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Worcester Polytechnic Institute Receives $12 Million Legacy Gift from Distinguished Alumnus Carl Karlsson 鈥?0 to Advance Faculty Excellence and Student Success

cbwamback — Wed, 27 Aug 2025 12:00:00 +0000

Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) today announced a鈥痸isionary $12 million legacy gift鈥痜rom Carl Karlsson, Class of 1960. The unrestricted estate gift, made following Karlsson鈥檚 passing in 2023, will provide broad support across WPI, with a portion dedicated to establishing鈥痚ndowed professorships for early career faculty鈥攁 strategic investment in the university鈥檚 long-term academic excellence.

Among the most significant philanthropic commitments ever made by an individual to WPI and in support of Beyond These Towers: The Campaign for Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Karlsson鈥檚 gift will leave a lasting mark on the university鈥檚 future. Unrestricted gifts are among the most powerful forms of philanthropy because they provide WPI with the flexibility to address its highest priorities, respond to emerging opportunities, and invest strategically in areas of greatest need. Karlsson鈥檚 altruism ensures WPI remains nimble and well-positioned to advance its mission for generations to come.

鈥淭his is a shining example of the extraordinary generosity and dedication of our alumni to give back and help WPI continue to thrive,鈥?said Grace J. Wang, President of WPI. 鈥淐arl Karlsson鈥檚 remarkable gift will impact the university by supporting faculty excellence, fueling research and innovation, and enriching the student experience. His legacy will empower future generations to achieve, discover, and lead in ways that ensure WPI鈥檚 enduring excellence and global impact.鈥?lt;/span>

After earning his degree in chemical engineering in 1960, Karlsson built a successful career in information systems and technology, working for Praxair Inc. in Tonawanda, New York. Throughout his life, he remained deeply connected to WPI, contributing annually to the university鈥檚 areas of greatest need for nearly four decades. His legacy gift reflects a lifelong belief in the power of education to improve lives, a value that aligns closely with WPI鈥檚 mission and project-based learning model.

Q&A with Christina Bailey-Hytholt

leckelbecker — Tue, 26 Aug 2025 12:00:00 +0000

Christina Bailey-Hytholt鈥檚 research explores something so ordinary that it is often discarded when no longer needed yet so critical that it sustains life.

The placenta.

Recently named to the Leonard P. Kinnicutt Professorship, Bailey-Hytholt 鈥?5 is an assistant professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering who focuses on using engineering approaches to advance women鈥檚 and prenatal health. She concentrates specifically on problems of the placenta, a temporary organ that forms in the uterus during pregnancy to provide nutrients and oxygen to a developing baby.

Some of her work is considered exploratory, but she鈥檚 also interested in developing models of the placenta for research and developing particles that package and deliver therapies to patients.

Her research has captured attention from funders and others. In 2024, Bailey-Hytholt was awarded a three-year, $502,999 National Science Foundation (NSF) grant for early-career researchers to determine the relationship between placental cells known as trophoblasts and the biomolecules they secrete, called exosomes, that are important for cell communication. In 2022, Forbes named her to its 30 Under 30 Class of Innovators.

Bailey-Hytholt joined the WPI faculty in 2022 after receiving her PhD in biomedical engineering at Brown University and completing postdoctoral research in genomic medicine and biologics drug product development and manufacturing at Sanofi. Her research has been supported by the NSF, the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center, and the Amnion Foundation. She is affiliated with WPI鈥檚 Department of Biomedical Engineering.

From left, Christina Bailey-Hytholt and students Emily Lei '27 and PhD student Kerstin Andrews '25

Q: Did you always want to be a researcher?

A: I always gravitated toward healthcare. During middle and high school, I volunteered at a nursing home for several years. When I arrived at WPI as an undergraduate in chemical engineering, I thought I would later go to medical school. Then I worked in the lab of Terri Camesano (dean of graduate studies) and had the best experience. She and the graduate students working in her lab encouraged me to think about pursuing research and my PhD. I didn鈥檛 know what graduate school and becoming a researcher really was until my experience working in a lab. At the same time, I had some health challenges of my own. I realized that there are many things we don鈥檛 have answers to in a clinical setting, and new research is important to advance medicine.

