ROUTES students David Berroa and Savannah Gregor, together with undergraduate student Sarah Elbakri, presented their work at the annual conference organized by New England Water Environment Association (NEWEA) on January 26th in Boston, MA. The conference brought together experts in water-related research from both academia and industry and had special programs for undergraduate students’ participation and involvement.

Sarah, Savannah, and David presented their research related to the removal of nitrates and trichloroethylene from groundwater by use of electrolysis. Here are their experiences from interactions with the conference participants and thoughts about the relevance of attending the scientific conferences for future career development:

David: Though a little bit nervous, the excitement of being able to present the work we did in the lab was enough to calm my nerves. I have been talking about the ROUTES program to just about everyone I know, and it was finally time to put that on display and present the work I did with PROTECT.

As I entered the conference, it was evident I was in a room with game-changers. New technologies on display, research posters, and passionate speakers waiting to share their experiences. The energy in the room motivated me to spark conversations with other presenters in the competition. They all seemed confident as they gave me an overview of their research and their background. As for me, confidence and excitement grew the more I was able to speak about our research. It felt really cool to talk about how I was part of a team that is working to better the lives of people I care about in Puerto Rico. When it was time to present, I was ready to go! My favorite part of the presentation was being able to hear the feedback from the judges or skeptics. It made me think of better ways we can run tests and consider other factors that are making our model inefficient, or non-applicable.

In the end, I really enjoyed it! Being able to represent at the conference was an honor, and I hope to do better for future presentations if I am ever needed. I give thanks to the ROUTES program once again exposing me to something I never thought I would end up doing. I am glad I made the choice to work with PROTECT, it has opened my mind to think critically about environmental issues, specifically water qualities and health effects.

Sarah: Participating in the NEWEA Annual Conference was a great experience. Not only was it a very new thing for me to speak about the research I’ve been working on with Dr. Lily at the PROTECT Center, but it was also very enlightening and fulfilling to inform others about what we’ve been working on. Not only did it allow me to get to know my research better through thinking about preparing the presentation and poster, but also heard questions that others (including students and professionals) have about the research. This encouraged me to think about what we’ve been doing in new ways and from different perspectives.

Understanding the scientific details of research and the context/big picture of what you are doing are two very different but equally important and intertwined aspects of research. I feel like preparing for and presenting at the NEWEA conference permitted me to reconnect with why I started doing research in the first place, which is to help improve the quality of life for fellow human beings. With PROTECT, that specifically applies to how we are developing and optimizing technology for the remediation of contaminated groundwater in Puerto Rico that may be linked to the high preterm birth rates found there. The significance of this to me personally is that coming from a third world country like Sudan, where we have similar issues to Puerto Rico of poor facilities and low-quality drinking water that causes many diseases, I strongly identify with not being able to take basic things like clean water for granted and am excited that I get a chance to help resolve these issues for another community!

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