Student wins conference poster award
Chemical engineering student Jacob Kronenberg, E18, recently won the award for best poster presentation in the separations division at the AIChE Annual Meeting undergraduate poster fair.
The AIChE Annual Meeting brings together chemical engineers, students, and professionals interested in furthering professional growth, academics, and innovation. This year’s meeting is being held in Minneapolis.
Kronenberg’s poster title was “Amphiphilic Polymers for Membrane Separation and Ion Removal,” based on his work in the lab of Assistant Professor Ayse Asatekin with Ph.D. student Ilin Sadeghi.
In the lab, Kronenberg and Sadeghi found that polymer membrane pores lined with negatively-charged carboxylic acid groups can be used to separate out items, like dyes, based on an electric charge rather than size.
Currently, they are working to use the same membranes to remove metals from water, starting with common metals like sodium and calcium, and moving on to harmful metals like lead and chromium in the near future. This work has applications in wastewater treatment and water purification.
Department:
Chemical and Biological Engineering