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Heartland seeks to be leader in modeling renewable energy
By Steve Arney
sarney@pantagraph.com

Amber Jahnke and Jeff Stephens, former Heartland Community College students, work to construct a solar aerator for the pond on campus. The students, along with a third, Marshall Mott, graduated this spring with associate degrees but returned to the school voluntarily to construct the design they'd submitted on paper before graduation. (Pantagraph/B MOSHER)
Three students had completed their assignment, received their A's, and had every right to walk proudly away from Heartland Community College this spring with associate degrees.

But they stuck around campus and continued to work this summer because their project still remained on paper.

Post-graduation, they constructed a solar-powered aerator to help improve the quality of Birky Pond, the water retention pond at Heartland.

"We did the hard work. We wanted to play a little too," student Amber Jahnke said of the summer construction.

Team member Jeff Stephens added, "I wasn't about to give up on the fun part."

The third student in the group, Marshall Mott, said the students wanted to build on the green theme that has become pronounced on campus. They believe they achieved that with the solar aerator, he said.

The three comprised the physics lab class of teacher Pete Betz. All three are headed for engineering schools at major universities -- Jahnke and Mott to the University of Illinois and Stephens to Southern Illinois University at Carbondale.

They believe future science students will benefit.

The aerator pumps air into the bottom of the pond not unlike a machine commonly seen in an aquarium, said Betz.

He said the device will improve water quality for fish, plants and turtles who populate the area -- not to mention the humans who fish and recreate at the pond.

The aerator is at the pond's southeast corner, where vegetation is dense and depth is 3 to 4 feet. This area is fertile for fish reproduction but also can become stagnant, the students report. An infusion of oxygen through the aerator will reduce stagnation, they said.

The aerator also will prevent ice from forming, the students said. They said ice prevents sunlight from entering the water, and the algae and bacteria need the sun for survival. Another benefit to slowing ice formation is that the unfrozen pond area attracts waterfowl, they said.

The students also considered functionality. Their design entailed using a box to house the mechanicals that also would serve as a bench for people enjoying the pond.

In terms of energy savings, the solar aerator cannot save the icecaps from global warming, but that wasn't the point. The students say this is a demonstration project -- a lead-by-example venture for the campus community and the broader community.

As part of their class project, they presented a report on various aspects of it.

They interviewed an earth sciences professor to demonstrate that science students can use the project as a basis for study of water conditions.

For the community at large, they said, the aerator will prevent fish kills and produce a more pleasing environment.

For Heartland, it represents a recruiting tool, the students concluded. They said recruiters can point to it as an example of students' hands-on learning and teamwork.

This aspect represented the most challenging aspect for Stephens.

He said he understood the science and the math. New to him was group work.

"That's probably my weakest point and that's what I gained from it the most -- compatibility, teamwork with other people."

The college paid $1,500 for the aerator after presentation of the project by the students. The students chose solar specifically because it adds to the array of green energy sources in use at Heartland. The newly opened Workforce Development Center uses geothermal heating and cooling systems. Another pond aerator already in place is wind powered.

All three students embark on a world that they expect will monumentally increase attention on clean energy. Teacher Betz foresees no one "silver bullet," but rather a combined approach.

Of solar, he noted, energy storage poses an issue. "We're all waiting for the next breakthrough in batteries."



Why solar?



The U.S. Department of Energy leads President Bush's Solar America Initiative with the goal of making solar energy competitive and common in the marketplace by 2015. The department lists these benefits:

• Energy not only can power homes but can add to the electricity grid.

• Energy is created without carbon dioxide release.

• Jobs generated in a U.S.-based industry.

So far



Solar energy thus far has a miniscule role in serving U.S. energy needs. "Renewable" sources accounted for 7 percent of supply in a 2005 Energy Department survey. Within that 7 percent are these sources:

• Solar, 1 percent

• Wind, 3 percent

• Geothermal, 5 percent

• Hydroelectric, 41 percent

• Biomass, 50 percent

"Renewable" energy definition: "Energy resources that are naturally replenishing but flow-limited. They are virtually inexhaustible in duration but limited in the amount of energy that is available per unit of time."

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Take a look
From left, Mott, Jahnke and Stephens assemble the panel. The students graduated together and collectively decided to spend the summer together building the aerator. (Pantagraph/B MOSHER)
Amber Jahnke, Marshall Mott and Jeff Stephens, former Heartland Community College students, along with professor Pete Betz, right, work to construct a solar aerator for the pond on campus. The students graduated this spring with associate degrees but returned to the school voluntarily to construct the design they'd submitted on paper before graduation. (Pantagraph/B MOSHER)
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Reader comments on this story - 12 total

Note: All views and opinions expressed in reader comments are solely those of the individual submitting the comment, and not those of the Pantagraph or its staff.

GetReal Heartland wrote on Sep 9, 2007 2:49 PM:

" So sick of Heartland trying to be a jock school and an enviro wack market bend on destroying the central Illinois landscape with wind turbines. "

mtt wrote on Aug 24, 2007 7:20 AM:

" to whoa!ounds like you don't pay taxes "

whoa! wrote on Aug 23, 2007 9:51 AM:

" hey folks, let's all calm down. did it ever occur to you that the pictures for this article were most likely taken after the construction of the aerator, once there was something to report in the paper? and who cares about your tax dollars when there are kids like this learning things that can save you money in other ways in the future. they're going to engineering school, and if they're already forward thinkers now, that will only increase with further education. these kids deserve to be applauded for their potential to do good for the benefit of all of us. "

here fishy fishy wrote on Aug 21, 2007 4:11 PM:

" i love fishing there.. "

your mom wrote on Aug 21, 2007 11:29 AM:

" Great job, Amber, Jeff and Marshall! You're part of the solution - now if only the naysayers could start to participate in a positive way instead of tearing people down... I'll personally send "what?" his/her portion of whatever the poor dear is really losing in tax money. Would it be okay with you, "kidding", if her purse were brown? Who cares? I'm sure world leaders, scientists and philosophers have never put their hands in their pockets. It wasn't single-handedly, they worked together - and I'm sure if human beings can put a man on the moon, then some college students can come up with "a giant fish tank"! "

Jenna M wrote on Aug 18, 2007 6:40 PM:

" Way to go, Amber! Welcome to UIUC! Drop me a line this semester. TO YOUR KIDDING ME - meet Amber before you make your ignorant, small-minded comments. She'll blow you away. "

Heartland Recycles wrote on Aug 18, 2007 8:25 AM:

" Has anyone elso noticed that they built a new parking lot where they already had a parking lot? "

Believe it wrote on Aug 17, 2007 12:41 PM:

" Yes, you can believe it. I saw some of their work and it was great. So congratulations to the students on a job well done. "

your kidding me... wrote on Aug 17, 2007 10:38 AM:

" are we the reader supposed to believe that heartland college students single handedly came up with this idea and consructed it? just look at the series of pictures. the girl has a pink purse around her neck and the one stundent has his hands in his pockets. giveme a break!!!!!! "

what? wrote on Aug 17, 2007 10:25 AM:

" just what heartland needs. a giant fish tank so hard working tax payers can pay for this to. "

student wrote on Aug 17, 2007 10:19 AM:

" what physics class were they taking? "

way to go... wrote on Aug 17, 2007 6:57 AM:

" good for you...forward thinkers is what this country needs. and finding applications for renewable energies is a great way to do that. thank you! "
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