Q: How did you decide to focus your research on women鈥檚 unmet health needs?

A: Women鈥檚 health is an area that I can relate to and feel I can be an advocate for, which led to my passion for this area of research. However, research into women鈥檚 health as an engineer really wasn鈥檛 on my radar until a few things came together during my first year of graduate school鈥攐pportunities, exciting projects, and good mentors. There was an opportunity to contribute to a prenatal diagnostic project, and that project spurred ideas about using engineering skill sets to study the placenta. I also was fortunate to be an NSF fellow and to have advisors who supported me. Pursuing these projects, I really became passionate about the subject and saw that there were not many engineering approaches being used to advance prenatal and women鈥檚 health. On a personal level, I recently went through my own pregnancy and had a healthy daughter, so I saw firsthand how important research is for prenatal health.

A researcher holds a clear container that is used to measure the surface charge of nanoparticles in solution.

Q: What does chemical engineering have to do with human health?

A: The words 鈥渃hemical engineering鈥?may typically conjure up images of a person wearing a hard hat and working in an industrial plant, but chemical engineers work in many different fields. Many chemical engineers work in health-related fields such as the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries. Chemical engineers learn to solve problems involving complex systems and processes, and human health involves complex systems and processes. Chemical engineering concepts such as material properties, mass balances, transport, kinetics, thermodynamics, and more are crucial to designing therapeutics and cell models, which are important in advancing human health.

Q: What is the goal of your three-year NSF-funded project?

A: The goal of this project is to study and identify the relationship between the environment that trophoblast cells, the main cells in the placenta, are grown in and how they communicate with each other. Trophoblasts invade the endometrium, which is the membrane that lines the uterus, to anchor the placenta in place and ensure adequate blood flow. Trophoblasts also secrete factors that allow cells in the placenta to communicate with each other. The placenta is not a well-understood organ, so my lab is looking at how the environment in the placenta鈥攕uch as the presence of growth factors or hormones鈥攊nfluences invasiveness and impacts what trophoblasts secrete. It鈥檚 important to expand knowledge about the placenta because it is a critical organ for developing babies and there are studies that suggest placental health impacts the lifelong health of babies and mothers鈥攕o really, everyone. This award also financially supports graduate and undergraduate students in the lab. We have a great team working on this important project.

Q: As a graduate of WPI, what is it like to return here as a faculty member?

A: I love it. It鈥檚 awesome to be back in the same research building where I got started. I also think a lot about the mentors I had as an undergraduate, how they influenced my career decisions, and how I can give the undergraduates in my research group a similar experience. I want to give them the opportunity to own their research and enjoy an immersive experience. In the classroom, I can relate to students taking the chemical engineering courses that I teach, because I was in the same seat as them not so long ago. I thought the seven-week terms were fast paced as a student, but they seem to fly by even faster now as a faculty member!

WPI Researcher Receives CAREER Award for Project Focused on Fibrosis

leckelbecker — Wed, 20 Aug 2025 12:00:00 +0000

Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) researcher Catherine Whittington has been awarded a prestigious CAREER Award from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to develop three distinct laboratory models for the study of fibrosis in pancreas, skin, and uterine fibroids.

Whittington, an associate professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering, was awarded $629,998 from the NSF for the five-year project. The models she develops could lead to research advances in the understanding and treatment of fibrosis, a condition that occurs when an injury results in too much scarring that stiffens tissue and threatens to disrupt the normal functioning of organs. Chronic pancreatitis, keloid scars, and uterine fibroids are all the result of fibrosis.

鈥淭here is much to learn about fibrosis so that better treatments can be developed,鈥?Whittington said. 鈥淏etter laboratory models for pancreatic, skin, and uterine fibroid tissues could lead to an improved understanding of factors at the cellular level that lead to fibrosis and how interventions could interrupt or reverse that process.鈥?lt;/span>

Models are representations, such as physical objects or mathematical equations, that represent real-world phenomena. Researchers use models to study a problem, test ideas under controlled conditions, and make predictions.

Whittington will develop models composed of materials such as collagen and human cells that represent the tissues of interest. The combined materials will be placed in wells on laboratory plates about the size of an index card and then exposed to hormones, varied mechanical inputs, and other environmental factors.

