Congratulations to five CBE graduate students for being awarded Summer Fellowships from the University of Iowa Graduate College!  Recipients included Haydar Aljaafari, Megan Christiansen, Gonzalo Ferrada, Austin McKee, and Behrooz Roozitalab.

Haydar studies the thermal shock dynamics on biofilm viability. This study aims to develop a non-invasive treatment to the problem of biofilm infection on medical implants. The promising results showed that biofilm can be remotely eliminated if exposed to mild thermal shock combined with antibiotics. 

Megan is studying summertime air quality as part of the Lake Michigan Ozone Study 2017. Her current focus is ozone's sensitivity to changing emissions from natural sources and personal care products.

Austin’s research focuses on utilizing surface modifications to coinage metal electrocatalysts, such as wettability modifications and plasmon-resonance structuring, to improve the electrochemical reduction of carbon dioxide into usable fuels and products. The goal is to create electrochemical systems that will improve not only the energy fields but society as a whole.

Gonzalo works on improving smoke development and transport processes in atmospheric models. The figure shows the amount of aerosols present in the atmosphere during September 2016 simulated with the NASA’s GEOS-5 model. Regions affected by a persistent layer of smoke are Siberia, Southern Africa and the Amazon forest, due to intensive biomass burning activities. 

The long-term goal of Behrooz’s research is to provide detailed information regarding the state of air quality in India using contemporary tools that helps decision makers apply efficient emission control scenarios.