Overview. The work proposed here will combine research examining environmental interactions involving surfactant mixtures, complex environmental sorbents, and organic liquid mixtures, with an educational emphasis on developing abstract problem solving skills in undergraduate and graduate students. The research work will provide new knowledge with immediate direct application in design of new environmental remediation systems and understanding the fate of organic liquid contaminants in the environment. The educational portion of the proposed work will emphasize enhancing abilities of undergraduate and graduate students in quantitative abstract problem solving - an essential skill.
Research Plan. The specific research focus of this work will be to provide a comprehensive examination of the interactions of complex surfactant mixtures in the environment, with emphasis on the impacts of low concentration surfactant mixtures on the movement and distribution of organic liquid contaminants in the subsurface. When complex surfactant mixtures are present, individual components in the mixtures often have a disproportionate influence on the overall surfactant behavior. A quantitative understanding of mixed surfactant behavior in this context is essential to understanding the fate of organic chemicals in the environment. Experimental work conducted for this project will be combined with extensive numerical model development.
Educational Plan. The educational component of the work will focus on enhancing students' abilities in quantitative, abstract problem solving. This will be achieved through an integrated program of activities in undergraduate and graduate courses, coupled closely with the proposed research program. Seven specific activities will be implemented over the five year project period. In the undergraduate and graduate curricula, new educational units will be developed and implemented in four separate classes. The educational units will teach different aspects of general problem solving methods, targeted to the grade level and needs of students in the class. Classes will be restructured to provide hands-on practice with quantitative abstract problem solving. New educational units will emphasize important problem-solving skills, such as checking answers, testing assumptions, and developing conceptual models. Activities with the investigator's research group will include student-led discussions of important problem-solving texts, hands-on model development workshops, and a student-led K-12 outreach program where graduate students supported by the project conduct problem-solving workshops with elementary and high school students.
