Two Indian American students win Membrane Technology Fellowships
Harsh Patel and Siddhartha Paul will receive a $11,750 fellowship to support their research
Two Indian American students are among the four 2022 recipients of the American Membrane Technology Association (AMTA) and the US Bureau of Reclamation’s AMTA/Reclamation Fellowships for Membrane Technology.
The four including Harsh Patel, University of Michigan Ann Arbor and Siddhartha Paul, University of Houston will receive a $11,750 fellowship to support their research advancing membrane technology in the water, wastewater, or water reuse industries.
Read: Four Indian Americans win Paul & Daisy Soros Fellowships for New Americans (April 13, 2022)
Patel is a Graduate Research Assistant exploring Novel Low Water Content Membranes with High Counterion/Counterion Selectivity for Applications in Desalination and Lithium Extraction.
Patel’s research looks at establishing novel low water content membranes capable of selectively removing targeted ions to meet rising water and energy demands.
“I am very excited to see Harsh drive this fascinating project, which could lead to breakthroughs in this vibrant research area,” said Jovan Kamcev, Assistant Professor Department of Chemical Engineering University of Michigan.
Paul is a Graduate Research Assistant exploring Chlorine-Resistant Covalent Organic Framework (COF) Membranes for Water and Wastewater Treatment.
Paul earned an M Tech in Environmental Engineering from Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati and a BTech from the National Institute of Technology, Silchar.
Paul is studying the chlorine-resistance of covalent organic framework nanofiltration membranes to address the persistent challenge of effectively cleaning conventional polyamide nanofiltration membranes to maintain their performance.
“I am confident in Siddhartha’s abilities to advance knowledge about and applications of membrane technology through his research on COF nanofiltration membranes,” said Devin L. Shaffer, Assistant Professor Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering University of Houston.
Read: Indian-American PhD student bags $11,750 fellowship for water treatment research (January 14, 2023)
Advanced treatment of alternative water supplies is becoming increasingly critical for long-term water security, and most such alternatives—including brackish groundwater, seawater, and recycled wastewater—require both membrane filtration and desalination technology, according to an AMTA press release.
Accordingly, innovations in membrane technology have significant potential to reduce the cost, energy, and environmental impact of advanced treatment, yielding clean, safe, abundant, and cost-effective water supplies in arid western states and across the United States, it said.
