Every hardwork pays off and this candidate proved that again. It is a very known fact that getting funded from AMTA is pretty hard and this Indian proved himself against all the odds. A Ph.D. candidate who is Indian-American recently won funding from the US Bureau of Reclamation and the American Membrane Technology Association (AMTA) to do cutting-edge research on the advanced treatment of alternate water sources.
Harsh Patel, a graduate research assistant and Ph.D. candidate in chemical engineering at the University of Michigan, was one of the four individuals selected to receive the USD 11,750 fellowship.
In order to address rising needs for water and energy, Harsh Patel’s research focuses on developing innovative low-water content membranes capable of releasing specific ions with precision.
Membrane technology advancements have a great deal of potential to reduce the cost, energy use, and environmental impact of cutting-edge treatment of recycling wastewater and seawater that would supply clean, plentiful, safe, and economical water sources in arid places.
Patel stated, “Since effective work in this field will have an immediate impact on global concerns like water scarcity, I am honoured to have earned this honour.” Patel graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology in 2021. He is currently affiliated with the Kamcev Lab in Michigan, which aims to develop new types of polymeric materials for use in energy production, water treatment, and storage.
Harsh Patel is prepared to present his study on a podium or in a poster at the 2023 Membrane Technology Conference and Exposition in Knoxville in February. Each year, the AMTA and Reclamation Fellowships collaborate to provide four scholarships to graduate students seeking a full-time Master’s degree or a Ph.D. student performing research in the developments necessary to look for advancements in membrane technology.
What Is membrane technology
Membrane technology refers to the scientific procedures involved in the fabrication and application of membranes. Membranes are used to allow chemicals to be transported or rejected between mediums, as well as to separate gas and liquid streams mechanically. Filtration occurs when the pores of the membrane are smaller than the diameter of the unwanted object, such as a hazardous microbe. Membrane technology is widely employed in industries such as water treatment, chemical and metal processing, medicines, biotechnology, the food industry, and pollution removal.
Following membrane fabrication, it is necessary to characterise the prepared membrane in order to learn more about its parameters, such as pore size, function group, material properties, and so on, which are difficult to predict in advance. In Membrane technology comprises the scientific procedures utilised in the construction of membranes. Instruments including the Scanning Electron Microscope, Transmission Electron Microscope, Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy, X-ray Diffraction, and
Liquid-Liquid Displacement Porosimetry are used in this process.
As Patel stated there are some inventions/research works which can be implemented immediately. In the field of research and innovation a very small improvement can help in building complex objects or solving problems. In the field of science, a very minute development is still a great achievement.
