Author: Yolanda Aranda Vega    Major: Civil Engineering

Cyanobacteria Flasks.

My name is Yolanys Aranda, I belong to the college of engineering, and my major is Civil Engineering. My research mentor is Dr. Wen Zhang from the Civil Engineering department, this is my second and last funded semester and for the future, I hope to be involved in research for my honors thesis.

My research topic consists of testing TiO2 nanoparticle-sprayed nets for in-situ treatment of cyanobacteria. Cyanobacteria usually grow out of control when it encounters an environment with nutrients such as Nitrogen and Phosphorus in which it can thrive. The reason for testing these nets is because there is a pending need to treat harmful algal blooms in an effective manner. Because cyanobacteria produce cyanotoxins which include hepatotoxins and neurotoxins and they grow in water bodies, there is a need to find a technology that allows for safe extraction of the cyanobacteria from the water bodies, that at the same time does not affect humans, fish, and other animals that use the water. TiO2 nanoparticles are considered a good alternative because they are safe and not toxic to humans, therefore, using the TiO2 nanoparticle sprayed nets would allow for the in-situ treatment of HABs because the net will deliver the nanoparticles (NPs) which will inhibit the cyanobacteria and then it can collect cyanobacteria waste/flocculation.

I chose my topic after having received an explanation from my mentor about the different ongoing research topics there were, and I found my mentor through the University of Arkansas faculty list, I scrolled over as many websites as I could find listed by the professors and then I emailed Dr. Zhang.

Through this experience, I learned many useful things from my research topic such as laboratory techniques for the efficient growth of cyanobacteria, and how harmful cyanobacteria can be for the ecosystem when they grow out of control. In addition, I learned how through the photocatalytic process nanoparticles such as TiO2 can oxidize many contaminants including, theoretically, cyanobacteria, rendering them useless and basically eliminating the threat they pose. Moreover, through my research topic, I learn to be persistent and resilient, but at the same time I learned how to accept failure and through it come up with better, more effective solutions to the problems I encountered while carrying out my experiments.

During this research experience, I encountered many challenges. I had to deal with cyanobacteria death, and cyanobacteria contamination, which meant that I had to start over many times and evaluate my situation from different perspectives. The Cyanobacteria are the foundation for these experiments, if the cyanobacteria are not in optimal conditions, we will not get accurate results. Therefore, cyanobacteria maintenance played a huge role for testing the NPs sprayed nets.

My mentor, Dr. Zhang, has always been available to help me, giving advice and guidance in every step of the process for which I am deeply thankful. She has been a great mentor and I have learned so much useful information from her that I will carry with me for my career. Suzana Ivandic is the master student that provides me with the nets TiO2 nanoparticle sprayed nets, and I could not have carried the experiments without them. So, she plays a fundamental part in this research.

For the future, I want to continue doing research and pursue a master’s degree. Continuing my education is important for me, therefore, a master’s degree in environmental sciences or cell biology is what I have in mind. I have decided to pursue a master’s degree in any of those fields because my ultimate goal is to contribute in preserving the environment for future generations