In the spring of 2020, I took a technical communication course. Throughout the semester, we developed and performed individual research projects based on our intended profession. At the time, I was interested in environmental engineering, and I was also working for a snow removal company. I knew I wanted to do something about the effect of road salt on roadside vegetation. Although it was already known that road salt was not good for roadside vegetation, I sought to find a quantity of road salt that was appropriate to spread. To do this I performed a small-scale experiment from which I presented my results at the end of the semester to my classmates and professor using two formats.

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My individual research project fulfills Original Research 1-4.

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To identify my research question, I started by using credible peer reviewed articles on road salt studies that had already been done. As I began exploring what was out there, I found that previous experiments were very unapplicable to the real world. The articles would list the road salt in quantities of concentration or weight per surface area. Because I was spreading salt by hand for a snow removal company, I decided I wanted to find the effect of road salt on vegetation by the grain per area. This information would be much more useful for the people who spread road salt. Based on this idea of quantifying road salt by the grain, I was able to develop my research question regarding how many salt grains per area of vegetation is most appropriate for minimal damage to the vegetation.

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Although no salt would produce the healthiest grass, as an engineer I knew that road salt is needed in our society as it ensures human safety. In this way my research question was a bit subjective. To perform the experiment, I set up a simple apparatus in my dorm room by first growing samples of grass. Once I had living grass, I started adding varying amounts of road salt to the samples. My plan was to use visual signs of vegetative distress to see which sample was impacted most dramatically. I concluded that one grain of salt per six square inches is reasonable, but of course more research is necessary. This was my first taste of college research in the engineering realm as road salt is an environmental problem because it goes into roadside ditches and eventually into bodies of water. At the end of the semester, I wrote an analytical report on my research and remixed it into a presentation form which was meant to be less technical and more engaging. The professor stressed how we must adjust or “remix” content to the intended audience, which is a very useful skill for the real world.

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In my future career, I will need to present project proposals and descriptions in two different formats just as I did in technical communication. Other engineers will understand engineering terminology and plan sets that the public will likely not understand so it will be necessary to change my presentation style.