鈥淭hese models will be small, but they will allow us to systematically ask questions and make discoveries about how different chemicals and forces contribute to the process of fibrosis,鈥?Whittington said.

WPI Selected as Key Partner in National Cybersecurity and AI Training Initiative to Advance U.S. Automotive Innovation

cbwamback — Wed, 13 Aug 2025 12:00:00 +0000

Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) has been named to a select group of academic institutions leading a nationwide effort to strengthen cybersecurity and artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities in the U.S. automotive industry鈥攁 sector increasingly reliant on smart, connected technologies.

Supported by a $2.5 million grant from the National Centers of Academic Excellence in Cybersecurity the DRiving Automotive Industry WorkForce Transformation (DRIFT) program will provide specialized online and in-person training designed to upskill the workforce and protect vehicle systems from emerging threats.

WPI associate professors Jun Dai, Xiaoyan Sun, and Xiaozhong Liu, all from the Department of Computer Science, will lead the university鈥檚 DRIFT program. WPI will receive $749,994 over two years, with the opportunity for an additional $300,000 in a third year. The program will offer tuition-free modules, workshops, and real-world training to help engineers and professionals develop advanced competencies in cybersecurity and AI.

鈥淭oday鈥檚 vehicles are computers on wheels鈥攑owered by data, software, and smart systems,鈥?said Dai. 鈥淎I is transforming the future of mobility, but without robust cybersecurity, we put innovation鈥攁nd lives鈥攁t risk. DRIFT directly addresses the workforce gap by preparing engineers and professionals with the tools they need to protect connected and autonomous vehicles, and ultimately, to accelerate the development of next-generation transportation.鈥?lt;/span>

As vehicles become more connected, equipped with internet-enabled infotainment systems, GPS, remote diagnostics, and automated driver assistance systems, they also become more vulnerable to cyberattacks. While autonomous vehicles are often in the spotlight, nearly all modern vehicles are now potential targets.

In one of the most publicized demonstrations of this risk, cybersecurity researchers remotely took control of a Jeep Cherokee in 2015, manipulating its brakes, steering, and transmission while it was on the highway. More recently, the 2025 Global Automotive and Smart Mobility Cybersecurity鈥痳eport鈥?lt;/span>by鈥疷pstream鈥痳evealed that massive-scale incidents鈥攅ach impacting millions of vehicles鈥攎ore than tripled between 2023 and 2024, rising from 5% to 19%. The data shows the vulnerability of even top-tier smart vehicles. These incidents underscore the urgent need to secure both automotive systems and the talent pool capable of doing so.

The DRIFT curriculum is designed for a wide audience, including:

Automotive engineers
Cybersecurity and AI professionals
IT workers transitioning into transportation-related sectors
Educators and students at two- and four-year institutions
Department of Transportation personnel
Military and civilian defense staff
First responders and public safety officials
Policymakers and regulators

Courses will be delivered online, in-person, and hybrid formats and will cover:

The architecture and key components of connected and autonomous vehicle (CAV) systems
AI applications and their role in enabling core CAV functions
Common vulnerabilities in connected vehicle systems, including GPS spoofing, sensor interference, and over-the-air update threats
Defensive cybersecurity strategies tailored for CAV environments
Hands-on case studies to bridge theoretical knowledge with real-world applications

WPI joins the following partner institutions in offering DRIFT training:

Oakland University
University of Delaware
University of Michigan-Dearborn
Cleveland State University
Sinclair Community College

Those interested in this program can access the application link for the activities at: https://www.secs.oakland.edu/ei/drift/programs/. For more information about WPI鈥檚 DRIFT program, visit: /academics/departments/cybersecurity/drift.

WPI Named to First-Ever LinkedIn Top Colleges List

jcain — Tue, 12 Aug 2025 12:00:00 +0000

Worcester Polytechnic Institute has been ranked 39th on the 2025 LinkedIn Top Colleges list, an inaugural ranking of the top 50 schools in the U.S. LinkedIn, the world鈥檚 largest professional network, created the Top Colleges list to identify the undergraduate programs that best position their alumni for long-term career success.

