A three-dimensional hologram model of the Gulf of Mexico. A contemplation garden. Touch-screen displays that highlight environmental issues.
All are part of design proposals for an education center developed in a Mississippi State University class project by seniors in biological engineering, interior design and landscape architecture. They recently collaborated to demonstrate human impact on the Gulf.
Their assignment: develop interpretive plans for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Gulf of Mexico Program Education Center at the Stennis Space Center in Hancock County.
"Landscape architects are heavily involved in environmental planning," said landscape architecture professor and project co-director Pete Melby. "We thought this would provide a great experience for them."
Classes taught by biological engineering associate professor Thomas P. Cathcart and interior design teacher Beth R. Miller also helped form the cross-disciplinary teams to respond to a "real-world" problem, Melby said.
A consortium of public and private partners, the Gulf of Mexico Program works to preserve and restore the Gulf's ecosystem. It maintains a small exhibit space at the Stennis Visitors Center.
The Mississippi State student projects proposed a variety of designs for expanding and enhancing exhibit space and quality.
Among issues the Gulf program addresses are coastal and shoreline erosion, freshwater inflow, habitat degradation, marine debris, toxic substances, and public health. Student designs had to consider these issues and to propose educational, interactive displays.
"Students developed designs for both an indoor and outdoor area," Melby said. "They looked at space planning, lighting, building modification, and the design of the exhibits."
A major benefit to students is that they learn the value of team effort, said Cathcart of biological engineering. "More employers are requiring team approaches to problems.
"Our students are learning to interact and to find common ground with teammates who are not always from the same background."
Cathcart said students also had the benefit of working to solve a large-scale problem. "This is a special kind of engineering problem. It is important that students learn to use creativity as a team and to work effectively to break the problem into manageable tasks."
Senior-level engineering students will spend the next several months refining designs.
Melby and Cathcart have directed five student collaborations in the past and have a track record for bringing some of the design projects to life. A salt marsh designed by their students several years ago last year became a reality on the Mississippi Gulf Coast.
"There's a good chance some of these ideas will be incorporated into our final design suggestions," Cathcart said.