I have been a Middle School Science Teacher for 3 years. I have a great love of everything Science. It is important that students understand that Science is the way to solve most of the world's problems. I have been honored to be able to participate in the Rice, Conoco Phillips AMP program and look forward to participating in the Rice NEWT Research program for teachers. I also enjoy coaching middle school soccer which I have coached the past 2 years.
I am married with 4 children and 2 dogs. I enjoy fishing, taking walks, and hanging out with my wife.
It is hard to believe that this will be our last week as an RET intern. I have learned so much these past few weeks and have been surrounded by the smartest people in the field of cutting edge nanotechnology. My research took me on a deep dive into the small world of graphene, how graphene made, how graphene is categorized, and how graphene can be used to clean water. With that said, as part of the Tour Lab I have sat in weekly lab meeting with researchers that are working on projects such as battery technology, nanomachines, and Nano molecules that can destroy cells! They are actually looking at destroying cancer cells with the nanomachines. I attended a seminar from a visiting professor that is working on a nano molecular tweezer. In the meantime, I continued to work on creating graphene from my home water filter. We had an exciting flash that you can watch in the video below.
I look forward to seeing everyone’s poster presentations on Friday!
Summer research is flying by. I have greatly enjoyed my time working with some of the brightest men and women in the field of nanotechnology, specifically graphene. I now have a firm grip on the research process, lab techniques, and characterization techniques. I have now transitioned into specific research regarding how nanotechnology (graphene) can be used in improving water quality throughout the world. The big problem I am researching involves, forever chemicals know as PFAS. There are over 4700 chemicals in this category. One of the optimal goals is to have have graphene filters remove the PFAS chemicals captured from the water, then taking those PFAS chemicals and turning them into a heteroatomic- graphene bonded with fluorine which has additional beneficial features. This week, I cut open a carbon filter made from coconut, then subjected that material to the flash joule heating (FJH) process. I was surprised that the filter material did create some high quality graphene. Next week we are going to generate additional graphene made from the filter, mix it with actual PFAS to determine whether a heteroatomic bond with Fluorine is created. I am excited to see what we can determine.
Cut up water filter, used to make graphene
Will try laser induced method to create graphene from the filter
Pictured are Bing Deng on my left and Gang Li on my right. Incredibly intelligent researchers with many published papers. All of the researchers in Dr. Tour’s lab have been of great help
The Image on the left shows all the known PFAS contamination sites throughout the country.
The week concluded with a seminar from a former Rice graduate, now a Professor in Paris discussing Molecular Tweezers.
Mrs. Garza and I
My wife and I enjoyed a great night of Dynamo Soccer featuring the debut of HH. July is my favorite month of the year.
This week has been focused on characterization of the substances being formed by flash joule heating and laser induced graphene. When a substance is flashed, the researcher is never sure whether the flash created actual graphene or another carbon allotrope such as graphite. The powders generated look the same. Raman Spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, and the SEM (electron microscope) are used to determine what was actually created. Each piece of equipment uses different methods to help determine what is made. This week I have focused on learning how to use and interpret and analyze the material that was produced. I had special one on one training on each piece of equipment. Each one had it’s own procedures, rules and regulations. I had to take an additional safety lesson on the use of the X-Ray diffraction machine. In the meantime, the lab has been waiting on PFAS samples from the Navy to be able to conduct the PFAS experiments.
All of the graduate students involved with Dr. Tour’s lab have treated me well and have been glad to help me. This week Phelecia showed me her methods in flashing PFAS. The Tour Lab meeting this week was very interesting. A 4th year grad student gave a presentation on how graphene can be used in concrete to increase its strength while making it less heavy. It turns out that making concrete accounts for 8% of the worlds CO2 emissions. This alone will have a huge impact on lowering CO2 in our atmosphere. Other researches are working on other forms of CO2 absorption, and improving battery technology.
Phelecia’s Lab area, working on PFAS
X-Ray Diffraction Machine
The graph will tell what carbon allotrope you have.
