Last modified 15.3.2011 at 13:21

Mythbusters in action at the laboratories of the School of Engineering

Text and photos: Heikki Ylipaavalniemi

The laboratories of the School of Engineering offer students an interesting and diverse place to study their profession in practice. In the laboratories students can gain experience in various fields, from growing bacteria to working on cars.

In the beginning laboratory services students go through the whole field of chemistry. During basic studies they are introduced to instrumentation and the more common research methods of the laboratory.

The School of Engineering is often associated with computers and mobile phones. This myth should be busted from the outset. The school’s laboratories serve the study of the entire field of engineering. Research subjects are diverse; from microbiology to hybrid cars.

How barley becomes Koskenkorva

The most traditional image of a laboratory is those in the fields of microbiology and biochemistry. In controlled conditions and wearing their white coats, students studying the field of laboratory services try to create reactions in their solutions. According to Laboratory Sciences Designer Joni Kosamon, first, students become acquainted with the whole field of chemistry, and instrumentation, during which time they also become familiar with general research methods in the laboratory.

- Here you can, for example, learn the process of how barley is to turned into spirits, quips Sakari Kauppinen, who is the Chief Research Scientist of the School of Engineering.

After basic studies, students of laboratory sciences specialize in either biotechnology or laboratory services. Working in a laboratory is far more than simply pouring solutions from one test tube to another. Often tests are conducted with complex instrumentation that demand experience in their use.

- Microbes can be separated from food, earth, or water. In a controlled environment in the laboratory we can grow lactic acid bacteria, and genetically altered bacteria in the bioreactor, explains Jouni.

For example, in the laboratory of chromatography, they discover what types of gaseous substances are extruded by the floor and recognize organic substances. During their practice, students are working with instruments that can be found in real working life. In fact, there are quite a number of expensive equipment in the laboratory, the number of which in Finland can only be counted on one hand.

In the car laboratory students can become acquainted with the functions and problems of cars in practice under the guidance of a teacher.

From race cars to hybrid cars

In the car laboratory students can put into practice what they have learned in theory. Many different types of tests are conducted in the laboratory, such as fuel, exhaust, efficiency, and breaking measurements. The technology and science of a car are constantly becoming more complex. It has been estimated that by the year 2010, even 30% of the value of a car will be comprised of electronics, explains laboratory technician Arto Lehtonen. Students thus have to know a lot about the new technology in working life.

The car laboratory does not only work with regular cars, the laboratory has received the first hybrid car in northern Finland, which, in addition to its gasoline engine, has an electrical engine, too. The use of spirits is not necessarily limited to chemistry laboratories only. Spirits, also known as bio-ethanol, is added to the mix of the fuel and thus reduces pollution.

– For example, in Sweden Volvo has been emphasizing "biopower cabs", and in Brazil, most cars now use ethanol. There the "gas station’s" pumps ready-to-serve alcohol. When oil runs out, biodiesel is a substitute option, says Sakari Kauppinen

The laboratories of the school of Engineering are not limited to those above. The automation laboratory builds factory robots for industrial use. With the use of precise processes a device can be built which can even color water to the desired hue. In the laboratory of wireless applications, students work with more familiar subjects, such as radio and mobile phone networks. The students have their own base station, with which the function of the mobile phone can be followed and tested.