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Eight students traded textbooks for high-tech lab equipment this year in a research challenge posed by the Environmental Protection Agency and private industry.
The group worked to develop an inexpensive method of removing arsenic from drinking water in New Mexico, presenting its findings April 6-10 at the 13th annual International Environmental Design Contest (IEDC) at New Mexico State University in Las Cruces.
The researchers will share their findings and recruit students for next year’s competition noon today in Van Wickle Hall room 108.
Nicole Joy, a junior double majoring in A.B. engineering and mathematics-economics from Windham, Maine, also is working on a related effort to bring the wells of the Tohono O’odham Nation in Arizona, scattered over almost three million acres of land in the southern part of the state, into compliance in the most cost-effective way possible.
Sponsored by the Waste-Management Education and Research Consortium, the IEDC challenges student teams to provide solutions to real-world environmental problems that have been submitted by private industry and government agencies.
“All the schools conduct this research as part of a class,” says Art Kney, assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering, who advised the students along with Sharon Jones, associate professor of civil and environmental engineering, and Chip Nataro, assistant professor of chemistry. “We did it on a volunteer basis with only a few workers. I’m extremely proud of the work our students did. They dealt with a real-world problem and were able to present a viable solution.”
The research team, which met weekly to tackle the non-credit challenge, consisted of Joy; May Chui, a senior civil engineering major from Kwai Chung, Hong Kong; Jessica Molek, a senior chemical engineering major from Reedsville, Pa.; Christopher Harty, a junior mechanical engineering major from Kingston, Jamaica; Shawna Showalter, a junior chemical engineering major from Waynesboro, Pa.; Samantha Sweeton, a junior civil engineering major from Warwick, N.Y.; Cristin MacDonald, a sophomore civil engineering major from Glendora, N.J.; and Inku Subedi, a sophomore double majoring in psychology and anthropology & sociology from Kathmandu, Nepal.
The students tested between 50 and 75 materials to identify an ideal candidate for use in ion exchange, a process that extracts arsenic. They conducted this research in Lafayette’s new integrated environmental research laboratory, funded in part by a $366,354 National Science Foundation grant awarded to the chemical engineering and civil and environmental engineering departments.
“This was a very challenging project, but very practical,” says Chui. “We learned a lot and became good friends in the process.”
Harty explains that this research experience was “invaluable” and helped him hone skills that will be beneficial in the future.
“We were able to develop a system from theory to field application,” he says. “The project required integration of research and design skills, which was very rewarding. The team worked hard to make it a success.”
At the international competition, 50 teams shared their results during 15-minute formal presentations that were followed by question/answer sessions and poster presentations. Chui, Joy, and Harty were Lafayette’s representatives at the contest.
“The judges had diverse backgrounds,” says Kney. “They asked the type of questions that would be asked of professional consultants. That alone was a fantastic experience for the students.”
To raise funds for the trip, the arsenic team sponsored an open house to showcase the new and renovated environmental engineering research laboratories and the innovative research conducted in them. County and local government leaders along with representatives from area businesses attended the event.
Kney, Jones, and Nataro hope to create a special projects class next year that will focus solely on the competition. If the course proves successful, it may become a permanent addition to the engineering curriculum.
“It was truly impressive to see the quality of work presented at the contest,” says Harty. “This was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. The professional knowledge I gained by interacting with experienced members of the science and engineering communities could not have been acquired elsewhere.”
Students who are interested in the project, but unable to attend today’s demonstration, should contact one of the faculty advisers.
Joy’s project is an EXCEL Scholars collaboration with Jones to assist the Tohono O’odham Nation, whose wells fell out of compliance with the Environmental Protection Agency when it toughened its drinking water standards. In Lafayette’s EXCEL Scholars program, students assist faculty with research while earning a stipend.
“I did an extensive literature search on arsenic removal technology, and I came up with a summary of different technologies that could be used,” says Joy. She plans to conduct an honors thesis on the research next school year.
Jones says Joy has also reviewed data on the concentrations of pollutants in drinking water from communal wells in about 50 villages to determine what each village would have to do to bring its well into compliance with the new standards.
“She had to go through the data set, then look at the geology of the area,” Jones says, explaining that Joy began developing “arsenic zones” to help residents determine where it would be safe to dig new wells.
“I chose Nicole for the project because of her background in chemistry, engineering, and public policy,” Jones says. “I was looking for someone who had some interest in chemistry. It was a perfect project for her.”
Joy hopes to focus on environmental issues in her career. “I also like working on cost-benefit analyses,” she says. “I like seeing how things are applicable in the real world.”
She says Jones is both “brilliant in her field” and easy to work with. “I really enjoy working with her,” she adds.
Joy also puts her technical skills to work during summer and winter breaks in her job as a pharmacy technician in her hometown. On campus, she serves as a resident adviser and worked as an intern in the Chaplain’s Office from her first year through the fall 2002 semester.