ERIN is IT:U’s Environmental Lab, a lab combining concise theoretical instruction in digital technologies with a hands-on Learn Lab Project. The theoretical component builds a shared foundation across core concepts from environmental, chemical, and biological engineering, with a particular focus on biological air-pollution control technologies.
Students explore how transport and transformation processes in air biofilters shape design choices and are introduced to techniques for measuring air contaminants. They are also exposed to aquaponics and basic programming and engage with systems thinking, circularity, and low-impact practices.
Lab Persona
ERIN as a person would be a practical interdisciplinary engineer, blending environmental and chemical engineering to keep air clean, water safe, and waste low. ERIN would believe in circularity, transparency, and low-impact methods. Curious yet grounded, ERIN favors solutions with environmental and economic co-benefits. ERIN turns complex footprints into simple practices that communities can understand, trust, and scale.
Project-based Learning
The hands-on project component translates this foundation directly into practice: students design, assemble, commission, and operate a lab-scale gas biofilter, collecting and interpreting real performance data throughout. Adjustments are made based on direct observation, connecting design parameters to measurable outcomes.
The deliverable is both a functioning biofilter and a concise technical narrative documenting what is needed, what was built, what was measured, and what was learned—a format that mirrors the documentation standards of professional engineering practice.
Meet the expert
ERIN is led by Michael Süß, Senior Lab Expert and Lecturer. He holds a PhD in Chemical Engineering from the University of Calgary, Canada, with his doctoral research focused on biofilter systems for waste gas treatment. Michael’s research interests are rooted in pollution mitigation. Before joining IT:U, he gained international research and industry experience, e.g., at Stockholm University, Lenzing Group, and Miba Battery Systems, as well as teaching experience at JKU Linz and Fachhochschule Wiener Neustadt.
