The power of “problem-based learning” (PBL) was the inspiration behind an innovative proposal secured by University of Tennessee at Chattanooga faculty for a University of Tennessee System “Grand Challenges” grant.
Dr. Bradley Harris, associate professor and head of the UTC Department of Chemical Engineering, was the principal investigator for the proposal titled “Thermal runaway in EV batteries: A transformational PBL unit for high school chemistry.” Dr. Stephanie Philipp, assistant professor of education and director of the UTC STEM Education Program, is co-principal investigator.
The UT System Grand Challenges program funds proposals in one of three focus areas: strengthening rural communities, overcoming addiction and—the category of Harris’ winning UTC proposal—strengthening K-12 education.
Over eight months beginning in January, the project will receive $96,812 for supplies, equipment, personnel compensation and transportation to and from UTC for as many as 120 Brainerd High chemistry students. That’s more than double the number of Brainerd students who participated in a January-May 2024 collaboration between UTC and Brainerd in the UL Research Institutes’ Xplorlabs engineering challenge that inspired this project.
In the Xplorlabs effort, Brainerd high schoolers spent time with UTC chemical engineering faculty and students learning about battery chemistry and safety hazards associated with lithium-ion batteries that can result in overheating—called “thermal runaway.” The Brainerd students applied knowledge from their chemistry coursework to design an enclosure to protect batteries from overheating and prevent thermal runaway.
“We wanted to do this again, but bigger, and this funding gives the support needed to build the project up,” Harris said. “Along with that came two great additions: It lets me also bring in a STEM education expert like Dr. Stephanie Phillip, and Dr. Peng Zhao—a UT Space Institute associate professor and expert on thermal management in electric vehicle batteries.”