Purdue Students Win with Soy Innovations

Hand soap may be safer in the future thanks to a team of Purdue University students who looked to soy to eliminate an environmental hazard.

The winning team of the 2016 Student Soybean Innovation Competition at Purdue University Photo from left: Joe Steinkamp, Indiana Soybean Alliance president from Evansville, Ind; Samuel Lewis of New Castle, Ind.; Alison Switzer of Indianapolis, and Steve Ferris of Chesterton, Ind.; all third-year professional students in Purdue’s doctor of pharmacy program; and Ryan Pendergast, a mechanical engineering junior from Tustin, California. Photo courtesy of Indiana Soybean Alliance.The students created a hand soap with soy-based exfoliating beads that offer a natural alternative to plastic microbeads found in soaps and body washes today.  Their invention earned first place in the 2016 Student Soybean Product Innovation Competition sponsored by the Indiana Soybean Alliance.

North Dakota State Students Test Soy Resins for 3-D Printing

Graduate student Samantha Silbert believes that soy may hold the key to 3-D printing of the future.

“Soy has the potential to improve 3-D printing by reducing the use of harsh chemicals used during the UV-curing process and lowering costs,” Silbert said. “My research involves developing UV-curable epoxy coatings made from abundant, inexpensive soy-based resins that could have tremendous potential for 3-D printing.”