Green Chemistry Research | Spring Semester 2016
Graduate Advisor Kendra Leahy
Hello everyone! Welcome to the reflection page for my self-designed honors experience. The experience was designed to focus primarily on research, and ended up being much more well-suited to my engineering background than I originally anticipated. Why? Read on!
First, I should give a bit of background on the research that I was doing. I worked in a green chemistry lab, so as a result, all of the research taking place in that lab is environmentally conscious and aims to further the study of chemistry while simultaneously reducing impact on the planet. Specifically, Kendra (my graduate advisor) and I were looking at green ways to functionalize green polymers. Green polymers are those that will actually degrade in a landfill and that are sourced sustainably, and the methods we use to do this involve extremely small volumes of organic solvents.
Due to the nature of our research, it is imperative that we be able to analyze the composition of a mixture of substances and calculate the amount of each material within the sample with milligram accuracy. This is where my portion of the project came in. In my self-designed proposal, I listed that one of my goals was to, “Identify and apply appropriate methods to collect and organize data for analysis.” This semester, I helped integrate a new experiment analysis method into our workflow, and this increased both the accuracy and reliability of our results.
Being that I am a chemical engineering major, investigating the feasibility of new methods of analysis and integrating these methods into everyday use is something that I enjoy, and something that I have a fair amount of experience with because of my co-op work. Thus, this experience gave me another opportunity to follow a measurement design process from start to finish. First, we asked what we were trying to measure, and then laid out information about how sensitive the tests had to be. We then evaluated the options, and decided that using a GC-MS (gas chromatograph mass spectrometer) was the best way forward. Following that decision, we researched exactly how to apply the analysis method, and then began trying it with our samples. This entire process gave me the opportunity to exercise my engineering skills, and the experience will prove beneficial during future co-op work. For example, one of my co-op terms will require that I develop new methods for analyzing plastic parameters, and this laboratory experience is a vital foundation for deciding upon those new parameters.
Another one of my goals for this self-designed experience was to “Analyze and interpret the meaning of results.” This goal combines with my third goal, which was to “Formulate and manage a shared vision and develop goals towards its achievement.” I met both of these goals as well, with the help of the new analysis method discussed previously.
After checking that our analysis method was functioning properly by running standards, we began to use it on our reactions. When we did, we discovered self-conflicting data, and were presented with a challenge that lasted for most of the semester. Essentially, we were seeing compounds in our analysis that were not supposed to be present, and that should not have formed in the reaction. After analyzing our data we developed a plan to find the source of the inconsistency. This evaluated environmental variables, experimental variables, and variations in raw materials. Altogether, we were able to develop a shared vision that eventually traced the problem back to its root cause after 3 months of work. Knowing these results, we then developed a plan for the future that will solve that particular problem, and that will put us closer than ever before to successfully functionalizing our polymer.
In conclusion, I was able to exercise my engineering skills during this honors experience, and gained experience with troubleshooting through the use of design of experiment (DOE), and in formulating broad goals for a long-term project. I’ve been purposefully vague above due to the confidential nature of the research, but I’ve attached an image of some of the GC-MS reports to this page nonetheless. These serve as an artifact to show that our analysis methods generated useful reports.
In addition to the project work mentioned above, I presented my semester’s work to the entire research group at the end of the semester. This presentation was different from the engineering presentations that I typically give during co-op semesters, and so was an opportunity to exercise my presentation skills in an environment that is unique to me. If you’d like to see this presentation, which details all of my work and will serve as a more complete artifact of this experience, please contact me directly.
First, I should give a bit of background on the research that I was doing. I worked in a green chemistry lab, so as a result, all of the research taking place in that lab is environmentally conscious and aims to further the study of chemistry while simultaneously reducing impact on the planet. Specifically, Kendra (my graduate advisor) and I were looking at green ways to functionalize green polymers. Green polymers are those that will actually degrade in a landfill and that are sourced sustainably, and the methods we use to do this involve extremely small volumes of organic solvents.
Due to the nature of our research, it is imperative that we be able to analyze the composition of a mixture of substances and calculate the amount of each material within the sample with milligram accuracy. This is where my portion of the project came in. In my self-designed proposal, I listed that one of my goals was to, “Identify and apply appropriate methods to collect and organize data for analysis.” This semester, I helped integrate a new experiment analysis method into our workflow, and this increased both the accuracy and reliability of our results.
Being that I am a chemical engineering major, investigating the feasibility of new methods of analysis and integrating these methods into everyday use is something that I enjoy, and something that I have a fair amount of experience with because of my co-op work. Thus, this experience gave me another opportunity to follow a measurement design process from start to finish. First, we asked what we were trying to measure, and then laid out information about how sensitive the tests had to be. We then evaluated the options, and decided that using a GC-MS (gas chromatograph mass spectrometer) was the best way forward. Following that decision, we researched exactly how to apply the analysis method, and then began trying it with our samples. This entire process gave me the opportunity to exercise my engineering skills, and the experience will prove beneficial during future co-op work. For example, one of my co-op terms will require that I develop new methods for analyzing plastic parameters, and this laboratory experience is a vital foundation for deciding upon those new parameters.
Another one of my goals for this self-designed experience was to “Analyze and interpret the meaning of results.” This goal combines with my third goal, which was to “Formulate and manage a shared vision and develop goals towards its achievement.” I met both of these goals as well, with the help of the new analysis method discussed previously.
After checking that our analysis method was functioning properly by running standards, we began to use it on our reactions. When we did, we discovered self-conflicting data, and were presented with a challenge that lasted for most of the semester. Essentially, we were seeing compounds in our analysis that were not supposed to be present, and that should not have formed in the reaction. After analyzing our data we developed a plan to find the source of the inconsistency. This evaluated environmental variables, experimental variables, and variations in raw materials. Altogether, we were able to develop a shared vision that eventually traced the problem back to its root cause after 3 months of work. Knowing these results, we then developed a plan for the future that will solve that particular problem, and that will put us closer than ever before to successfully functionalizing our polymer.
In conclusion, I was able to exercise my engineering skills during this honors experience, and gained experience with troubleshooting through the use of design of experiment (DOE), and in formulating broad goals for a long-term project. I’ve been purposefully vague above due to the confidential nature of the research, but I’ve attached an image of some of the GC-MS reports to this page nonetheless. These serve as an artifact to show that our analysis methods generated useful reports.
In addition to the project work mentioned above, I presented my semester’s work to the entire research group at the end of the semester. This presentation was different from the engineering presentations that I typically give during co-op semesters, and so was an opportunity to exercise my presentation skills in an environment that is unique to me. If you’d like to see this presentation, which details all of my work and will serve as a more complete artifact of this experience, please contact me directly.