Engineers, Husker faculty share research with LPS teachers to bolster science ed

Nebraska Engineering researchers were among the 22 University of Nebraska-Lincoln research groups who shared their latest work with 150-plus Lincoln Public Schools science teachers at a STEM fair on Aug. 9, hoping to help the teachers to better educate their students in grades 6-12.

For this year's event, teachers identified concepts in the UNL research that bridge multiple STEM fields and are part of the Next Generation Science Standards adopted by many states, including Nebraska.

Oghenetega Allen Obewhere, a doctoral student in chemical engineering who does research in Shudipto Dishari's lab, showed teachers how they could use materials available at local stores to effectively transform a conventional battery into a renewable power source. That provides a glimpse into the Dishari group’s engineering of greener fuel cells. The DIY device also demonstrates the conversion of chemical energy, via salt, into electrical energy.

“Professor Dishari is someone who really is passionate about reaching out to the younger generation to increase their passion for STEM,” Obewhere said. “So when this opportunity came, we jumped right into it.