[Biostudent] Environmentally focused research opportunities with ChemE!

[BIOLOGY]

Environmentally focused research opportunities with ChemE!

We have many groups recruiting for research projects right now, and they'd love to have pre-major students join their groups. Can you please share this information with your students and encourage them to apply? If you'd rather link them to a page, please use this link: https://canvas.uw.edu/courses/1343366/assignments/7744629. The link should work for anyone with a netid. Additionally, ChemE is expecting to have capacity for all or almost all students meeting our minimum admissions requirements for our spring quarter 2024 admissions. Please encourage students interested in engineering to check out the following web links and consider making an appointment with me to discuss a plan:
*  What is Chemical Engineering? <https://www.cheme.washington.edu/about/whatis.html>
*  Choosing UW ChemE<https://www.cheme.washington.edu/undergraduate_students/choosecheme>
*  Careers in ChemE<https://www.cheme.washington.edu/undergraduate_students/prosp_students/careers.html>
o Air & Space<https://www.cheme.washington.edu/undergraduate_students/air-space>
o Computing, Data, & Digital Technologies<https://www.cheme.washington.edu/undergraduate_students/datascience>
o Energy and the Environment<https://www.cheme.washington.edu/undergraduate_students/environment-sustainability-and-energy>
o Health & Medicine<https://www.cheme.washington.edu/undergraduate_students/health>
o Transportation, Infrastructure and Society<https://www.cheme.washington.edu/undergraduate_students/infrastructure-transportation-society>
o Robotics and Manufacturing<https://www.cheme.washington.edu/undergraduate_students/robotics-manufacturing>

Combat climate change. Develop greener ways to produce alternatives to petrochemical based products. Treat water. Explore engineering with undergraduate research opportunities in Chemical Engineering this fall quarter.

Fungi Engineering
PI name: Hugh Hillhouse
Project description: Fungi are the Earth's main decomposers and are adept at decomposing most natural products. However, humankind has generated many synthetic materials (like plastics, pharmaceuticals, PCBs, PFAS, and other POPs) that do not readily degrade and pose increasing environmental and ecological problems. This research effort will explore the directed evolution of fungi to degrade or sequester synthetic compounds. We will also explore fungi-based strategies for the creation of value added products. Self-motivated independent students are encouraged to apply. No prior research experience is required, but students interested in applying should have room in their schedule to conduct research during at least three academic quarters at a level of at least 9 hrs/wk and one summer at 40 hrs/wk.
Link to lab website: https://sites.google.com/uw.edu/hillhouse/<https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/sites.google.com/uw.edu/hillhouse/__;!!K-Hz7m0Vt54!m3280ObsQAYIJhumKgeVFocPeuEhEJgkh3bR-sFHghb5k0c899JOprKX4KuVqxt1hyg7Tpigm-t_e9x1d0A1Sqtr$>
Application deadline: Applications accepted on a rolling basis, but applications received 2-weeks before the start of the quarter receive a priority review and new group members may be selected before the quarter starts.
Application instructions: Email Prof. Hillhouse (h2 at uw.edu<mailto:h2 at uw.edu>) directly and include a current CV and unofficial UW transcript.
Engineering microbes for efficient and effective carbon-conserving bioproduction (Environment, Manufacturing)
PI Name & Lab name: James Carothers, Carothers Research Group
Project description: The U.S. Department of Energy has awarded a 5-year, $15 million grant to an interdisciplinary, UW-led team of synthetic biologists to engineer microbial genomes that transform CO2 into high-value chemicals. The project, led by chemical engineering professor James Carothers<https://www.cheme.washington.edu/facultyfinder/james-carothers>, brings together expertise in CRISPR gene-expression programs, single-cell RNA sequencing, data-driven design, and carbon-conserving pathway engineering. Its aim is to advance fundamental research into large-scale, bio-based chemical production that is not only greener, but also produces better alternatives to petrochemical-based products. (https://www.cheme.washington.edu/news/article/2022-09-13/retooling-microbes-upcycle-co2). Two ChemE undergraduates, with preference for rising juniors, could join this project in Summer or Fall '23.
Link to lab website: http://carothersresearch.com<https://urldefense.com/v3/__http:/carothersresearch.com__;!!K-Hz7m0Vt54!jj00fdZdbbFR6cW40VB19amyf7MFPMKUVX36UPQnNDxgiibnRs6D_tGPTRIVGNXm9R0WhMl0LMdtkiV0$>
Application deadline (if applicable): April 15, 2023
Application link/instructions for expressing interest: https://sites.google.com/view/carothersresearchgroup/join<https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/sites.google.com/view/carothersresearchgroup/join__;!!K-Hz7m0Vt54!jj00fdZdbbFR6cW40VB19amyf7MFPMKUVX36UPQnNDxgiibnRs6D_tGPTRIVGNXm9R0WhMl0LPnZ5l4e$>

Analyzing the Performance of Water Treatment Membranes
PI Name & Lab name: David Bergsman (Bergsman Research Group)
Project description: We are looking for a student to help us make and test membranes for water treatment. Water scarcity is a global issue, with inequitable access to clean water for billions of people on our planet. A very, very small amount of freshwater on Earth is accessible, while 97.5% of Earth's water is saline, too salty to be consumable. One way to combat this is through the process of desalination, which removes salt from sea and brackish water. Membranes are an energy-efficient way of performing desalination.

