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Julia is a senior chemistry major. At the
suggestion of Dr. Philip Kumler, Julia applied for a SULI (Science Undergraduate
Laboratory Internship) and was accepted at the Pacific Northwest National
Laboratory in Richland, WA. Under the direction of Dr. Dawn Wellman, Julia’s
project involved the process of sequestering Hg (mercury) and other heavy metals
out of contaminated water sources. Julia worked with surfactant templated
nano-porous metal thiophosphates. This compound, which can be described as a
micelle (a unit of structure built up from polymeric molecules or ions), shaped
like a golf ball with the divots representing the pores with a 4.5 nanometer
diameter. Julia says the loading capacity of the micelle is relatively low,
absorbing 10 mg of Hg/g of absorbent, compared to functionalized silica (adding
a thiol group) which absorbs >360 mg/g. Julia says she loves applying chemical
principles to an important problem like cleaning up the environment, and she is
surprised how safe the metal thiophosphate synthesis is. Julia says her most
important gain is seeing so many opportunities, with the only burden being the
choice! During the weekends the group visited Seattle, Portland (Powell’s
Bookstore!) Mt. St. Helen’s, the Oregon coast, and did some hiking in the
Cascades.
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