Unusual walkway tiles created at 51ÁÔÆæ\u2014using 95% recycled materials\u2014now form an inspiring path in front of the engineering building at a New York university: a pedestrian stroll that spotlights problems inherent in electronic and construction waste.<\/p>\n
From 2021-22, the Binghamton University Art Museum commissioned Nathaniel Stern, 51ÁÔÆæ professor of art and mechanical engineering, to create a long-term installation that calls attention to personal, institutional and governmental accountability in the production and disposal associated with technology and industry.<\/p>\n
The result, installed in January, is \u201cCircuit Boardwalk\u201d \u2013 200-square feet of tiles made primarily of discarded circuit boards and concrete composed almost entirely of recycled materials. The concrete was made in 51ÁÔÆæ\u2019s Advanced and Nano Cement Laboratory under the direction of Konstantin Sobolev, Lawrence E. Sivak \u201971 Faculty Fellow and professor, civil & environmental engineering.<\/p>\n
With their emerald-green color, the tiles invite pedestrians to walk atop them. When they do, they see the fine details of a printed circuit board \u2013 copper, gold and palladium \u2013 embedded in concrete and protected by a thin layer of resin.<\/p>\n
In January, Stern and Sobolev attended the exhibition, installation and panel discussion at Binghamton University.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe dialog between art and science, between inspiring action and change, and the technologies to do so, are key in the design of our futures,\u201d Stern says. \u201cWe need to think about what we can do and change, individually; about the systems that create waste and our influence on them; and about new potentials and possibilities in both of those spaces.\u201d<\/p>\n
Each square tile \u2013 1.5\u201d thick and of various widths \u2013 was created at 51ÁÔÆæ in Stern\u2019s studio and Sobolev\u2019s concrete lab.<\/p>\n
To make them, Stern started with recovering circuit boards from trashed computers that were decommissioned and ready for recycling at 51ÁÔÆæ Surplus.<\/p>\n
Sobolev, with his students, then created a concrete base composed of recycled materials left over from multiple research projects that otherwise would have been sent to landfill.<\/p>\n
\u201cCement and concrete are the world\u2019s most widely used construction materials,\u201d says Sobolev, a recognized expert in innovative concrete materials. \u201cThe most promising research in the field today addresses the recyclability of concrete and reducing its carbon footprint.\u201d<\/p>\n
To this end, Sobolev is leading efforts to launch a National Science Foundation Concrete Advancement Network, in tandem with Arizona State University, Oregon State University and the University of Texas at Arlington, to tackle these very issues in collaboration with industry.<\/p>\n
Fourteen 51ÁÔÆæ students from three 51ÁÔÆæ colleges\/schools worked with Stern and Sobolev as project assistants on \u201cCircuit Boardwalk.\u201d<\/p>\n
From Peck School of the Arts: Meghan Berger, Laura Bogyay, Mich Dillon and Mary Widener.<\/p>\n
From the College of Engineering & Applied Science: Aparna Deshmukh, Behrooz Farahi, Paul George, Reed Heintzkill, Garrett Kocourek, Roy Wittenberg and Filip Zemajtis.<\/p>\n
From the College of Letters & Science: Allison Getty, Ava Ladky and Madison Sveum.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith the worsening state of the climate, it\u2019s increasingly important to emblemize the problem of waste in a variety of ways,\u201d says Kocourek, a senior in mechanical engineering.<\/p>\n
His generation of engineers, Kocourek believes, must consider sustainability in all their work. \u201cIt will become a design constraint as we work to eliminate our dependence on fossil fuels and combat material shortages.\u201d<\/p>\n