Raman Graph depicting graphene is present in the sample
This week I was honored to be invited to Dr. Tour’s weekly lab meeting with all of his researchers. Each researcher gave an update on how their research is progressing and received input from Dr. Tour. I’m not sure, but I imagine a few ideas were discussed in the meeting that were million dollar ideas. Present at the meeting were also researchers from Stanford University. All of the research involved Graphene. Graphene could be the substance that changes the world as we know it. The possible applications and uses of graphene seem endless. Of particular interest to me the research regarding PFAS. PFAS is a compound found in many items such as Teflon, sunblock, carpet, and many other materials. It is now being labeled as “Forever” chemicals. Basically, these chemicals are not eliminated so they accumulate in their environment, including humans. PFAS is being found in everything including snow flakes in Antartica. The solution: It turns out that using the method of Flash Joule heating, PFAS can be made into graphene. Then the graphene is used to capture PFAS which can create a continual positive cycle of making and using graphene from contaminated water. So, many other world changing applications are being researched including CO2 capture, battery technology, and cancer research.
Dr. Tour’s Lab Meeting with researchers
Dr. Tour leading his crew
There are many different types of carbon structures, the main goal is to ensure that graphene is being produced. The graphene structure is on the bottom right of this image.
The next part of my work will involve being able to identify that graphene has been created. One of the methods is via Raman Spectroscopy. I was trained on this machine this week. By analyzing the spectroscopy, I will be able to determine if graphene was made or if another carbon allotrope such as graphite was made.
Lucas training on the 5.0 flash machine
Flash Joule Heating 5.0- *A powerful device!!!
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion:
Great Training by MR. Ron Jones that allowed me to open my mind and really ponder on DEI. I found this graphic that enabled me to gain a firm understanding.
My first week exceeded my expectations of what the research experience would be like. I was immersed in the culture, jargon, and overall inclusion of the research and the lab. My mentor Alex, did a great job in showing me around, sending me relevant articles to read, assigning me task, and showing me how to use the equipment. I was able to work on both Laser induced graphene and flash joule heating to produce graphene. The experience included basic lab procedures such as mixing, weighing, and grinding as well as new activities I had never done before. By the end of the week I was able to complete my own flash joule heating sample that hopefully made actual graphene. Next week, Alex will teach me how to categorize what we produced by using Raman Spectroscopy and the Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM). Alex and his fellow researchers made me feel welcome and as part of their team. I look forward to continuing to learn the lab methods next week and begin to work on my project in regards to PFAS(Plastic Molecules) in drinking water.
Alex’s Lab Work area- Samples are prepared for Flashing
Flash Joule Heating area: sample is placed in vacuum then flashed in milliseconds
SEM needs special training and passcode to use…intense
My expectations were high to start the NEWT RET program. My expectations were exceeded by the staff and fellow teachers that attended orientation. Isaias and Christina did a great job in leading and facilitating the experience. It was great to meet talented teachers with similar goals in mind. The common goal of the NEWT teacher interns was to become better educators for the benefit of our our students.
A special thanks to the teachers from El Paso, and Arizona that made the journey to Houston. 3 hours of Safety training from the Rice staff was a reminder of the procedures and protocols that must be followed to ensure safety. The highlight of the week was a field trip to a surface water treatment plant in Sugarland Texas. Mr. John Baily was a great host. He gave us the grand tour of the facility and explained the importance of water treatment along with the many benefits to our society. We learned about turbidity, the role of bleach, the role of PH, filtration, and many other aspects of water treatment.
Particle sizes
Water Testing Lab
Our Limo Tour Bus
Water source: Creek/Trinity River
Membrane Water Filtration
This week will start the actual research. My PI is Dr. James Tour. He is a big deal in the world of graphene synthesis. His lab is involved in the syntheses of graphene using flash joule heating. Basically, his lab concluded that any carbon based material can be converted to graphene. My research will focus on the problem of plastics in our overall environment but specifically in our water. Recent studies have found plastic compounds called Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). In other words, can we use plastic waste and turn them into graphene using Dr. Tour’s method of using flash graphene.
Dr. James Tour
K-12 Educators Disseminating Research from Rice University, Arizona State University, University of Texas-El Paso, and Yale University
