered a success, Kerr-Anderson is already thinking about what to improve for next summer. The docket, as of now, is to improve compression molding and infusion to make it faster and easier for students. He would also like to incorporate more industry involvement by bringing in professionals to explain how the processes apply in the real world.
Winona State hosted the only camp this summer but there are hopes to expand to more sites around the country. There is debate over whether the other sites would make cars, similar to Winona State, or explore other applications. However, they would all have the same mission of exposing people to composite materials and the role they play in today’s world.
