2026 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

From Bottles to Braille: What We Learned from a One-Semester Service Design Project

Presented at Mechanical Engineering (MECH) Session 8: Sustainability, Service Learning, and Broader Impact

We are three first-year mechanical engineering students and one faculty mentor who participated together in an extracurricular, one-semester service-learning project during Fall 2025 at [University Name]. In this study, we engage in a sistematización de experiencias, a participatory and reflexive methodology, to critically reconstruct and interpret what we each learned through this socially responsive engineering challenge. The project emerged from a request by an alumnus seeking to address plastic pollution on the island of Ometepe, Nicaragua. Our collective task was to prototype a low-cost machine that transforms PET waste into 3D printing filament, enabling the creation of Braille labels and assistive tools for members of the blind and deaf communities.

In this sistematización, all four of us are participants and authors. The students led the design and implementation of the research process, including the guided formulation of the questions, developing interview protocols, and coordinating collaborative reflection. The faculty mentor participated as a co-subject, contributing methodological expertise and dialogic reflections alongside the students. While we recognize the inherent asymmetry in roles, responsibilities, and experience, this study aims to foreground a horizontal process of meaning-making, where differences in power are acknowledged rather than erased.

Our guiding questions include:
What did each of us learn—technically, personally, and professionally—through this one-semester, socially driven design project?
How did we make sense of our shared experience through collective reflection and reconstruction?

Our primary data sources include two rounds of group interviews, written reflections from all four participants, and artifacts from the design process. Through this reflective and participatory methodology, we seek to offer insights into how early, real-world design experiences contribute to identity development, ethical awareness, and student agency in engineering—and how faculty roles can evolve to support more collaborative, student-driven forms of learning and inquiry.

Authors

Mr. Benjamin Kleve South Dakota School of Mines and Technology [biography]

Benjamin Kleve is a first-year Mechanical Engineering student at the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology (SDSMT). Their academic interests include aerospace and aeronautical engineering, and they are actively exploring opportunities in undergraduate research and hands-on engineering projects. Kleve is passionate about engineering innovation and is committed to developing practical solutions to real-world challenges.
Carsten Smith South Dakota School of Mines and Technology [biography]

Carsten Smith is a first year collage student at South Dakota School of Mines and Technology pursuing a degree in mechanical engineering. Smith is interested in 3D printing and how it can be optimized to be better for the environment and solve more problem that just creation of new parts.
Mr. Jager Thorton Ruedebusch South Dakota School of Mines and Technology [biography]

Jager Ruedebusch is a freshman at the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology majoring in Mechanical Engineering. He is a student-athlete, competing in both cross country and track and field. His academic interests focus on environmental challenges and renewable energy systems, and he is actively involved in undergraduate research and hands-on engineering projects. Jager Ruedebusch is particularly interested in applying mechanical engineering principles to develop sustainable and innovative solutions.
Mr. Drew Brosz South Dakota School of Mines and Technology [biography]

Drew Brosz is a mechanical engineering student at the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology with interests in aerospace engineering and hands-on design. He brings prior experience in fused deposition modeling and computer-based design, supported by an additive manufacturing certification and applied coursework. Throughout the project discussed in this paper, he contributed extensively to building, testing, and improving a machine that converts discarded plastic bottles into material for 3D printing. He also adapted provided designs and instructions to real-world conditions. His role included technical problem-solving while providing peer support, such as helping teammates develop design and 3D-printing skills as project needs evolved. Drew’s work and interests emphasize engineering that integrates human-centered needs with practical, buildable solutions, with a focus on hands-on design and problem-solving across varied engineering contexts.
Chase D Dowdy Schools of Mines [biography]

Chase Dowdy is a freshman studying Mechanical Engineering at the South Dakota School of Mines & Technology. His academic interests include robotics, additive manufacturing, and sustainable engineering practices, with hands-on experience in 3D filament production through PET recycling projects. His work reflects a growing focus on integrating mechanical design with environmentally conscious innovation. Outside of his academic pursuits, he enjoys outdoor activities such as biking and disc golfing, which complement his interest in practical, real-world problem solving.
Dr. Cristián Vargas-Ordóñez http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7979-3901 South Dakota School of Mines and Technology [biography]

Dr. Cristián Vargas-Ordóñez is an Assistant Professor in the Leslie A. Rose. Department of Mechanical Engineering at South Dakota Mines, where he directs the Laboratory for Trans/disciplinary/formative Engineering Education (TREE Lab). His research explores human-centered, compassionate approaches to engineering education, integrating the arts and ethics into design-based learning. Dr. Vargas-Ordóñez leads studies on Human-Centered Engineering and the role of interdisciplinary and creative practices in shaping engineers’ professional and citizen formation.

Note

The full paper will be available to logged in and registered conference attendees once the conference starts on June 21, 2026, and to all visitors after the conference ends on June 24, 2026

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