25 June 2014

[AguaClara Summer Internship 2014] Introduction to AguaClara

With the summer session already underway, the basement of Hollister Hall is already abuzz with activity as 15 summer interns and their advisers work on 4 different projects. Under the direction of Monroe Weber-Shirk, these interns, ranging from undergraduates, graduate students, and even recent alumni, are volunteering 40 hours per week to work on these projects through June and July. This intensive summer program aims to bridge the gap between school years effectively without any loss of productivity and to set the stage for a successful new school year. With a full work week to devote to this project team, these students can discover and answer questions that may require intensive research and focus.

 

The teams that are working this summer are the Design team, Low Flow Stacked Rapid Sand Filter team, Foam Filter team, and the Tube Flocculation team. From now until the end of the summer session on August 1st, this blog will feature the subteams that are working together this summer and anything else happening within the project team.

Expectations are high this year for AguaClara in general, with two new plans expected to be put into operation as well as four Cornell engineers eager to join the engineers of AguaClara LLC working in Honduras and India. Expectations with the research groups back on campus are just as high with the projects on the tails of a productive 2013-2014 school year, and the students are eager to see how their research will translate to real applications in sustainable water treatment, sanitation, and health.

 There are real consequences to the research done on campus with real communities being affected. This video gives a glimpse of the problems we face in terms of clean water, and the next few blog posts will expound some of the solutions that the project team is developing this summer.



If you want to stay up to date with our upcoming achievements, check out our website and various social media accounts:
Official Website - http://aguaclara.cornell.edu/
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/CUAguaClara
Twitter - https://twitter.com/CUAguaClara
Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXq9V81yyUOTQYokfp5wXfw