It looks and sounds like a regular golf ball, but this prototype is anything but average.
Once we saw that would actually take off and have flight characteristics similar to a regular golf ball, we knew it’s a product that has some potential.
After almost a year of work in the laboratory, bioengineers at the University of Maine have developed the golf ball made from lobster shells.
Initial concept was not to make multi-use, you know, to simplify, have as a single use, may be have for example, for the cruise ship markets that people could drive off the back of the cruise ship.
After about seven days in water, these eco-friendly golf balls begin to break down. Researchers say the material they are made out of could also be used on other products.
You always learn something you didn’t expect when you take on a research project. Then in the development of a material that makes up the core of the goal ball, we’ve actually developed something that we think has far broader applications.
If we can produce things that people want to use that aren’t harming the environment, it’s sort of a double-edged sword per se too. You can sell the product and aren’t harming the environment.
Junior Alex Caddell says putting his book-smarts to use in a laboratory has given him a new prospective on bioengineering.
The classroom is good for learning fundamentals, but it’s good to get out and practise them as well.
It’s a very different mindset to just learning in a classroom. You know, applying that knowledge that you hope to gain in a class to solving real engineering problems, really drives home the material.
Reinventing the ball for healthier environment in the future,in Orono.
John Zierow, News Center.
