Spring 2008

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From Medicine to Biodiesel, AST Student Finds Her Own Path

Kelsey Vincent worked with ABE professor Tom Brumm to create this biodiesel stand showing various stages of fuel production. The stand can produce fuel in approximately 90 minutes and was displayed at the 2007 World Food Prize celebration and at VEISHA 2007 and 2008.

Kelsey Vincent looked around the room. She had a sinking feeling she wasn’t in the right place. As the presenter continued on with the orientation presentation at Iowa State, it became obvious to Vincent she wasn’t in the college orientation she’d originally chosen, but instead seated with entering freshman in engineering. Rather than leave in the middle of the presentation, she decided to stick it out.

Four years later, as a senior in agricultural systems technology, she’s glad she did.

As Vincent listened to the engineering orientation, the new opportunities intrigued her, especially agricultural and bioengineering courses in biorenewable energy. She had planned to major in some area of biomedicine and then maybe apply to medical school. But she realized that she could use her scientific talents, as well as her knowledge of agriculture, to benefit the environment.

“Changing to engineering during orientation kind of sets the tone for my college career. Being willing to see opportunities to try something different, and maybe not stick to the original game plan, has enabled me to get a broader experience at ISU and has helped me to find a passion,” says Vincent.

She started out in agricultural engineering. As Vincent concluded her sophomore year, she realized that she wanted to work more with people and less in an office or laboratory. She spoke with her adviser, agricultural and biosystems engineering associate professor Tom Brumm, who suggested a transfer to agricultural systems technology, with specialization in systems technology management.

Now a senior in AST, Vincent finds satisfaction using her engineering knowledge to help develop agricultural systems that balance sustainability and conservation with profitability. She is able to focus specifically on biorenewables and biodiesel fuels, the areas she initially found intriguing at orientation.

Currently a lab assistant to Brumm, Vincent assists with biodiesel laboratories, teaching high school and college students about “green” energy and biodiesel production. She and Brumm also have built a portable demonstration of the biodiesel process based on only a photograph of a similar display. She considered it both an opportunity and a challenge to “do something great.”

“Creating the biodiesel display, and being able to show it to thousands of Iowans, has been one of the biggest highlights for me during my school career,” Vincent says. “The stand has been a great tool for educating the public about the biodiesel production process.”

“Kelsey is the kind of student faculty love to work with — smart, articulate, motivated, and reliable,” says Brumm. “She's helped me teach hundreds of students about biodiesel.I'll be sad when she graduates because I'll be losing someone I depend on to get things done.”

This summer, Vincent will intern with Renewable Energy Group, Inc., in Ames, the market leader in biodiesel. She is considering graduate school in 2009, to study biorenewables or public health and epidemiology, and she hopes to remain in Iowa.

Vincent looks back on her ISU experience with appreciation for the unexpected.

“My experience at Iowa State definitely has changed me,” she says. “I thought I was going to end up an engineer, working in the biomedical field. But Iowa State offers many opportunities to explore your talents and try new things.”