鈥淟inkedIn鈥檚 Top Colleges list is additional proof of something we鈥檝e long known and prioritized: that WPI offers students an incredibly valuable education,鈥?said WPI President Grace Wang, noting that more than 95% of WPI graduates who responded to a survey reported that the university鈥檚 signature project-based learning prepared them for their current career. 鈥淥ur unique hands-on educational model is designed not only to equip students with specific expertise and skills in their fields but also to empower them to think critically, work well in teams, and learn how to learn. As a result, our graduates are well positioned to be versatile and successful throughout their professional lives.鈥?lt;/span>

LinkedIn's data finds WPI has the second highest percentage of recent grads working in engineering roles for their first job after graduation.

The first-ever ranking relies on exclusive LinkedIn data that measures the career outcomes of millions of alumni from universities and colleges. It uses a methodology that compares schools based on factors including job and graduate school placement rates, internship completions, and recruiter demand.

鈥淓mployers tell us consistently they love WPI graduates, and that鈥檚 for a number of reasons,鈥?said Amanda Laungani, director of the Heebner Career Development Center at WPI. 鈥淭he employers we work with praise our students for having the confidence and capability to contribute immediately to their organizations as well as the extensive experience working in teams that allows our graduates to turn knowledge into impactful applications.鈥?amp;nbsp;

The LinkedIn ranking echoes a March 2025 ranking by U.S. News & World Report that placed WPI 18th on its list of 鈥淐olleges with the Best Return on Investment鈥?lt;/span> and cited an estimated $3,408,000 return on investment for a WPI education after 40 years, as measured in 2023 dollars.

When Driving at Night, Mind the Thermostat

leckelbecker — Mon, 11 Aug 2025 12:00:00 +0000

Shichao Liu

To determine the ultimate driving environment, WPI researcher Shichao Liu has put drivers to the test in some interesting ways.

Liu, an assistant professor in the Department of Civil, Environmental, and Architectural Engineering, has measured the performance of study participants in a driving simulator while outfitting them in caps to image brain activity and exposing them to varying light levels, heat, cold, and even stinky T-shirts.

Now Liu鈥檚 lab has published new research showing that when it comes to driving performance at night, the temperature inside a vehicle matters. Study participants who drove in a simulator were less comfortable, sweatier, and more mentally stressed as temperatures rose. They also used the simulator鈥檚 accelerator more and drove in a way that would increase the vehicle鈥檚 pitch and roll鈥攎eaning there would be more car body movement that could make rides feel rougher.

鈥淎s the temperature inside the simulator went up, participants drove less steadily and with more variation in their speed,鈥?Liu says. 鈥淭his has implications for air conditioning operation in vehicles, vehicle design, and, of course, safety.鈥?lt;/span>

The group鈥檚 research, which focused on both temperature and lighting, was published in the journal Building and Environment. In addition to Liu, authors were Chao Wang, PhD 鈥?4, a postdoctoral researcher at Harvard Medical School and McLean Hospital; John Elson, a research engineer at Ford Motor Co.; and Yingzi Lin, a professor at Northeastern University. The research was supported by WPI and the Ford University Research Program.

Worcester Polytechnic Institute Names Crate Herbert VP for University Advancement

cbwamback — Thu, 07 Aug 2025 12:00:00 +0000

Worcester, Mass.鈥擜ug. 7, 2025鈥?Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) today announced the appointment of Crate Herbert as vice president for university advancement. A nationally recognized advancement leader with more than 25 years of experience in higher education and nonprofit fundraising, Herbert brings a proven track record of transformational philanthropy, strategic innovation, and collaborative leadership to WPI. She will begin her new role Sept. 15, 2025.

Herbert joins WPI from Wentworth Institute of Technology, where she served as vice president for institutional advancement and external relations. There, she built a 40-person team, overseeing Advancement and Marketing and Communications, and managing a $7 million operation. During her tenure at Wentworth, the institute enjoyed unprecedented fundraising success as she reshaped the team with centers of excellence in donor relations and stewardship; industry and government relations; demand generation; advancement operations; and internal communications. She also laid the foundation for Wentworth鈥檚 first-ever comprehensive campaign including the closure of foundational lead gifts.

