News
News
News
Researchers from The University of Texas at Austin and a potter from the Navajo Nation are creating a nanomaterial-enabled ceramic filter to enhance economically challenged communities’ access to potable water.
The project began four years ago after assistant professor Navid Saleh was inspired by Judy Pasternak’s “Yellow Dirt: An American Story of a Poisoned Land and a People Betrayed.” The book documents the toxic legacy of uranium mining in New Mexico and northeast Arizona, where mine tailings left behind during the 4-decades long uranium mining (1943-1986) contaminated the surface and groundwater of the Diné (the Navajos).
In 2013, Saleh led a team of National Science Foundation-funded students to the Navajo Nation and partnered with the Bureau of Land Management’s Abandoned Land Mine personnel to look at water contamination issues that impacted the Diné. From the groundwater sampled from the area, it was clear that the abandoned uranium mines and open mine pits pose serious threats to human health, safety, and the environment.
During an analysis of groundwater from the T’iisnázbąs area, the team discovered that there is 10 times more arsenic (110 micrograms per liter) in the water than the maximum recommended limit of 10 micrograms per liter.
“This is a big problem,” says Saleh. “If arsenic is present, there will be other contaminants.”
Saleh felt that it was his responsibility as an environmental engineer to develop a solution. Because clay and the art of pottery interconnect Navajo traditions and daily life, Saleh began researching ceramic filters and nanomaterials to treat contaminated water with his students and colleague, Professor Desmond Lawler.
Saleh’s work at the Navajo Nation builds on a recently defended dissertation of PhD student Anne Mikelonis (supervised by Professor Lawler). As part of her work, she studied the attachment and detachment of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) to and from ceramic water filters along with its antimicrobial effects at Pure Home Water, a filter factory located in Tamale, Ghana. Mikelonis also studied the attachment of AgNPs to aluminum oxide membranes used in municipal drinking water treatment plants in developing countries.
Saleh’s team is building on this body of work with Diné potter Deanna Tso to develop a point-of-use ceramic-based filter with multi-functional hybrid nanomaterials embedded within the ceramic casting. The researchers are currently creating testable coupons, working on a prototype, and investigating the modification of a design that is already in use by both industrialized and developing countries.
“Ancestral knowledge will be infused into state-of-the-art technology for water treatment,” says Saleh, “We felt that our clay and the glazing (coating that’s put on the clay) are not likely the same as would be found on the reservation area,” he says. “We felt that it would be best to work with local people who have acquired this ‘lifestyle knowledge’ from grandparents and ancestors, and that alone can make this technology appropriate for the area in concern.”
In 2014, Saleh presented a case study at the ACS National Meeting (March 2014, Dallas, TX) with students Lewis Stetson Rowles and Nirupam Aich, “Synthesis and characterization of carbonaceous nanomaterial-multimetallic hybrids for simultaneous removal of radioactive and organic contaminants: A case study on Navajo Nation."
Rowles, a master’s/PhD student and NSF Graduate fellow with a deep commitment to transformative water purification research, is also a highly skilled potter. Rowles is working on the synthesis of the functional nanohybrids with doctoral students Dipesh Das, Jaime Plazas-Tuttle, and Nirupam Aich at Saleh’s laboratory.
While researchers build the engineering aspect of the clay and work with Diné potters, they will also collaborate with students and faculty from San Juan College for the next several years.
“We’re looking for a long-term relationship in this community,” Saleh added. “The research will not only help the Navajo people but potentially many other communities due to its ability to be adjusted and tuned to serve water decontamination needs of other low-income populations across the globe.”
In 2019 and 2020, Saleh and his students plan to host two exhibitions and seminars; one in Santa Fe, NM, at the Museum of Indian Arts and Culture and the other in Window Rock, AZ, at the Navajo Nation Museum.
Paula Passalacqua, who joined the CAEE faculty in spring 2011, has recently been recognized for her teaching excellence by the Cockrell School of Engineering as the 2014-15 recipient of the Dean’s Award for Outstanding Teaching by an Assistant Professor. From the CAEE department there have been nine recipients of the award since 1984.
The teaching award is presented in conjunction with the Lockheed Martin Award for Excellence in Engineering Teaching, awarded annually to a Professor in the Cockrell School. From the CAEE department there have been thirteen recipients of the award since 1956, including CAEE Chair, Rich Corsi, 2013-14.
A researcher from the Department of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering at The University of Texas at Austin is headed to Nepal as part of a rapid response mission to assess post-earthquake damage to potentially dangerous glacial lakes and to begin the process of rebuilding mountain communities.
The April and May earthquakes, which leveled much of Nepal’s capital, Kathmandu, and caused more than 8,600 deaths, also had enormous effects on the country’s mountain villages. In these remote areas, the earthquakes gave rise to massive landslides that wiped out entire villages and further destabilized the geology of high-altitude mountains, glaciers and glacial lakes, which could lead to the degradation of the natural dams of rocks and soil left by the glaciers.
“It is of critical importance that post-event assessments of Nepal’s most potentially dangerous glacial lakes be conducted as soon as possible to determine the damage caused by the earthquake as well as any increased threats of flooding and damage to downstream communities,” said Daene McKinney, project leader and professor in the Cockrell School’s Department of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering.
McKinney and a team, which includes a mountain geographer, a hydrologist and a filmmaker, are deploying to Nepal on May 27 to make a rapid assessment of several of the lakes, including Imja Lake in the Khumbu region. The team is part of the High Mountains Adaptation Partnership (HiMAP), created and managed by The University of Texas at Austin and The Mountain Institute, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit focused on the conservation of mountain environments. HiMAP has received $100,000 for this effort from the United States Agency for International Development, UT Austin, the American Society of Civil Engineers and private donors to cover travel, field support, helicopter costs and other project costs.
