The Voinovich School of Leadership and Public Affairs collaborated with an Ohio University professor to investigate the technical, financial, and environmental feasibility of her ammonia powered technology, bringing together professional staff and students to complete the project.
The new technology, called an ammonia electrolytic cell, was developed by Dr. Gerardine Botte, Associate Professor in the Russ College of Engineering and Technology at Ohio University.The cell creates a renewable energy source with harmless byproducts by using ammonia, a substance that is often a significant problem for farms, to generate hydrogen.The hydrogen is then used to power a fuel cell to produce electricity.
In 2006, the Voinovich School began its work with Botte through the creation of a telephone surveyA group of professional staff at the School prepared a telephone survey “designed to investigate rural residents’ awareness, knowledge, and attitudes regarding new energy technologies including fuel cell technology for home use,” said Voinovich School staff member Sara Boyd. The survey asked respondents if they were familiar with alternate energy sources, such as bio fuels, wind turbines, and solar energy, and whether or not they used any of these energy sources in their homes.The survey was deployed in collaboration with Ohio University’s Scripps Survey Research Center, where OU students conducted the phone interviews.
The Voinovich School also aided Botte in considering the “feasibility of using technology on a farm or in a residential area through focus groups,” said Laura Milazzo, Voinovich School staff member.The School’s staff and students, including former student Ann Deaton, conducted discussions with three groups— energy regulators, such as the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency and the US Department of Agriculture; agricultural producers, represented by the Ohio Farm Bureau Federation and the Ohio Livestock Coalition; and residential/housing experts, such as P & N Architects and the Corporation for Ohio Appalachia Development.
“The focus groups were imperative to understanding the preliminary questions and issues involved with the production of the new technology,” explained Milazzo.
The partnership continued to evolve bringing in Voinovich School business professionals and Ohio University Master of Business Administration students to help Botte by examining her potential business model, including financials, farm size, and raw material costs.
Botte was not the only one to benefit from the Voinovich School involvement in her projects.Voinovich School students who helped with the project were given the opportunity to apply their in-class learning to an actual project.Being able to “[learn and apply] unique techniques in an actual real-world situation” helps students succeed in their professional careers, said Deaton.
Deaton, a 2008 graduate of the master of sociology program at Ohio University, is now employed at the University of Colorado in applied research where she evaluates programs that address racial and ethnic health disparities, primarily in the areas of cancer and cardiovascular disease.According to Deaton, her “real-world” experience at the Voinovich School helped her develop the skills necessary to land her the job.
“Working on [Voinovich School projects] was a great opportunity to get practical experience with qualitative analysis, and it played a major part in my developing the skills and confidence to do the analysis for my master’s thesis.Also, the work I did, such as analyzing focus group interviews, gave me hands-on experience that helped me to get a job in the field of applied research,” she said.
In addition, the opportunity for MBA students, and others, to work on actual client projects makes it easier for them to enter the workforce, said Voinovich School staff member, Anna Jensen.By examining all aspects of the business plan including production, marketing, distribution, and financials she said she hopes the MBA students “leave with the ability to analyze from a holistic view point.”
“As this project demonstrates, students at the Voinovich School do not always work within areas of their expertise,” said Milazzo, “but it is the application of general research techniques on a variety of subject matters that demonstrates to the employer that students truly have the needed skills.“