Chippewa Valley Times

UW-Stout's packaging program director, Min DeGruson, and UW-Eau Claire nursing professor, Charlotte Sortedahl, are working together to enhance patient safety, environmental sustainability, and economic efficiency. Their collaboration has earned them a Universities of Wisconsin 2024 UW Innovation Grant for their project titled "Driving Innovation and Value in Education Through Collaboration of Nursing and Packaging Students and Professionals: DRIVE Initiative."

The proposal is an extension of a faculty partnership that began in 2023. It involves engineering and nursing students working together to improve the packaging of sterilized medical devices. The goal is to create educational materials and medical device packaging kits that can be utilized across all UW nursing programs.

The grant provides seed funding up to $175,000 over two years. UW-Stout's Chancellor Katherine Frank expressed her satisfaction with the investment in the university's packaging engineering expertise. She stated, “Through this interdisciplinary work with UW-Eau Claire’s nursing program, our collaboration is positioned to better prepare the health care workers of tomorrow through practices that will improve care in Wisconsin, throughout the nation and across the world.”

Universities of Wisconsin President Jay Rothman added, “Bringing nursing and engineering students together for collaboration illustrates the kind of innovation the UWs are known for.” He noted that this initiative could lead to improved patient outcomes both locally and nationally.

This proposal is one of three receiving a UW Innovation Grant. Progress reports will provide updates on its status, completed work, and future research or project development plans. A review panel will select a "big idea" winner from this year's finalists to receive additional funding up to $400,000 over three years.

According to Career Services’ First Destination Report, graduates from the packaging program have a 100% employment or continued education rate within one year after graduation. Notably, UW-Stout offers one of only a few B.S. degrees in packaging available in the United States.

In related news, packaging students recently won an international competition sponsored by Kellanova—a division of Kellogg’s—by designing an innovative tube for Pringles potato crisps. They also excelled in several other student design competitions including those organized by Paperboard Packaging Alliance and Institute of Packaging Professionals.

Last fall saw USDA Under Secretary Alexis Taylor alongside Wisconsin Agriculture Secretary Randy Romanski visiting UW-Stout to explore sustainable packaging initiatives involving AI innovations led by DeGruson and her students. These efforts included research into biodegradable mushroom mycelium for protective packaging as well as industry-sponsored projects aimed at developing sustainable protective solutions meeting standards set by Amazon and Target.