Cassie Tokach/Winonan

Last week the library featured a poster in the middle of the first floor entryway to display research projects completed by Winona State University science and engineering students.

Winona State’s Composite Materials Engineering department hosts a Composite Material Technology Center (COMTEC) run by CME students under the direction of Matthew Benson, the current COMTEC director.

Since its beginning in 1987, COMTEC has successfully completed projects for many local companies and companies outside of this region both in and out of the composites industry.

Projects such as Aaron Anderson-Walker’s Anatomy of Post-Consumer Plastics allow students to do hands-on research.
Anderson-Walker, currently a composite materials engineering student, focused his research on the issue of not being able to recycle used plastics.

Though his project may not directly correlate to his future career path, he still appreciates the opportunity.

“Being able to work on projects and research topics that are relevant to the composites industry definitely helps provide a better perspective on what a potential career may require,” Anderson-Walker said.

Anderson-Walker was tasked with developing testing methods to identify post-consumer plastics, meaning he would have to collect background information about the plastics recycling industry and run heat analysis testing on material samples.

“This topic stood out the most to me and being able to recycle various plastics would benefit our civilization as a whole down the road,” Anderson-Walker said.

His poster, along with the other posters found in the library, present research findings through explanation of testing, discussion of research, results and conclusions. Their projects were funded by the Winona State University Next Chapter Grant.

“This is an institution for higher education. Students should be curious enough to glance at or read in depth about the research done by their fellow engineering students,” Anderson-Walker said.

“In order to make a better world for ourselves and future generations, research will be a necessity as our civilization continues to make advances and technological breakthroughs to improve the quality of life,” Anderson-Walker said.

Contact Cassie at [email protected]