Teancum Piekkola is a junior from Mountain View, Wyoming, in the Michigan State University College of Engineering studying material science and engineering with a concentration in polymeric engineering and a minor in energy. This summer, along with nine other Spartans, he is a student researcher at the IMDEA Materials Institute in Madrid, Spain, as part of an annual collaboration between the institute and MSU.
Even when I was younger, I was very interested in material science. When I first started looking into how I could follow my passion at a university, however, I discovered that most programs in material science were for graduate students. But then I found MSU.
Not only am I studying material science and engineering as an undergraduate student, I am currently overseas at the IMDEA Materials Institute in Spain assisting on a project that could allow for a cheaper and more effective way to repair someone’s cartilage in a knee or shoulder, for example.
I am part of the STARR Scholars program at MSU and feel fortunate that I am at an institution with great research and connections to internships and corporations around the globe.
I am also fortunate to be partaking in our collaboration with the IMDEA Materials Institute. MSU students have been coming here for more than a decade thanks to a connection made by Carl Boehlert, a professor in the College of Engineering. Most years, MSU sends four to five students. This year, 10 of us are working on interesting and important projects.
I am currently assisting Pedro Díaz Payno, on his project called RECOIL3D, where he is attempting to repair and regrow cartilage by utilizing 3D printed scaffolds with harvested cartilage cells. While work is still ongoing, one of the goals is to help people with arthritis or other conditions avoid more intense surgeries.
I hope to one day be a doctoral student conducting my own research, but it has been great to witness the care researchers put into their work. I admit that I did not think I would be doing this type of research as an undergraduate student, but I am thankful MSU was so helpful in setting up this opportunity. To be able to go through the experience with nine other Spartans made it extra special.
I would like to thank MSU for allowing me to take part in this amazing opportunity. And I encourage anybody that has an opportunity to do research in Madrid to take it and run with it.