Desalination membranes are typically made through a solvent-phase process called interfacial polymerization. Since this process uses and relies on solvents, it limits the types of membranes that can be made. This project uses a vapor-phase method called molecular layer deposition (MLD) to make these membranes. Using MLD will allow us to try existing membrane designs in a new way, and try completely new designs that cannot be done with interfacial polymerization. The ultimate goal of this project is to see how membrane chemistry and morphology, or other characteristics, affect its performance. As we try new chemistries and designs, we will analyze their performance and look for trends.

In this project, the student will be using a lab-made membrane testing cell to test the membranes' performance. One metric of performance is permeability, or the ability of a membrane to allow fluids to pass through it. Another is rejection, which quantifies how much of a contaminant is successfully removed by the membrane. An ideal membrane has high permeability and high rejection, but that is difficult to achieve. With this, the student will learn how to safely operate a pressurized system, analyze results, and gain knowledge on membrane science. Additional project tasks could be included depending on the student's interest and involvement. Students are not expected to have any prior knowledge or experience, and will receive direct mentorship from the graduate student project lead.

Link to lab website: https://www.bergsmangroup.com/<https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/www.bergsmangroup.com/__;!!K-Hz7m0Vt54!mTSspDLRbqdgIu7UKxfzRwKeGo9JnslaRLQM5gFNT1mBerFV5W7KPtc8Quz89JmPDEH7li95l3jfAmk$>
Application deadline (if applicable): October 15th, 11:59 pm
Application link/instructions for expressing interest: https://forms.gle/Dub9Dj6dgpg4s9RFA<https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/forms.gle/Dub9Dj6dgpg4s9RFA__;!!K-Hz7m0Vt54!mTSspDLRbqdgIu7UKxfzRwKeGo9JnslaRLQM5gFNT1mBerFV5W7KPtc8Quz89JmPDEH7li95ZKcqefE$>

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In-situ Growth of Metal-organic Frameworks (MOFs) in Polymers
PI Name & Lab name: David Bergsman (Bergsman Research Group)
Project description:
We are looking for a student to help us make membranes for separating out CO2 from industrial emissions. To combat global climate change, it is crucial to reduce the emission of greenhouse gasses. One potential solution is to capture and sequester the carbon dioxide emitted from industrial processes to prevent it from entering the atmosphere. Because existing carbon capture systems are energy-intensive, we are exploring the use of membranes to separate out these gasses instead. The goal of this project is to improve gas separation membranes by adding small crystals that will improve the separation properties. The project will involve growing these crystallites using vapor-phase reactants in-situ (that is, the full reaction is carried out in a single reactor). Previously, we have been able to grow these crystallites through multiple steps. We are looking for a student that can help us complete this process with no intermediate steps using our vapor-phase deposition reactor. The student will change different variables such as reactor temperature, reactant temperature, dose time, hold time, etc. and see the effect on the growth rate. This process is known to work; the student will focus on optimizing it. They will learn to add/remove samples from the reactor, to use our LabVIEW code to set a recipe for the process, and to use ellipsometry to measure the samples. This is an excellent project for students broadly interested in nanomaterials and membrane separations, as well as students interested in gaining experience with running reactions and characterization techniques.

Link to lab website: https://www.bergsmangroup.com/<https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/www.bergsmangroup.com/__;!!K-Hz7m0Vt54!mTSspDLRbqdgIu7UKxfzRwKeGo9JnslaRLQM5gFNT1mBerFV5W7KPtc8Quz89JmPDEH7li95l3jfAmk$>
Application deadline (if applicable): October 15th, 11:59 pm
Application link/instructions for expressing interest: https://forms.gle/Dub9Dj6dgpg4s9RFA<https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/forms.gle/Dub9Dj6dgpg4s9RFA__;!!K-Hz7m0Vt54!mTSspDLRbqdgIu7UKxfzRwKeGo9JnslaRLQM5gFNT1mBerFV5W7KPtc8Quz89JmPDEH7li95ZKcqefE$>

Nicole Minkoff
Pronouns: she/her/hers
Lead Academic Adviser
Managing ChemE Academic Data, Undergraduate Outreach and Retention
Chemical Engineering
206.685.1634 / www.cheme.washington.edu<http://www.cheme.washington.edu/>

Schedule future & same-day appts! I work M, W, Th
In Person: https://uwchemeadvising.youcanbook.me/<https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/uwchemeadvising.youcanbook.me/__;!!K-Hz7m0Vt54!m3280ObsQAYIJhumKgeVFocPeuEhEJgkh3bR-sFHghb5k0c899JOprKX4KuVqxt1hyg7Tpigm-t_e9x1d9znVPY0$>
Zoom & Phone: https://chemeadvvirtual.youcanbook.me<https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/chemeadvvirtual.youcanbook.me/__;!!K-Hz7m0Vt54!m3280ObsQAYIJhumKgeVFocPeuEhEJgkh3bR-sFHghb5k0c899JOprKX4KuVqxt1hyg7Tpigm-t_e9x1d4tlr9xy$>
W UNIVERSITY of  WASHINGTON


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