At WPI, Herbert will lead the Division of University Advancement during a time of extraordinary opportunity. The university was recently designated an R1 research institution by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and is nearing the successful completion of its $500 million Beyond These Towers campaign. Reporting directly to President Grace Wang and serving on the president鈥檚 cabinet, Herbert will guide a strategic refresh of WPI鈥檚 advancement operations, donor and alumni engagement, and philanthropic partnerships.

鈥淐rate Herbert is a results-oriented leader who understands how to connect mission-driven institutions with the resources needed to fuel their impact,鈥?said Wang. 鈥淗er vision, energy, passion to deliver impact, and her empathetic leadership style position her perfectly to advance WPI鈥檚 distinctive impact.鈥?lt;/p>

鈥淐rate鈥檚 collaborative spirit and the energy she brought to each interaction throughout this process were notable,鈥?said George Oliver 鈥?2, member of WPI鈥檚 Board of Trustees and search committee chair. 鈥淭he committee was impressed by her deep understanding of how to cultivate meaningful philanthropic partnerships, and we look forward to having her join this community.鈥?amp;nbsp;

Prior to her role at Wentworth, Herbert held senior leadership positions at Harvard University, where she helped launch and lead campaigns totaling over $4 billion. As executive director of development for the Harvard Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, she exceeded the school鈥檚 $450 million campaign goal by 50% and played a key role in securing and stewarding a historic $400 million naming gift. She also pioneered Harvard鈥檚 Leadership Giving program, securing six- and seven-figure unrestricted gifts.

Herbert鈥檚 appointment reflects WPI鈥檚 commitment to building a data-informed advancement program that deepens alumni engagement, strengthens corporate and foundation partnerships, and attracts transformative gifts. She will lead a team of more than 50 people and work closely with faculty, trustees, and university leaders to scale philanthropic support with WPI鈥檚 strategic priorities.

鈥淚 am honored to join WPI at such an exciting time.鈥?said Herbert. 鈥淲PI embodies the best elements of American higher education, offering a powerful model for the future. WPI鈥檚 distinctive education blends hands-on, project-based learning with field-leading research. This is an exciting moment in WPI鈥檚 long, impressive history, and I look forward to partnering with President Wang and the entire community鈥攁lumni, parents, students, faculty, and staff鈥攖o build lasting relationships that advance this extraordinary institution. I can鈥檛 wait to get to work.鈥?lt;/p>

Herbert holds a master of music from the University of Texas at Austin and a bachelor of arts from Earlham College. She also serves as faculty dean of Cabot House at Harvard College and is a former professional classical singer.

WPI Researchers Develop Cleaner, Scalable Process to Recycle Lithium-Ion Batteries

cbwamback — Thu, 17 Jul 2025 12:00:00 +0000

In a major step forward for sustainable energy technology, researchers at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI), led by Professor Yan Wang, William B. Smith Professor of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, have developed a new, scalable method to recycle lithium-ion batteries in a way that is both efficient and environmentally friendly.

The team鈥檚 research, titled Upcycling Mixed Spent Ni-Lean Cathodes into Ni-Rich Polycrystalline Cathodes, was recently published in Energy Storage Materials, a multidisciplinary peer-reviewed journal focused on the topics of materials and energy. The paper details an innovative hydrometallurgical upcycling approach that offers both environmental and performance advantages over traditional recycling methods.

The process specifically targets spent mixed nickel-lean (Ni-lean) cathode materials, which are commonly found in used lithium-ion batteries. Traditional recycling methods struggle to recover these materials effectively and often rely on energy-intensive processes that produce lower-value outputs. In contrast, Wang鈥檚 approach recovers more than 92% of critical metals鈥攏ickel, cobalt, and manganese鈥攁nd turns them into high-performance cathode powders.

Testing shows that batteries made with these recycled materials perform on par with those made from virgin materials, retaining 88% of their capacity after 500 charge cycles and over 85% capacity after 900 cycles in commercial-scale pouch cells. The new process also uses 8.6% less energy than conventional hydrometallurgical methods and significantly reduces carbon emissions鈥攂y 13.9% when compared with traditional recycling, slightly more than with direct upcycling.

