Nanotechnology for Water and Environment is the education program of Onur Apul Research Group in Civil and Environmental Engineering at University of Maine. Our goal is to share our exciting findings with general public and promote science and technology among the society.
Dr. Apul presented his work at Senator George J. Mitchell Center for Sustainability Solutions, Seminar Series on November 30th, 2020. The title of the presentation was "Sustainable Water Treatment: Moving from Victorian Era Technology to Nanotechnology". More than 80 participants joined the seminar virtually from various disciplines. The seminar is available in the following link:
https://vimeo.com/486553244
This video is a brief demo from Ritchie LaFaille, Ritchie is a graduate student in Apul Group. The experiment shows superior heating of carbon nanofibers during microwave irradiation. Ritchie thinks that we should harvest this energy and remediate contaminated soils by removing hard-to-remove pollutants (like petroleum). How else can we use this heat for water and the environment?
Disclaimer: This video is produced by trained professionals following proper lab safety protocols. Trying to conduct these tests pose serious health and safety risks. Do not attempt to replicate.
"I had a blast this summer as a high school researcher in the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department at the University of Massachusetts Lowell. I got to conduct experiments in a cutting-edge college lab and connect with innovative and passionate people, such as Dr. Onur Apul and Mr. Ritchie LaFaille. They were both great mentors to me and I am very thankful that they provided me this opportunity. Every day this summer I came in to run microwave tests with different materials to track changes in soil. Through my experiments, I learned a lot about soil remediation and how it directly impacts the global community. This opportunity has strengthened by zeal for environmentalism and I hope to use it as an inspiration to pursue a career in the STEM field."
Apul Research Team made its first appearance on the flashy World of Instagram on 9/4/2019, on the first day of 2019 Fall Semester. I hope this account will bring all of our students good luck and help disseminate our findings to a broader audience. Please follow us and like our posts.
A series of activities for Girl Scouts of Maine. We all had a blast. Look forward to seeing Girl Scouts next year on campus.