Between June and August, the team will conduct detailed remote sensing and field-based assessments of Nepal’s most potentially dangerous glacial lakes in partnership with the country’s Department of Hydrology and Meteorology, the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development and the government of Nepal’s army.
“The tragic events in Nepal have definitely affected our team,” McKinney said. “After our rapid assessment, we plan to execute a long-term program to assist these high mountain communities in their recovery.”
McKinney said that the team plans to provide materials and labor to help rebuild community buildings, such as schools and health clinics. Additionally, the team will work with communities to develop plans for managing future disasters.
Through the HiMAP program, McKinney and his students have been developing ways to assess and reduce the risk posed to downstream populations by these new glacial lakes. Although McKinney’s students are not traveling to Nepal on this trip, they will be involved in this effort.
HiMAP was created in 2012 to focus on remote, high-altitude mountain ecosystems and communities. Its goal is to create conditions necessary for all stakeholders who live in and are dependent upon glacial watersheds (including local communities, government agencies and downstream populations) to become more resilient to the effects of climate change. The Nepal region is particularly vulnerable to earthquakes and climate change effects because of its extreme topography, remoteness, lack of transport facilities and tourist-driven economy.
The HiMAP team plans to conclude the first phase of the project in August. A second phase, which will survey five other potentially dangerous glacial lakes in the Makalu-Barun region, is planned for this fall.
Richard Corsi and two other faculty members at The University of Texas at Austin have been named to the university's respected Academy of Distinguished Teachers for 2015, said Gregory L. Fenves, executive vice president and provost.
“These three new inductees are outstanding examples of the excellence in scholarship UT Austin champions across a diverse array of fields,” Fenves said. “They have combined nationally renowned research with innovative classroom teaching, expanding knowledge while helping students launch careers.”
The academy was created in 1995 to recognize tenured faculty members who throughout their careers have maintained significant contributions to education, particularly at the undergraduate level.
The faculty members were named to the academy based on recommendations from an ad hoc faculty and student committee that reviewed nominations of faculty members. Deans nominate faculty members with input from others in the faculty, students and academy members from their departments.
Academy members receive the title "Distinguished Academy Professor" and a $7,500 increase in annual academic salary, effective the following academic year.
The academy serves as an advisory group to the executive vice president and provost on teaching excellence and will provide institutional leadership and guidance for the distinctive undergraduate experience available in our research university environment.
Mechele Dickerson from the School of Law and John Markert, Department of Physics, College of Natural Sciences were also named 2015 Distinguished Teachers.
Four other faculty from the Department of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering also hold this honor: Chandra Bhat, Oguzhan Bayrak, David Fowler and Desmond Lawler.
Maria Juenger was recently elevated to the grade of Fellow of The American Ceramic Society (ACerS).
Often hidden, ceramic components are critical in nearly everything that makes modern life possible – from computers, cell phones, jet engines and armor to skis, tennis rackets and hip replacements.
ACerS supports these innovations by pursuing the mission “to advance the study, understanding, and use of ceramics and related materials for the benefit of our members and society. “
Fellows are selected for their outstanding contributions to the ceramic arts or sciences; through broad and productive scholarship in ceramic science and technology, conspicuous achievement in the ceramic industry or outstanding service to the Society.
Recognition of Juenger’s achievement will be given at the ACerS Honors and Awards Banquet at the 117thAnnual Meeting in October 2015.
Professor Chandra Bhat has been selected by the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) to receive the 2015 Frank M. Masters Transportation Engineering Award for his "pioneering contributions to transportation systems analysis, his international leadership in bridging the gap between the research and practice of transportation planning, and his dedicated efforts to produce a new generation of high-quality transportation professionals.”
The committee particularly noted innovations that have contributed to outstanding transportation planning. The award includes a medal and cash prize to be presented during the ASCE’s Annual Convention next fall.
Professor Michael Engelhardt is a recipient of the American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC) Lifetime Achievement Award that will be presented at the spring 2015 NASCC Steel Conference.
AISC's Lifetime Achievement Award honors individuals who have made a difference in the structural steel industry's success and recognizes their outstanding service over a sustained period of years to AISC and the structural steel design/construction/academic community.
Engelhardt is the DeWitt C. Greer Centennial Professor of Civil Engineering at the University of Texas at Austin, where he's served on the faculty since 1989 and has excelled at both teaching and research. His teaching philosophy, for which he's received numerous awards, is to "present information in a manner that allows students to see simplicity and clarity in seemingly complex subjects." His ability to accomplish this comes from a deep understanding of the subject and results in a valuable learning experience for his students.
Also a talented and world-recognized researcher, his research interests are in the areas of seismic-resistant design of steel structures, steel and composite bridges, and structural fire engineering.
His contributions to AISC have been invaluable; he has generously shared his teaching talents with the institute as an excellent continuing education provider, serving frequently as a lecturer for AISC seminars, short courses and NASCC sessions. In addition, he serves as a member of the AISC Committee on Specifications, the AISC Seismic Specification Committee, and the AISC Connection Prequalification Review Panel.
He received AISC's prestigious T.R. Higgins Award in 1999 for his outstanding research in Reduced Beam Section Moment Connections, and in 2008 he earned an AISC Special Achievement Award for his pioneering contributions to the development of Eccentric Braced Frames.
One of the nation’s elite engineering departments.
