We are proud of the work our students do locally and globally. We spoke with Maggie Thompson, a graduate student pursuing a Master of Science in Environmental Engineering (MSENE) with Dr. Joshua Kearns.
I just returned from my second trip to Mexico working with the non-profit Caminos de Agua. My research is in collaboration with the non profit’s efforts to develop low-cost, locally sourced solutions to provide clean drinking water for communities in Central Mexico.
I am currently working to optimize fluoride removal capacity of bone-char produced from waste materials (cow bones) obtained from a local butchery. During my trip I conducted batch isotherm tests and built a lab-scale pilot column to determine pseudo-equilibrium capacity and fluoride breakthrough of bone-char produced by Caminos de Agua. As a side project, I also collected surface and well water samples around the area to quantify agricultural chemical contamination and transport within the watershed.
