Whether it’s space-oriented research, welding prowess or Science Olympiad successs, Blue Devils arrive with talent and motivation

MENOMONIE, Wis. – Because of its polytechnic focus on applied learning, industry collaborations, and career-oriented experiences, students at University of Wisconsin-Stout Polytechnic are poised to Do More on Day One. In fact, they often do more even before Day One: Diving into applied research that could impact space missions. Building high-value industrial skills on the shop floor. Winning national scholarships for success in STEM competitions.

These experiences exemplify the ambition and talent of students who are drawn to be Blue Devils. Meet three UW-Stout Polytechnic undergraduates who have been busy doing more before, during and after Day One.

Starting early with space-bound research

If she is asked to write an essay on her summer vacation, Reese Hufnagel of Anoka, Minnesota, would have plenty of material: This summer, she spent 10 weeks interning at NASA. She made presentations at space conferences in Italy and the United States. She and her business partner and research mentor, Professor Matthew Ray, submitted a provisional patent for their work designing materials to mitigate the risk of space debris crashing to earth.

Now she’s beginning her third and final year at UW-Stout Polytechnic, and the coming semester will not only be filled with courses and lab work but also with submitting new research proposals, conducting materials tests, pursuing an internship for next summer and applying to graduate schools.

Hufnagel’s UW-Stout Polytechnic experience exemplifies the university’s “Do More on Day One” slogan: She started working on research before classes began during her first year – or, as she put it, on “Day Negative Two.” Hufnagel, who will graduate with a B.S. chemistry degree in May, was drawn to the university for both its size and its polytechnic focus, both of which have allowed her to work closely with faculty.

“The thing that mattered most to me was finding something that felt like a good fit, where I was comfortable,” she said. “I knew the way I learned best was through physically doing things, so the polytechnic aspect really stood out to me.”

Hufnagel was intrigued by the possibility of studying materials science at UW-Stout Polytechnic, and her mother, a school counselor, helped her contact Ray. He had an opening in his lab, and Hufnagel had lab experience from earning her associate’s degree while in high school.

“He asked me directly, ‘What do you want to do?” recalled Hufnagel, “and I said ‘space.’ Any way we can connect it (to research), I will be there.” The connection they found was the problem of space debris surviving reentry – something that is becoming more common both because of the exponential increase in rocket launches and the fact that newer carbon-fiber materials don’t burn up as easily as older rocket components.

For the past two years, Hufnagel and Ray have focused on creating a catalytic additive that, when integrated into carbon-fiber materials, can cause them to disintegrate when they reach a specific trigger temperature. This research led them to form a business partnership, Aurora Catalytic.

“Once we realized that there was commercialization potential with it, then we basically just wanted to see how far we could take it,” Hufnagel said. It was on behalf of Aurora Catalytic that she spoke at both the Wisconsin Space Conference in Kenosha and the Committee on Space Research (COSPAR) Scientific Assembly in Florence, Italy, where she made connections with scientists from around the world.

Before attending the conferences, Hufnagel interned at the Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland, conducting validation tests on equipment for a probe slated to be sent to Venus.

Hufnagel said these opportunities would have been unlikely if she was an undergraduate at another institution. “It allowed me to start doing something that I wanted to do right away,” she said of the university’s polytechnic approach. “And you can’t do that at other schools.”

Love of welding leads to engineering program

While a junior at Unity High School, Isaah Holden of Luck took a welding class and fell in love. He progressed quickly, practicing multiple techniques during extra hours in an open lab. Within months, through the Youth Apprenticeship Program he landed a job with Schaffer Manufacturing, a metal fabrication business in nearby Milltown. Through on-the-job training, Holden learned how to read blueprints, fit parts and size up welds. Eventually, he earned his American Welding Society D1.1 qualification, and after graduating high school was hired by OEM Fabricators.

“It was really just a gradual progression of on-the-job training, being obsessed with welding, and having people around me who supported me that paved the way to where I am now,” he said.

Holden knows that welders are in high demand and can be well-paid, especially when working on pipelines or in oil fields. But he also knew the occupation had drawbacks: It’s dirty, physically demanding and potentially dangerous.

To give himself additional career options, Holden enrolled at UW-Stout Polytechnic based on the reputation of the engineering program.

“The first time I stepped on campus was the day of orientation,” said Holden, who expects to graduate this fall with a B.S. in mechanical engineering. “I really liked how small it was compared to some larger universities. I also liked how the engineering department really invested in labs for the students. It wasn’t like all you were going to be learning was textbook material: You actually apply the things you’ve been learning.”

Throughout his college career, Holden has continued to work at OEM Fabricators. “I started at OEM as a welder and eventually worked my way into engineering as I progressed through my mechanical engineering degree at Stout,” he said. “Having a welding background has helped me a lot because I understand both sides of manufacturing. I can design something on the computer, but I also understand what it actually takes to build and weld it out on the shop floor.”

Holden credits his UW-Stout Polytechnic experience with giving him this dual perspective.

“Stout has prepared me really well through the hands-on classes and projects we have done,” he said. “I’ve gained a ton of experience with several different manufacturing techniques and engineering methods that involve different types of analysis. College also teaches you how to work through the struggle and the grind, and that you can do and manage hard things. I think Stout’s mechanical engineering program has been a really good balance of all that.”

Science Olympiad standout drawn to packaging

William Engel, an incoming freshman from Boyceville, excelled as a competitor in Science Olympiad, earning nearly 170 medals and nine state championships in the STEM-based competition.

Earlier this year, he was chosen from among more than 4,000 applicants as one of five winners of a $10,000 Science Olympiad Founders’ Scholarship, with other recipients heading to schools such as Michigan State, University of Pennsylvania and University of Texas. Engel was the first Wisconsin student to ever receive the honor.

What really sparked his interest in science and technology, however, was a trip to IKEA. While hunting through the store for a desk for his brother, Engel became fascinated with how IKEA products were packaged, from the shape of the boxes that held the company’s furnishings to their strategic placement on pallets. Packaging, he learned, was an entire discipline of its own – a discipline, he discovered, he could pursue at UW-Stout Polytechnic.

In fact, the university’s B.S. packaging program is ranked No. 3 in the nation, something Engel learned while touring UW-Stout Polytechnic in advance of the Wisconsin Science Olympiad State Tournament, which was held on campus last year. “We were shown the mechanical engineering, plastics, and the packaging labs, while also meeting with the professors along with students who all were passionate about their fields and simply loved being at Stout,” Engel said.

“I really like that Stout is a polytechnic university and emphasizes experiential learning,” he continued. “I find hands-on work to be extremely beneficial for learning. While on the packaging program tour I was amazed that Stout holds such a high ranking.”

After eight years competing in Science Olympiad, Engel knows a lot about high rankings. “Science Olympiad helped me build important skills by teaching me how to work under pressure, and problem solve with limited materials,” he said.

Engel also enjoyed interacting with other Science Olympiad coaches and competitors: “It’s fun to collaborate with other schools to improve not only our skills but to share our knowledge with other teams as well.”

Now, he’s looking forward to similar collaboration in a polytechnic environment. Even before he began classes this semester, Engel said, he had the opportunity to connect with professors in the packaging program.

As the semester begins, Engel said, “I am excited to start learning more and getting hands-on experience in my major, and to also get to know more people from other places across the state.”

UW-Stout Polytechnic offers more than 70 industry-aligned undergraduate and graduate degrees and 40 professional certificate programs. One of the 13 Universities of Wisconsin, UW-Stout Polytechnic is distinguished by applied learning and research, business and industry collaboration, and career-focused experiences to prepare students for success in engineering, technology, design, management and other fields.