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Dr. Blaney's Chemical Engineering Lab at UMBC researches the effects of human action on water quality. I worked with three other students on Dr. Blaney's team over the Spring of 2018 to prepare and present at the National Science and Engineering Expo in Washington D.C. on April 7th and 8th, 2018. The project was supported by a grant from the Environmental Protection Agency's "People, Prosperity, and the Planet Design Competition."
Dr. Blaney's Chemical Engineering Lab at UMBC researches the effects of human action on water quality. I worked with three other students on Dr. Blaney's team over the Spring of 2018 to prepare and present at the National Science and Engineering Expo in Washington D.C. on April 7th and 8th, 2018. The project was supported by a grant from the Environmental Protection Agency's "People, Prosperity, and the Planet Design Competition."
Our team developed a low-energy process to recover nutrients like phosphorous, potassium, and magnesium ions from source-separated urine and solidify them into agricultural grade fertilizer. This directly relates to my Grand Challenge of Access to Clean Water. I assisted with design and implementation of interactive material for our booth at the expo (see below). We had the scientific details poster and an additional poster on the outside of the port-o-potty that described the environmental impacts of the project. In addition to that, all of the mechanics on the inside of the port-o-potty are labeled and a visitor to the booth can even use a large plastic syringe to simulate contributing "urine" to the system.
Our team developed a low-energy process to recover nutrients like phosphorous, potassium, and magnesium ions from source-separated urine and solidify them into agricultural grade fertilizer. This directly relates to my Grand Challenge of Access to Clean Water. I assisted with design and implementation of interactive material for our booth at the expo (see below). We had the scientific details poster and an additional poster on the outside of the port-o-potty that described the environmental impacts of the project. In addition to that, all of the mechanics on the inside of the port-o-potty are labeled and a visitor to the booth can even use a large plastic syringe to simulate contributing "urine" to the system.
One of my projects was the creation of an interactive board on fiberglass that simulated the role of an exchange membrane between urine and a saltwater solution. It includes a yellow background on one side and a blue background on the other to represent the two solutions. The ions are represented by laminated and labeled circles or ovals attached to the board via Velcro stickers. This board was very useful when trying to explain the concept of a membrane to children from 6-12 years old who had not yet started learning basic chemistry in school. While it was challenging, many young visitors came to even understand more complicated ideas like the concept of electroneutrality by experimenting with ions represented on the board.
One of my projects was the creation of an interactive board on fiberglass that simulated the role of an exchange membrane between urine and a saltwater solution. It includes a yellow background on one side and a blue background on the other to represent the two solutions. The ions are represented by laminated and labeled circles or ovals attached to the board via Velcro stickers. This board was very useful when trying to explain the concept of a membrane to children from 6-12 years old who had not yet started learning basic chemistry in school. While it was challenging, many young visitors came to even understand more complicated ideas like the concept of electroneutrality by experimenting with ions represented on the board.
Expressing and communicating ideas:
Expressing and communicating ideas:
To present at the expo, we had to effectively compose material for our posters and infographics to help the audience understand our project. We discussed and narrowed down the most important ideas to include when talking to a visitor and then practiced our "elevator speeches" several times. We also had to formulate questions and hypotheses in order to anticipate and prepare for conversations with visiting professionals from the discipline.
Gaining knowledge and practicing critical thinking:
Gaining knowledge and practicing critical thinking:
Working with Dr. Blaney helped me to understand the man-made problems facing the water sources in the United States, in addition to my background knowledge of water concerns in developing countries. It was very interesting for me, as a Global Studies: Health, Development, and the Environment major, to join this research team of Chemical Engineers. It was challenging to get acquainted with the research material, but I enjoyed learning from a different approach to water quality improvement. Luckily for me, the science behind the project was a strength of many of my teammates! I learned a lot from them and contributed my organizational abilities as well as ideas on how to make age-appropriate appeals to the audience.
Looking toward the future:
Looking toward the future:
To better understand the problem, Dr. Blaney suggested that I investigate the negative environmental impacts of nutrient pollution on our local environment. This helped me to predict, recognize, and weigh the risks and benefits of the project for others, including relevant actors like small-scale farmers and fertilizer companies. One way I see that we could apply this research in practice would be to offer this design to farmers in developing countries. This is something the lab is considering as the finished product runs on the energy of a single solar panel to power the pump inside.
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