Teaching on the banks of the Boneyard: Ruzic explains hydropower

On a fair spring day, dressed, appropriately, in an Illini blue blazer and bright orange tie, David Ruzic strides through the middle of the Boneyard Creek cutting across the University of Illinois Engineering Quad.

A white board nearby stands steady in the stream as Ruzic wades in his muck boots, waving his arms emphatically, lecturing to the nearly 100 students lining the banks of the Boneyard. On first glance, he’s like a revivalist collecting converts. But Ruzic isn’t preaching – he’s teaching – as he explains the power of hydropower.

For many of the years that the Nuclear, Plasma, and Radiological Engineering professor has taught NPRE 101-Introduction to Energy Sources, he has brought his class to the Boneyard to lecture on energy production through water flow. Fulfilling a general education requirement, the course is open to all majors on campus so it needs to appeal to more than just engineering students.

“I bring a lot of demonstration material for every single lecture I give, and I needed to teach a lecture about hydropower,” Ruzic said. “It occurred to me we have a river on campus, so why not bring people to it to teach them.”

“It turns out, (the Boneyard) is a terrible, lousy source of hydropower; it’s only about 4 inches deep and was built to take all the rainwater away, not generate power,” Ruzic continued. “But it’s illustrative of the concepts and possibilities you need for hydropower, and people learn a lot more because they’re not sitting in a chair in a classroom.”

Steven Sabatini, one of the students in the class, appreciated the change of scenery. “I thought it was a good change of pace to take things outside. The notes were a bit sloppy, but I definitely retained the lesson and won’t forget the information.”

Said Ruzic’s teaching assistant, Jeremy Mettler, “Using the Boneyard Creek to demonstrate hydropower is a great example of how Professor Ruzic’s uniquely engaging teaching style helps to better inform students about key topics that will be extremely relevant in the coming decades.”

A consummate teacher whose skills have been recognized with nearly every honor the university has to offer, Ruzic tends to entertain as he educates. On the first day of NPRE 101, he has appeared in a cloud of smoke; classroom demonstrations often involve explosions; and he has even set up an old-fashioned still to show how corn becomes ethanol. Students have voiced their appreciation – Ruzic’s name perpetually appears on the List of Teachers Ranked Excellent by their students.

“I can only reach people if they come to class, so if you make the class fun and interesting they look forward to going to it everyday,” he said. “By adding a little appropriate showmanship, people keep attending and it keeps them alert.”