Enginuity Day — 7 July 2016

Enginuity Day is an event presented by the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Auckland to encourage young women in high school to pursue careers in engineering. Hundreds of female students are invited to the City Campus to attend a day of learning and activities organized by the Women in Engineering Network.

An enthusiastic team of engineers from the Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering presented demonstrations continuously from 10:30 am – 1:30 pm in room 404-502. Each hour-long session was jam-packed with 20-minute rotations between each of three different demonstrations: Biomaterials, Food Processing, and Separations.

Vonne and Zaza show students real cartilage (photo credit: Lynne Carter)

Vonne van Heeswijk, Zaza Sapiee, Josh Workman, and Martina Alvarez Camps educated students on the structure and function of cartilage. Artificial joints and a spinal column were on display along with real samples of cartilage.

Food Processing

Chocolate manufacture was the topic of the demonstration presented by Huan Zhao and Ali Nedoma. Comparing the mouth feel of Whittaker’s 72% Dark Ghana to Whittaker’s 33% milk chocolate led to a discussion of the role of texture in determining flavor. Students passed around cacoa nibs and cocoa butter, two of the main components in chocolate, before processing Cadbury’s Dairy Milk from a custom extruder built by Ray Hoffman. The extruded chocolate noodles were the highlight of the demonstration; they were passed around and tied into knots, before slowly hardening back to solid chocolate.

Separations

Water purification was demonstrated by Rachini Siriwardene, Kacey Wu, Cara Wang, and Filicia Wicaksana. Teams of students assembled their own gravity-driven filters using inverted soda bottles and a variety of materials: filter paper, paper towels, cotton, sand, gravel, and charcoal. Muddy water was filtered and the visual clarity of the product was compared to a pressure-driven separation through hollow-fiber membranes. Student participants did an exceptional job!

Behind the Scenes

Behind the scenes, Lynne Carter was a whirr of action, ensuring that the rotations between groups went smoothly, keeping the time, and taking all of the photographs presented here. Amongst the colleagues who helped out, Ashley Young provided experiential inspiration and Ray Hoffman managed the construction and transport of equipment. Details of the materials used, expenses, and recommendations for future years are available here: C&M Enginuity Day Materials.

C&M Enginuity Day Gallery