Exploring Sustainability Through Many Lenses

The University of Pittsburgh’s Joaquin Rodriguez has received a $10,000 David C. Frederick Honor’s College (FHC) Martinson Applied Projects Faculty Lead Application Award to promote collaborative research and problem solving across disciplines. Through a project titled Pitt’s Hydroponic Experimental Research Station (PHERS), undergraduate students will study hydroponic systems and sustainability from multiple perspectives.

“This project started last fall to get students from different fields of study to explore sustainability and develop research skills,” said Rodriguez, associate professor of chemical and petroleum engineering in Pitt’s Swanson School of Engineering. “Only one student joined—a data science student interested in hydroponics—but that student and some volunteers set in motion what it is today.”

The student and Rodriguez researched and, with help from Pitt Hydroponics, a student club on campus, built the first iteration of a hydroponic system.

This year, four students from different disciplines—mechanical engineering, economics, pharmacy, and data science—are currently involved in the project. They recently constructed a new hydroponic system, with new technology and with two growing stations.

Each student will explore a specific area of interest. The economist, for instance, will develop a database to assess the economic performance of hydroponic vegetables whereas the pharmacy student will explore nutritional values of hydroponic vegetables compared to those grown in more traditional conditions.

For Phoebe Esser Katz, a senior in mechanical engineering, the project has afforded her an opportunity to research and build the new system as well as to plant and thin the lettuce they are growing. Currently, she is building a station to photograph the plants and collect imaging data.

“Because I want to go into agricultural technology,” Esser Katz said, “I’m excited to learn how to create models and collect data by doing it. I learn best by doing, so getting this chance to understand more intuitively everything we’re exploring is really great.”

Esser Katz enjoys the challenge of thinking across subjects. “I’m used to working with other engineers, and talking with them is easier,” Esser Katz said. “It’s been interesting to collaborate with a data scientist who’s approaching the data so differently. Sometimes I have to say, ‘hold up, let’s start about ten steps back.’”

“They’re bringing their different perspectives to this project,” said Rodriguez. “Sustainability doesn’t happen in a vacuum. It’s not a specialty. To create innovation and lasting change around sustainability, there needs to be different voices. It can wake up your brain.”

Through his own work with sustainability, Rodriguez knew of hydroponics, but the project has ignited his curiosity. With an app on his phone, he now checks the status of the lettuce in the two stations, and he can adjust the lighting and humidity. He has thrown himself into articles and books and has begun sponsoring Pitt Hydroponics. “My wife,” Rodriguez said, “is getting worried that I’m bringing home too many plants.”

Rodriguez, who earned his MS and PhD in chemical engineering from Pitt’s Swanson School of Engineering, sees in this project a spirit embodied across the University. “Pitt has long been a place that embraces collaboration and many perspectives. I feel comfortable working with these students with such different interests and backgrounds.”

“Joaquin’s commitment to his students and to promoting hands-on, inquiry-based research across disciplines is such an asset to the University,” said Steve R. Little, Distinguished Professor and Department Chair of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering at Pitt. “He models an inquisitive spirit that will continue to inspire his students long after they’ve graduated.”