University of Wisconsin - Stout

01/09/2025 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 01/09/2025 12:27

UW Stout packaging, UW EC nursing professors’ collaboration seeks to improve patient safety, environmental sustainability, economic efficiency

UW-Stout packaging Program Director Min DeGruson and UW-Eau Claire nursing Professor Charlotte Sortedahl are collaborating across colleges and disciplines to improve patient safety, environmental sustainability and economic efficiency.

Min DeGruson

For their endeavors, they were awarded a Universities of Wisconsin 2024 UW Innovation Grant for their proposal, "Driving Innovation and Value in Education Through Collaboration of Nursing and Packaging Students and Professionals: DRIVE Initiative."

DeGruson and Sortedahl's proposal builds on an existing faculty partnership begun in 2023, bringing together engineering and nursing students to improve the packaging of sterilized medical devices. Ultimately, educational materials and medical device packaging kits could be used across all UW nursing programs.

The Innovation Grant awards them seed funding totaling up to $175,000, split over two years.

"We're delighted that UW-Stout's expertise in packaging engineering continues to attract investment for its contributions in a wide range of critical workforce areas. 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," said UW-Stout's Chancellor Katherine Frank.

"Bringing nursing and engineering students together for collaboration illustrates the kind of innovation the UWs are known for," said Universities of Wisconsin President Jay Rothman. "Ultimately, this work could generate better patient outcomes in Wisconsin and across the nation."

The proposal is one of three receiving a UW Innovation Grant. Progress reports will be issued detailing the status, work completed, and the team's vision for future research or project development. From this year's three finalists, a review panel will select a "big idea" winner to receive additional funding totaling up to $400,000 distributed over three years.

Graduates of the packaging program are 100% employed or continuing education within one year of graduation, according to Career Services' First Destination Report. UW-Stout is one of only a few schools in the U.S, and the only school in the Universities of Wisconsin, that offers a B.S. in packaging.

Uncanny results: Students win international challenge to imagine new packaging for Pringles

Imagine creating a new package for a product that has been on store shelves around the world for more than 50 years. How would you make the package better?
Continue Reading

Recently, packaging students won an international competition sponsored by Kellanova, a division of Kellogg's, to improve the Pringles potato crispsconsumer experience. Their innovative tube design won first place in an invitation-only field of eight other university teams from the U.S., Canada, Germany and the United Kingdom.

Student teams also won the Paperboard Packaging Alliance student competition, Institute of Packaging Professionals' 48HR REPACK student design competition, an Institute of Packaging Professionals challenge, with a Modular E-commerce Box, and Flexible Packaging Association Student Design challenges.

Last fall, USDA Under Secretary Alexis Taylorand Wisconsin Agriculture Secretary Randy Romanski explored sustainable packaging and AI innovations underway at UW-Stout. DeGruson and students detailed research around biodegradable mushroom mycellum in protective packaging and an industry-sponsored project around the development of sustainable protective packaging to meet standards of use by Amazon and Target. Interdisciplinary work included packaging and food science and technology programs collaborating on sustainable packaging for cheese. Food science and technology Professor Pranabendu Mitra and students outlined work using cranberry pomace to develop edible packaging.

Packaging

All Packaging News

UW-Stout packaging, UW-EC nursing professors' collaboration seeks to improve patient safety, environmental sustainability, economic efficiency

Cross-disciplinary proposal awarded Universities of Wisconsin Innovation Grant
January 9, 2025

Alumni recognize communication, connections, genuineness as necessary to be trusted leaders

'Be a difference maker': 510 graduates at Dec. 14 commencement ceremony look to impact the future
December 17, 2024

Faculty, staff awarded for creating opportunities for students in packaging; helping to discover new identities

DeGruson, Brown recognized by Universities of Wisconsin at annual ceremony
December 11, 2024