Dr. Scott Osborn, associate professor of biological and agricultural engineering, has taught at the University of Arkansas since 2001. In addition to mentoring students, he works with three registered student organizations: the Biological Engineering Society, the Ecological Engineering Society, and the Biomedical Engineering Society.
When he’s not teaching or conducting research, Osborn drives his children to sports and music events. He also collects records, “mostly things I wish I could’ve bought as a teen.” He loves to travel, bicycle and his favorite movie is “This is Spinal Tap.”
“I didn’t always want to be the geek with the pocket-protector,” he said. “I was good at math and science, but I was also into creative writing and radio DJ.”
To find a direction for his college education, Osborn took several aptitude tests.
“They showed that I was a problem-solver and that I have got to work with people. Knowing that, engineering seems like a bad choice,” he said, but “an engineering job can have its extremes. You can talk to people all day long or sit in an office with the door closed and work alone.
“As an engineer, you’re involved in the real world. You’re out solving other people’s problems and if you prefer communication, it makes you a better engineer,” he said. “It’s a human activity.”
So far, the diverse possibilities of engineering education and research have suited his personality and lifestyle, though Osborn would say engineering suits a variety of lifestyles.
“There’s a whole range of things you could do as an engineer…you could find a cure for cancer or another way to building a (video) game,” Osborn said. “I wanted to work with living things.”
This passion lead to his interest in biological engineering.
Osborn’s research involves designing equipment to improve natural systems. He often works with Dr. Marty Matlock, an academic partnership that resulted in the innovative SDOX product and the BlueInGreen company.
“We’re big picture engineers. We encourage students to get out there and use what you know-that’s our bias,” Osborn said.
Scientist Role Model
Burl Shuler was Vice President of Technical Sales and Chief Engineer of Grain Systems Incorporated and became an inspiration to Osborn while they worked together.
“You learn the most from people who are different from you. His approach was totally opposite of mine, so I learned a lot from him,” Osborn said.
Shuler pushed Osborn to the realization that engineering solutions don’t require calculations and computer models, two extensively used skill-sets in college.
University of Arkansas Experience
Since teaching at the U of A, Osborn was impressed by a team made mostly of women engineers.
“One of our mechanical design teams built something to use for teaching middle school students…you can tell the (middle school) girls are so proud, and that they were really influenced that girls can do engineering.”
A distinctive feature of the University of Arkansas Biological Engineering Department is that students make their own prompts for design projects, so each project varies exponentially from group to group and year to year.
“Find a problem and fix it- it’s a chance to practice. The students almost always come up with projects better than what the (faculty) would come up with.”
The supersaturated dissolved oxygen injector (SDOX) is a technology that solved the need for oxygen restoration to water, which couldn’t be achieved by competing technologies.
SDOX is based on the concept that bacteria “eat” organic waste through the respiration process. Dissolved oxygen is required, whether that waste is oil or sewage.
“We found a way to more effectively add dissolved oxygen and do it cheaper.”
BlueInGreen, LLC began in 2004, to design, manufacture and market the SDOX technology. It led to the use of SDOX in several locations around the country: the Fayetteville wastewater treatment plant, U of A Technology Park pond, Hawaii, Seattle and in area lakes overloaded with nutrients and pollutants.
In the wake of the Gulf Shore Oil Spill, the National Science Foundation awarded a grant to BlueInGreen to use the SDOX for restoration of marshes and wetlands.
Osborn suggests that Biological and Agricultural Engineering students consume large amounts of information to fuel their success in engineering research and careers.
“You need a ton of info--the more, the better. Learn your strengths, weaknesses, and get involved with people on campus. Intern, study-abroad,” advising students to do it all, have the ultimate college experience.
A crucial learning technique, he said, is to meet the people that will be using your design: the experts in your field, the customers and competitors.
Additionally, he encourages students to dive in.
“Decisions now don’t define your career from the start—you’ll do many things in your life. If you can do one thing well, you can do lots of things well,” he said, encouraging students to take charge of their own education. “You are the only one who can limit yourself.”
Osborn enjoys being the one to help people learn, and his most valued aspect of teaching is watching students during their senior year. “My favorite part is when I see them make that connection of what they’ve learned, I love watching the lightbulb come on.”
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