Week one: "The Shield"

The ultimate objective: Optimize “The Shield.”

Although it’s not the medieval battle device that its name implies, the Puralytics water purification device is just as useful. As an ASE intern this summer I will be working in Dr. Paul Tratnyek’s lab with my front line mentor Amanda Mather to improve and optimize the ostentatiously named device. I will be performing surface modifications on the titanium dioxide photocatalyst that resides in Puralytics' brainchild in a smaller form under a solar simulator.

At the end of my first week as an intern, I have already gone from a folder, a binder, and an even bigger binder to hold the many scientific journals that seem to be accumulating exponentially. My brain seems to be growing in a similar fashion with bounds of new knowledge about possible modifications and the functions of photocatalysts. My desk is already shrouded in sticky notes, a picture, and the greek alphabet.

The week was full of new acquantaces, be they people, equipment, or theories. Monday was lab safety training, Tuesday was a delicious pizza lunch for introductions, Wednesday was a lab meeting, and Friday was a brown bag lunch on Native American law with former congresswoman Elizabeth Furse. Most of the week was spent pouring over journals and sponging information on possible modifications, but on Friday I got hands on to get acquainted with lab equipment and procedures.

In doing so I met a new pal: Lambda 2, the spectrophotometer. To get to know titanium dioxide, I put titanium dioxide samples of varying masses in bottles with a solution of blue dye and allowed them to sit by the window for the photocatalysis to take place. As expected of an Oregon summer, the overcast day almost ruined the plans for the experiment, but eventually the sun peaked out of the clouds. I sampled the bottles every 30 minutes and tested their absorbency in the spectrophotometer. Although the resulting plot was not perfect, it was a fun and educational practice with titanium dioxide. Not only does the window by my desk provide an ideal location for photocatalysis practice, but a nice view for what looks to be a great summer, for the weather and my internship.

-Katie