SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING
STUDENT-FACULTY
RYAN KAPPES Civil Engineering ‘25
KORDT GAMMELGAARD Electrical Engineering ‘25
JONATHAN MILLAM Computer Engineering ‘25
WITH DR. ALI LING
WITH DR. LUCAS KOERNER
CLASSIFYING MATERIAL TYPES FROM A DISTANCE USING TIME-RESOLVED OPTICAL SIGNATURES.
CHARACTERIZING HOW PFAS MOVE THROUGH AQUATIC FOOD WEBS IN THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER.
RESEARCH ROLE
My role is to analyze data from research done on PFAS concentrations and find links between the compound size and accumulation in the food web to better characterize how much PFAS impacts aquatic life.
Our role is to design infrastructure to collect and process data from the optical depth sensor at various angles and distances which can lead to safer and more capable autonomous systems.
PERSONAL IMPACT
I find research to be cool. The concept of going out to find novel information, or to gather information that already exists and apply it to new ideas, is itself a seed for passion. Over the past 100 years, we as a society have done so many things without understanding their full implications. I feel like this is just the start of a larger look into this particular realm of environmental engineering/science. One of Minnesota’s crown jewels is the natural beauty of the state, and I feel it is our duty to protect it. To look into how chemicals are affecting this environment is a personal achievement alongside a professional one. Understanding our impact here is critical to our future when we start exploring other planets.
The opportunity to do research is wonderful and a very fun experience. It has helped me further my own understanding of the discipline, flesh out my future goals as an engineer, and explore the amazing advancements in the field. — Kordt Gammelgaard
SOCIETY IMPACT
+ Ensures safer and more capable autonomous systems. + Autonomous cars differentiate between asphalt and ice. + Robots that interact independently with the environment need to know if an object is hard or soft.
Page 24 engineering.stthomas.edu
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