Achievement

Three IGERT trainees (Todd Snelson, Christina Laskowski, and Eric Peterson) have collaborated on trying to commercialize a provisional patent filed by two of the IGERT students for applying the fuel cell manufacturing process of ultrasonic sealing to the industry of plush animals manufacturing as a method to improve the sustainability of plush animal industry. The IGERT assisted with the original research in fuel cells and, through discussions and a Sustainable Design class offered by two of the IGERT Professors (M. Jensen and D. Walczyk), ideas were assimilated from the research on the assembly of fuel cell components and applied to an industry that can benefit from more sustainable manufacturing processes. This application of the IGERT fuel cell research to the plush animal industry also was one of winners of the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute "Change the World Challenge" and has been submitted as an entry to the Tech Valley Business Plan competition.