鈥淭his work not only addresses the environmental challenges of battery waste but also helps reduce our dependence on mining for critical materials,鈥?said Wang. 鈥淲e鈥檝e shown that it鈥檚 possible to create high-performance batteries from recycled materials at scale, which is essential for building a more sustainable and resilient battery supply chain.鈥?lt;/span>

This innovation directly tackles two major challenges: the growing volume of battery waste and the global demand for critical materials used in electric vehicles and other clean energy technologies. With industry and policymakers focused on sustainable solutions, this advancement could play a key role in building a more circular and climate-conscious battery economy.

To Stream or Not to Stream While Eating?

leckelbecker — Thu, 26 Jun 2025 12:00:00 +0000

Researcher Angela Incollingo Rodriguez was home with a newborn in 2019 when, during a quiet moment, she made herself a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for lunch, took out her smartphone, and started scrolling.

She remembers all of that. What she doesn鈥檛 remember is eating the sandwich.

鈥淚鈥檇 eaten the whole sandwich while I was looking at my phone and didn鈥檛 even enjoy it,鈥?says Incollingo Rodriguez, assistant professor in the Department of Social Science and Policy Studies. 鈥淩esearchers have long known that people eat more while watching television, but there is conflicting research on whether people eat more while using a smartphone. I wondered whether this distraction that I experienced while using my phone might signal a broader trend in eating behavior.鈥?lt;/p>

The question prompted the first study that Incollingo Rodriguez, a health psychologist and behavioral scientist, launched in her Stigma, Eating, and Endocrinology Dynamics (SEED) Lab after joining the WPI faculty. Beginning in fall 2019, she and her student researchers enrolled 118 WPI student volunteers in an experiment that was disguised as taste-testing research and divided them into groups. All participants snacked while using technology and while not using technology. When using technology, some participants used smartphones, and others watched television.

The paper, recently published in the journal Physiology & Behavior by Incollingo Rodriguez and co-authors Mira S. Kirschner 鈥?4, MS 鈥?5 and Lorena S. Nunes 鈥?4, MS 鈥?5, revealed some expected results: Participants who snacked while watching television ate more than participants who ate without TV.

Other results, however, were surprising: Participants who snacked while using their phones did not eat more than participants who snacked without phones.

鈥淭his was a very interesting finding,鈥?Incollingo Rodriguez says. 鈥淲e know that smartphones are distracting, and we also know that when people are distracted, they eat more and their memory of eating fades, making them likely to eat more at later meals. It鈥檚 possible, though, that as people use their hands with a smartphone, their pace of eating slows. This research raises many questions about smartphones, memory, and eating.鈥?lt;/p>

Two WPI Professors Recognized with State Educator Award

jcain — Wed, 25 Jun 2025 12:00:00 +0000

The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) has recognized two WPI faculty members as recipients of the department's Educator Award to celebrate their decade of work in upholding the department鈥檚 mission to ensure a clean environment and enhance natural resources in the state. During an event at WPI in June, the MassDEP announced the recipients of the award: Corey Denenberg Dehner, associate professor of teaching in The Global School, and Paul Mathisen, associate professor in the Department of Civil, Environmental, and Architectural Engineering and WPI鈥檚 director of sustainability.

Dehner and Mathisen co-direct WPI鈥檚 Massachusetts Water Resource Outreach Center (WROC), a project center that allows student teams to partner with municipalities, local government agencies, and watershed organizations to work on water resource challenges. Dehner and Mathisen co-founded the center in 2015 with a goal of exposing students to the inner workings of state and local government and tackling water resource issues in Central and Eastern Massachusetts.

Leaders with the MassDEP cited the pair鈥檚 work at the center as a main reason they were selected to receive the award. The department gives the honor to recognize educators who inspire and empower students to protect the planet; who incorporate environmental themes into curriculum; and who are committed to fostering environmental awareness in the community. MassDEP leaders said the project center has exposed students to environmental challenges through work on water issues such as nitrogen reduction and emerging contaminants and has provided students with the chance to learn about careers in the environmental field.

