In this inaugural blog post for the team, I hope to tell a story of how our project came about.
On March 10, 2020, The University decided to switch to remote operation of the remainder of the spring semester due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This was just around the time that our Laboratory for Advanced Manufacturing of Polymeric Systems (LAMPS) researchers were just about to start doing hands-on polymer research. All quarantined at home, we decided to pivot to a completely new team project that has almost nothing to do with our individual research work.
Our core team consists of nine dedicated chemical engineering students, sophomores to seniors, volunteering their time across the globe from as far away as Hangzhou. We adopted an agile project development style and brainstormed ways to make a difference to society and the environment, all while bringing our Bucknell community together. And after a few weeks of deliberation and one catchy title, Ray’cycle Quarantine Challenge was born.
With gratitude to all those who provided input (current students, faculty, and alumni on panel reviews; the Director of Campus Sustainability, Sustainability Affinity House and Bucknell Center for Sustainability and the Environment for insightful discussions), and an established partnership with the Bucknell Environmental Club, we have officially launched the Ray’cycle Challenge on June 17, 2020. This puts us exactly at a 2 month period for the first Challenge, as the University announced an August 17 start date.
We are very excited!! A big thank you to those who are participating in our Challenge. We hope to deliver an interesting product soon!!