From cow poop to purpose: Curiosity sparks career for Kenzie Burns

Kenzie Burns doesn’t shy away from stepping outside of her comfort zone—she pushes forward with curiosity—shaping her life in new and unexpected ways.

“I like to joke that I cannot get away from cow poop,” Kenzie says, reflecting on nearly a decade of research in resource recovery from dairy manure that began as an undergraduate student at Bucknell University.

Unsure of what she wanted to do between her freshman and sophomore year of college, Kenzie chose to pursue an undergraduate research opportunity in environmental engineering. What she didn’t know at the time is how impactful that decision would be.

“I figured it would be a fun way to spend the summer, but I immediately fell in love and knew this is what I wanted to do with the rest of my life,” she shares.

Working with Professor Deborah Sills at Bucknell, Kenzie gained four years of research experience in resource recovery from dairy manure using thermochemical processes. A tour of the UW-Madison campus in the spring of 2020 was the next big step in her journey.

“I just really clicked with my advisor, Mohan Qin. I could tell right away that she is supportive and would be a good mentor.”

Now in her fifth and final year as a civil and environmental engineering PhD student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Kenzie’s experience with manure resource recovery has grown to include membrane separation, electrochemistry, and biobased processes.

As a member of Qin’s research group, Kenzie’s work uses microorganisms that produce electricity while converting organic nutrients to usable forms during manure treatment. This research offers a way to help address the negative environmental impacts of animal agriculture by transforming a waste to a resource.

“Our work reimagines dairy manure as an asset instead of a problematic waste stream. Manure management is a key issue. It can put nutrients into the environment that we don’t want there, but it’s also an untapped resource that we can utilize to our benefit.”

The research environment is multidisciplinary and collaborative, creating opportunities to work closely with dairy farmers and others in the agricultural sciences field. The unique perspectives and motivations that Kenzie’s colleagues bring to the table offer important insight and guidance to ensure the work is applicable and realistic on a larger scale. She also enjoys the energy and enthusiasm undergraduate students bring to the research experience.

“I’ve had many opportunities to work closely with really motivated undergraduate students who want to learn about environmental engineering, which has been one of my favorite things about research. They’ve helped shape my mentoring practice, so that I can give what they need to be successful.”

Kenzie’s passion for teaching came as a surprise. Her mother is a retired special education teacher who now teaches students who are visually impaired. Kenzie didn’t think she would follow in her mother’s footsteps until she started working with undergraduate students. She’s now taught Introduction to Environmental Engineering at both UW-Platteville and UW-Madison, and she values being able to provide the same kind of specialized experience that she had as a student. The professors she perceived as great teachers showed that they cared by working with her when she needed it. They went beyond classroom instruction to answer questions and explain concepts in new ways, and Kenzie looks forward to doing the same for others.

“What makes sense to us as instructors, might not necessarily make sense to all students, so you might have to change your approach sometimes. Maybe think about using a different analogy or teach it from a different perspective, until you find a way that works for them.”

As she puts the final touches on her thesis and prepares for graduation, Kenzie is ready for what’s next and is excited to join the faculty at Lafayette College as an assistant professor. Like Wisconsin, Pennsylvania is active in the dairy industry, so she will continue her research in high-strength organic waste. Kenzie also hopes to explore new sources of wastewater including breweries and food waste, which hold high concentrations of organics and nutrients.

“I love to be outside, so I’m excited about the possibility of doing more field work. I’m also interested in modeling to scale-up technology. Mohan would laugh if she heard that because I’ve always said I don’t like modeling, but after getting into it recently, I actually think it’s really cool.”