INTEGRATING AQUAPONICS INTO THE COLLEGE CURRICULUM

Zachariah Chambers*, Brandon Hall
 
Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology
Terre Haute, IN  47803
chambez@rose-hulman.edu
 

Zac Chambers, Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, and Brandon Hall, Agriculture Instructor in the Ivy Tech Community College, both share a passion for aquaponics and have collaborated to create a project-based aquaponics course which can be tailored to both a four year engineering college and a two year community college.  The course is built around creating an IBC based system and learning water chemistry and plant/fish husbandry.  The system is initially hydroponic and transitions to aquaponic as students develop their husbandry skills.  The course concludes with a validation of the projected plant production and an economic assessment.  Feed conversion ratios may be explored.

Tailoring for the four year engineering college involves creating and validating mathematical system models of flow, pH, and ammonia conversion.  Tailoring for the two year community college involves utilization of "bucket chemistry" tables to estimate flow, pH, and ammonia conversion and a higher level of husbandry techniques.

Hall is teaching his version of the course Fall semester 2017 and Chambers will be teaching his in the Spring of 2018.  The presentation will provide a summary of both.