What’s good y’all,
SO, finally, I got some time in the lab and got to do some hands on work. I assisted a few other graduate students with their column tests. I actually can’t start my own tests and project until they finish using that space. One is going back to Korea soon, and upon completion of his work, I will be taking his workstation basically. I’ve met a lot of cool people while here at ASU. I’ve met people from all over the world, individuals from India, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Korea, China, Russia, Spain, France, and Mexico. I’m sure there’s more I don’t remember or have not yet met. There is such a broad spectrum of people at the university in my own backyard, that it’s amazing. I’ve never really met people from other countries besides Mexico. I’ve never had the opportunities to venture out of the country or to far away places, so to see the variety in front of me at home is something I cannot really describe. It’s a strange feeling, not a bad one, but it’s different, sort of… an awe feeling. Some might think of it as normal or just the way it is, but I’ve never had that type of exposure. I was allotted different cards to play with, and from my play choice, I’ve exposed myself to these new opportunities.
Nevertheless, this week was a busy one. I spent time reading some material, but I also helped other’s with their projects. I looked over the recipe for the NSF53 challenge water, and had to determine ionic concentrations of the individual elements that are in the chemicals I will be using. That took some time but it wasn’t terrible. I also took the time to read over all of the material safety data sheets for those same chemicals. I learned that the arsenic compounds are severe health hazards, rating at a 4. The compounds containing arsenic are extremely carcinogenic, and everything else is corrosive to the skin. Most of the data sheets ordered not to induce vomiting upon ingestion, but the arsenic demanded IMMEDIATE vomiting if ingested, which caught me off guard. It looks like this will be a fun creation process, but that’s because everything is corrosive, death threatening, carcinogenic, and taratogenic. In general, you shouldn’t breathe, touch, eat, or even look at these substances for that matter, but I barely plan on touching them with necessary gloves. I like having my organs, eyesight, health, and lungs.
Here I was assisting lab-mates in their column tests. They were using a substance called Methylene blue to measure how efficient their mini carbon block mediums were at removing chlorine from water. Initially, we had to pop out these mini carbon blocks from a larger manufactured block. They are shaped oddly, so we have to file them down into a perfect cylinder shape to fit inside of the custom column made by the Heiudae. He is here above on the left hammering the mini carbon block filter into the column. The tight fitment is necessary to ensure all water passes through and is filtered over the carbon.
To the left is a Harsh, a real cool dude from India, instructing me on how to install the column to the stand where it would remain for the next few days running 500 liters of water with dissolved chloroform from a feed barrel. I thought this was pretty cool to jump in and assist others and get an understanding of how column tests work. In the next week, I should be starting to setup my own columns and begin working with the Zimmermanmedia.
This week was kind of slow but full of interesting things. At least I got a little lab time, and I am working with other students to gather a diverse support system and a range in expertise. I will have more to report in the upcoming days. I look forward to the rest of the internship with the people in my lab group.
Until the next time
-Chris