MANCHESTER, NH — A Manchester college student has returned from “down under” where he was part of a team from Worcester Polytechnic Institute working on a project involving microplastic pollution in marine ecosystems.
Eric Stultz, a mechanical engineering student from the class of 2021 at WPI was a member of a student team that recently completed an intense, hands-on research project through the WPI project center in Australia.
The project was titled “A Pump-Based Method to Sample Midwater Microplastic Pollution.” In their project summary, the students wrote:
“Microplastics, plastic pieces less than 5mm in diameter, are a threat to marine ecosystems. The Port Phillip EcoCentre quantifies surface level microplastics entering Port Phillip Bay in order to advocate for policy to mitigate microplastic pollution in Australia. We worked with this organization to develop a method to collect microplastics at greater depths, between 0.2 to 2 meters below the water’s surface.”
At WPI, all undergraduates are required to complete a research-driven, professional-level project that applies science and technology to address an important societal need or issue. About two-thirds of students complete a project at one of the university’s 50-plus off-campus project centers, which are located around the world. A signature element of the innovative undergraduate experience at WPI, the project-based curriculum offers students the opportunity to apply their scientific and technical knowledge to develop thoughtful solutions to real problems that affect the quality of people’s lives — and make a difference before they graduate.
“The WPI project-based curriculum’s focus on global studies brings students out of the classroom and their comfort zones and into the global community to apply their knowledge and to solve problems,” said Professor Kent Rissmiller, interim dean of the WPI Interdisciplinary and Global Studies Division. “Students are immersed in all aspects of a different culture, from the way people live and work to the values they hold to the foods they eat – all valuable perspectives for surviving and thriving in today’s global marketplace. They also learn the meaning and magic of teamwork; make a real and meaningful difference in their host community; and gain a competitive edge for any resume, or graduate or professional school application.”
About Worcester Polytechnic Institute
WPI, a global leader in project-based learning, is a distinctive, top-tier technological university founded in 1865 on the principle that students learn most effectively by applying the theory learned in the classroom to the practice of solving real-world problems. Recognized by the National Academy of Engineering with the 2016 Bernard M. Gordon Prize for Innovation in Engineering and Technology Education, WPI’s pioneering project-based curriculum engages undergraduates in solving important scientific, technological, and societal problems throughout their education and at more than 50 project centers around the world. www.wpi.edu
