Evening Primrose

The project my group and I was given, deals with a new type of Evening Primrose. Other species of Evening Primrose can only grow and survive in cold, moist environments (for example China), but the new species has the ability to grow in the hot, dry environs of West Texas. The oil from the Evening Primrose can be used for medical purposes (reduce blood cholesterol levels, address infant nutritional disorders, and relieve women’s health issues), cosmetic purposes (has Omega- 6 essential fatty acids), and for Biodiesel purposes (longer engine life thanks to greater lubricity).

When looking at team dynamics I feel like we work very well as a group. We have been able to figure out who has what role in the team (organizer, team leader, etc.), and each and everyone’s responsibilities. We are currently about two weeks into the semester, and we have mostly discussed general ideas regarding our technology and shared information and knowledge with one another. We have for example talked about how and what the best way is to decide whether it is a Go, No-Go, or a Hold decision. Obviously, the decision will be made in the end when we have all the information regarding the internal and external environment, but as off now, we like the product and feel confident that it has a lot of benefits compared to the other species of Evening Primrose.

A dilemma we had in the beginning was that a couple of people in the group have full time jobs and so there is not a lot of time available to get together. We discussed this and came up with a solution that we believe will work out great. First of all, we will be able to meet every Tuesday and Thursday right after class for a short while to talk about the project and the progress we are making. Second, we “divided up” the research part of the project into two parts. Alex (working) and I will be focusing on researching the biodiesel industry, while Michela(working) and Kyle will focus on the cosmetic and neutraceutical industry. When we...