Mark Watney In The Film: The Martian
[N2H4 → N2 + 2H2] → [2H2 + O2 → 2H2O] is how Mark Watney, in the movie “The Martian”, made water on Mars. I think we’re going to have to learn this lesson on Earth too. We have so much water on Earth, but most of it is undrinkable. 97% of the Earth’s surface is covered by it, yet 96% is saline water. 3.4 million people die every year because of waterborne diseases, and this sparked my Mark Watney moment to get my head around compounds, water purification, bacteriophage MS-2, TiO2, nano-science, and many more terms that I was unaware existed. I had discovered my passion - Chemistry.
As a kid, I used to study the ingredients in household chemicals. A lot of dangerous substances had very useful applications, for example chlorine has disinfection
properties. This intellectual curiosity led me to take rigorous science courses in high school, where I developed a passion for chemistry, biology, and physics: the three sciences that unfold the wonders of the universe. However, high school involves a broad curriculum- not one that would satisfy my personal scientific curiosities. To delve deeper, I participated in chemistry league competitions and Olympiads as a way to build my knowledge piece by piece like a lego wall. My intellectual curiosity piqued when I combined all three sciences, asking myself basic questions regarding atomic structure, covalent bonds, ionization energy: Why? How is this engineered? In no other field does one have the ability to create mechanisms and processes that benefit the world while using simple sciences as a foundation, just like the lego blocks.
My goal is to create materials and design processes that effectively clean impurities from various sources of water. This goal led me to a mentorship program with Professor Kim at Yale, during which I learned about various materials used for sustainable water treatment such as fullerenes, carbon nanotubes, and nano-sized titanium dioxide. I also imagined creating my own “super-nanomaterial,” but it was not feasible to synthesize it because a high-school chemist in a PhD-grade laboratory is a liability nightmare.
As a senior in high school, I am limited by my knowledge in the fields of chemical and environmental engineering. I would love to continue to develop my interests at Cornell. Cornell has the largest engineering program in the Ivy League with 14 undergraduate engineering majors, 20 engineering minors, and 6000+ overall courses. This would be a huge opportunity for my academic pursuits. With support from ELI, I envision myself doing research at top centers like material research (CCMR), nanoscale research (CNF) and complex fluids and polymers (Archer RG). My meetings with Professors Donald Koch and Ulrich Wiesner was enriching and their acumen and research depth promising. Professor Damiam Helbling and his research on identifying micropollutants in waterways and Professor Leonard Lion and his research in water purification through polyaluminum chloride, cell membranes, and hydraulic flocculators kindled my interest. Learning how all of these processes work would equip me with the knowledge required to create future water purification technology, as well as making sure this technology would be economically accessible to people in the developing world.
Even if a single person benefits from my future research, it will have been very rewarding. I have the passion and the raw materials. Engineering at Cornell will be my catalyst.
As a kid, I used to study the ingredients in household chemicals. A lot of dangerous substances had very useful applications, for example chlorine has disinfection
properties. This intellectual curiosity led me to take rigorous science courses in high school, where I developed a passion for chemistry, biology, and physics: the three sciences that unfold the wonders of the universe. However, high school involves a broad curriculum- not one that would satisfy my personal scientific curiosities. To delve deeper, I participated in chemistry league competitions and Olympiads as a way to build my knowledge piece by piece like a lego wall. My intellectual curiosity piqued when I combined all three sciences, asking myself basic questions regarding atomic structure, covalent bonds, ionization energy: Why? How is this engineered? In no other field does one have the ability to create mechanisms and processes that benefit the world while using simple sciences as a foundation, just like the lego blocks.
My goal is to create materials and design processes that effectively clean impurities from various sources of water. This goal led me to a mentorship program with Professor Kim at Yale, during which I learned about various materials used for sustainable water treatment such as fullerenes, carbon nanotubes, and nano-sized titanium dioxide. I also imagined creating my own “super-nanomaterial,” but it was not feasible to synthesize it because a high-school chemist in a PhD-grade laboratory is a liability nightmare.
As a senior in high school, I am limited by my knowledge in the fields of chemical and environmental engineering. I would love to continue to develop my interests at Cornell. Cornell has the largest engineering program in the Ivy League with 14 undergraduate engineering majors, 20 engineering minors, and 6000+ overall courses. This would be a huge opportunity for my academic pursuits. With support from ELI, I envision myself doing research at top centers like material research (CCMR), nanoscale research (CNF) and complex fluids and polymers (Archer RG). My meetings with Professors Donald Koch and Ulrich Wiesner was enriching and their acumen and research depth promising. Professor Damiam Helbling and his research on identifying micropollutants in waterways and Professor Leonard Lion and his research in water purification through polyaluminum chloride, cell membranes, and hydraulic flocculators kindled my interest. Learning how all of these processes work would equip me with the knowledge required to create future water purification technology, as well as making sure this technology would be economically accessible to people in the developing world.
Even if a single person benefits from my future research, it will have been very rewarding. I have the passion and the raw materials. Engineering at Cornell will be my catalyst.