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Trustee Scholarship recipient David Keyser ’04 (Mahwah, N.J.) is assisting with development of a lab kit that will be used by all chemical engineering majors at Lafayette in the near future.
Keyser is working as an EXCEL Scholar with S. Scott Moor, assistant professor of chemical engineering, and Polly R. Piergiovanni, associate professor of chemical engineering. In EXCEL, students work closely with faculty on research while earning a stipend.
Keyser, a chemical engineering major, became involved in EXCEL research last spring when Moor and Piergiovanni received a $74,326 grant from the National Science Foundation and invited him to work on his latest project, which involves the design and manufacture of flexible lab kits for a Process Control course.
“We focused mainly on the programming of a PID controller, a device that allows the user to control factors such as flow rate in a pipe or liquid level in a tank, and on the design and manufacture of other parts necessary to carry out the project successfully,” says Keyser. “Up until now, Process Control was taught mainly through lecture and readings. With the kits, a more visual, hands-on approach can be implemented in teaching the course.”
For Keyser, the most challenging aspect of the research has been acquiring the knowledge needed to begin the project. He says, “I have not yet taken Process Control, but with a little reading and a great deal of help from Dr. Moor, I was able to get the background needed to work on the project.”
Keyser feels EXCEL is a great opportunity to work one-on-one with professors. His participation in the project will continue for the duration of the academic year.
“My experience working on this project is a step in becoming ready for the industry after college. I have learned a lot about the design process, and have developed my problem solving skills, which will be useful once I leave college,” he says.
An avid participant in intramural sports, Keyser is a member of the student chapter of American Institute of Chemical Engineers. He is also a member of Phi Kappa Psi fraternity.
David Keyser ’04, chemical engineering major, worked with S. Scott Moor, assistant professor of chemical engineering, and Polly R. Piergiovanni, associate professor of chemical engineering, to develop lab kits for students to create control systems.