Amanda Engler Chemical Engineering Grad Student B.S. University of Wisconsin, Madison Hometown: Woodbury, MN Hobbies: Rollerblading, swimming, canoeing, camping, and relaxing at the beach.

One challenge in environmental remediation is the removal of hazardous pollutants from water.  Scientists and engineers are constantly working to meet the increasingly stringent standards set for water purification.  This is accomplished through the improvement of current water treatment as well as the development of new technologies.  My project focuses on the development of micellar systems to target and remove sparingly soluble pollutants present in water.

When present in an aqueous solution, micelles are formed by self assembling amphiphilic molecules that have a hydrophobic tail and a hydrophilic head.  The micelle interior can be tuned to solubilize specific environmental pollutants including hydrophobic organic species.  Ionic species can be complexed by functional groups present on the exterior of the micelle.  Furthermore, the pollutant-loaded micelles can be either concentrated into a nanoparticle-rich phase or removed using ultrafiltration.

Figure:  Encapsulation of pollutants.