When chemical engineering student Benjamin Bangasser, of New Hope, Minn., enrolled at the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, he didn't know exactly what he wanted to do with his life. He just knew that he wanted to study chemical engineering.
"I chose the School of Mines because it is a smaller school and I was looking for that," Bangasser said. "It has definitely paid off. I don't know how it would be possible at a larger school to have the type of personal relationships the students here have with their professors."
So he did what many School of Mines students do, and participated in hands-on research and job opportunities. Seventy-five percent of School of Mines students gain real-life experience through internships and co-ops, which provide excellent opportunities for students to integrate their classroom learning with "real world" work experience. Bangasser took this approach and then some - participating in four research and industry experiences during his years at the School of Mines.
He first stepped out of the classroom in May 2006, when he began an eight-month experience with Cargill Corn Milling in Eddyville, IA, in a production management engineering co-op. During his time at Cargill, Bangasser coordinated engineering projects, focusing on portions of the process that needed to be improved, coordinating with contractors and Cargill employees.
After seeing chemical engineering from the industry side, Bangasser decided to spend summer 2007 investigating the research perspective. He participated in the Research Experience for Undergraduates at the University of South Carolina, where he tested hydrogen storage materials for capacity.
"This was my first real research experience, and I wanted to investigate that facet since I had already experienced the industrial side," Bangasser said.
The research experience that he received helped to hone his ideas for his career path. He felt like the research side of chemical engineering was a better fit for him, but just to make sure, he took another research internship during summer 2008.
Bangasser participated in the Research Internship in Science and Engineering (RISE) program, which offers the opportunity for undergraduate students to work with research groups at universities and top research institutions across Germany. RISE interns are matched with doctoral students whom they assist and who serve as their mentors.
Bangasser was located at RWTH Aachen, also known as the Aachen University of Technology, in Aachen, Germany. During his research experience, he focused on enzymatic synthesis of enantiomerically pure alcohols in order to find a better way to make pharmaceutical building blocks. This research has also provided a foundation for his senior design project.
"This research experience was the best of all of them," Bangasser said. "Also, living in Germany was incredible - it definitely gave me a broader world and life view. My mindset has expanded, and I feel like I have a better understanding of people in general."
Also, like many School of Mines students, Bangasser participates in hands-on research on campus alongside senior researchers and faculty members. Since January 2008, he has served as an undergraduate research assistant in the Laser Lab, building apparatus and testing thermal diffusivity using lasers, under the guidance of Drs. Jacek Swiatkiewicz and Jan Puszynski.
Thanks to his varied experiences, Bangasser has determined that the research path is the right one for him, and plans to study biochemical engineering in graduate school upon graduation.
"All of these different experiences give me a more diverse background and more diverse thinking," Bangasser said. "I can draw on these experiences in the future."
At the School of Mines, students are given the opportunity to examine their futures much like an engineering problem - from all sides, testing all possible solutions until finding the best fit. Bangasser's experience is echoed by many different students, in many different disciplines, all across the university. Students aren't just given the opportunity to invent tomorrow - they are also given the opportunity to start today.
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