The American Membrane Technology Association (AMTA) and National Water Research Institute (NWRI) announced the 2016 AMTA-NWRI Fellowship for Membrane Technology has been awarded to doctoral students Sarah Dischinger of the University of Colorado-Boulder and Mark Summe of University of Notre Dame. The fellowship provides $10,000 (USD) a year for two years to support their graduate student research. Dischinger is a third-year doctoral student evaluating the performance of a new liquid crystal polymer membrane to remove salts and organic compounds from hydraulic fracturing flowback water, which is the liquid produced during fracking. Summe, also a third-year doctoral student, is developing a chemically selective charge mosaic membrane that can remove dilute ionic species such as nitrate, perchlorate and heavy metals from drinking water; these are constituents of concern due to their well-documented effects on human health.
