Student researchers from Virginia Tech University and the University of British Columbia are winners of the Water Quality Research Foundation’s first David Loveday Memorial scholarship poster contest. The research findings of the winning poster submissions were shared with attendees of the WQRFs Scientific Symposium and the WQA Convention & Exposition March 4 & 5 in Orlando, FL.
“Differing Mechanisms for Lead Phosphate Particle Removal By Point-of-Use Media Depend on Particle Size and Lability,” a poster by Chataly Villalona of Virgina Tech University, described research that aimed to understand Point-of-Use filter removal mechanisms for difficult-to-treat lead suspensions demonstrating the sometimes-complex chemistry of lead removal.
Villalona is a second-year master’s degree program student in Environmental Water Resources in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. Her thesis research focuses on lead reduction methods.
The presence of PFOA, a prominent PFAS, in treated drinking water introduces new challenges. University of British Columbia student Fatemeh Asadi Zeidabadi’s poster, “Facing the Challenge of Per-and Poly-fluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS): Does Ion Exchange Process Offer a Solution for in-home Water Treatment?” offers additional insights on the filtration options in treating PFAS.
Zeidabadi is a Ph.D. Candidate in the Chemical and Biological Engineering Department at UBC, having completed her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in chemical engineering from Sharif University.
Both scholarship winners were offered $1,000 toward educational expenses and the opportunity to present their findings. The scholarship fund was established in honor of David Loveday, who served WQA’s chief political strategist for 15 years before his 2021 death.
You can view the posters and findings on the WQRF website.