Hello, and happy fall!

The EvapoGATORs are starting to feel a chill in the air as we continue working on our design project. This week, we were able to settle into our roles a bit more and get the ball rolling on our project.

After some extensive research and a bit of brushing up on our thermodynamics and heat transfer knowledge, our team has begun to shift our focus to truly understanding the current vacuum evaporator system in the FSHN laboratory. To accomplish this, we have:

• read and taken notes on a chapter about evaporators from a textbook recommended by our liaison, Dr. MacIntosh
• created a hand-drawn schematic to help us identify the system’s many components
• created a graphical flow chart to help us understand the process of the current vacuum evaporator
• completed a Product Design Specification (PDS) document to flesh out the requirements of the new system
• met with Dr. MacIntosh and, with his help, clarified some of the concepts and components we were confused about after our initial meeting

We have learned that thoroughly comprehending the original vacuum evaporation system is the first step in our design process, and we are very grateful for the help and guidance from our liaison, Dr. MacIntosh, and our coach, Dr. Jackson.

Throughout this week and weekend, we are planning to:

• continue our research
• construct more visual aids
• brainstorm design ideas
• prepare to complete the food science vacuum evaporation lab ourselves
• set up a roadmap for the rest of the semester

Now, until next week, enjoy our schematics!