鈥淔or 50 years, MassDEP has been protecting our natural resources and working with local communities to ensure the water we drink is safe and healthy,鈥?said MassDEP Commissioner Bonnie Heiple. 鈥淎nd since its founding, WPI鈥檚 Massachusetts Water Resource Outreach Center has shared this commitment to safeguarding our vital water resources. Students are gaining hands-on experience to address the many challenges facing our drinking water today, including lead, PFAS, and a changing climate. We are grateful to have partners like WROC to ensure the next generation of water specialists are well equipped to take on these challenges and maintain Massachusetts鈥?lt;/span> drinking water as some of the cleanest in the nation.鈥?lt;/p>

Dehner accepts award and governor's citation from John Beling, deputy commissioner of policy and planning for MassDEP

Dehner expressed gratitude for everyone at the MassDEP and for their efforts and collaboration with the WROC. 鈥淚 think the award is a recognition of this effective partnership,鈥?she said. 鈥淭hrough collaboration with the MassDEP, our project center is able to help WPI students understand the value of being civically engaged and the interplay between federal and state environmental agencies, local communities, industry, and organizations.鈥?lt;/p>

Dehner credited Andrea Briggs, deputy director of MassDEP鈥檚 central region, with helping her and Mathisen bring the evolving goals of the WROC to fruition. For example, in the spring Dehner, Mathisen, and Briggs worked with students to develop a comprehensive immersion program to intentionally and thoughtfully expose students to the breadth of water resource career opportunities and to help students understand the complex relationship between state, federal, and local governance. During a single project term, for example, students may tour a water treatment plant and a town鈥檚 stormwater infrastructure facilities, conduct hands-on activities such as water quality testing and participate in a MassDEP roundtable with employees from different water-related divisions.

Also starting this spring, WROC began publishing student projects on QUBES Hub, an open educational resource site. This gives residents, organizations, and municipal officials an additional way to access the resources students develop. These materials can also be found on the WROC website.

Through the center and WPI鈥檚 commitment to delivering project-based learning, students have had the opportunity to complete more than 40 projects directly with MassDEP or other sponsors, including local municipalities and the Central Massachusetts Regional Stormwater Coalition.

WROC student team learning about the requirements for completing culvert assessment in Sutton

Those projects have included creating educational campaigns to alert the public to the dangers of PFAS chemical contamination in drinking water; conducting outreach to inform private well owners about groundwater contamination; producing a manual to help cities and towns consider establishing funding mechanisms to manage the impacts of stormwater runoff; and helping the City of Worcester develop guidelines for monitoring bacteria levels in ponds and lakes. In many cases, towns and cities have chosen to partner with WPI students to help tackle important water issues that demand resources and staff beyond what they can dedicate.

Mathisen said the projects give students the chance to make an impact in communities by doing hands-on work in partnership with others. The projects also help the students learn how water resource policy is created and implemented and provide opportunities to receive mentorship from professionals working in water management and environmental protection.

鈥淥ne of the goals of the WROC is to help our students gain leadership experience and the perspective to make a difference and have a positive impact on sustainability in their future careers,鈥?said Mathisen. 鈥淭he projects not only help to educate students and the public, they also show students the importance of bringing together people with different experiences, perspectives, and talents to address an issue, whether it鈥檚 a water resources challenge or a problem in a different area.鈥?lt;/p>

Students learn about the water protection work of MassDEP employees in the department's Central Regional Office

The WROC is one of more than 50 WPI project centers on six continents where students conduct term-long projects required for graduation. At this specific center, students can complete their Interactive Qualifying Project, a signature WPI project that places students in interdisciplinary teams to work in partnership with a community-based sponsor on a challenge at the intersection of science, technology, and the needs of society.

Dehner accepted the award on behalf of herself and Mathisen during a MassDEP 50th anniversary celebration at Rubin Campus Center. John Beling, the department鈥檚 deputy commissioner of policy and planning, read a citation from Gov. Maura Healey and Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll in recognition of the WPI educators and WROC鈥檚 10th anniversary, stating, 鈥淢assachusetts commends your ongoing efforts addressing municipal water resource challenges through this hands-on community engagement and partnership.鈥?amp;nbsp;

Beling added that the state鈥檚 partnership with the project center provides benefits both to students and the MassDEP. 鈥淚t鈥檚 so important that we expose students to the work we do and to help them understand what we do,鈥?he said. 鈥淲e get a lot out of it. Hopefully they get a lot out of it. I hope this relationship continues and is as beneficial as it has been for the last 10 years.鈥?amp;nbsp;