Project Background
Oil spill pollution represents a serious environmental challenge, occurring when petroleum products are accidentally released into ecosystems. Upon entering the environment, oil undergoes a series of complex interactions: it spreads, evaporates, disperses, emulsifies, biodegrades, oxidizes, sediments, and is transported by currents. These dynamics are affected by environmental conditions and the presence of microplastics, which can bind with oil, altering its behavior and complicating cleanup efforts. Microplastics, plastic particles under 5 millimeters in size, are ubiquitous ocean pollutants. Their interaction with oil spills is complex: they can increase oil's spread and make remediation more difficult, while oil spills can break down larger plastics, generating more microplastics. Understanding the multifaceted dynamics between oil spills and microplastics is critical for assessing environmental impacts and improving cleanup methods. However, the extensive range of variables makes accurate predictions challenging, with computational models often falling short and experimental methods costly and susceptible to inconsistencies. To overcome the limitations of current approaches and deepen our understanding of how oil interacts with various environmental factors, especially in the presence of microplastics, our research aims to integrate high-throughput experimental techniques with advanced data processing. This will enable us to identify governing physical laws, potentially discover new ones, and provide a comprehensive phase diagram. Upon achieving these objectives, we will contribute significant insights into the dynamics of oil dispersion, which are instrumental for making more accurate predictions about oil spills.
Student Role
Student Learning Outcomes and Benefits
As a student on this project, you will develop a solid understanding of the complex interactions between oil spills, microplastics, and environmental factors. You will enhance your research skills through comprehensive literature reviews and critical analysis of environmental studies, while gaining hands-on experience in designing and implementing experimental systems. Your role will also involve improving your technical writing skills by maintaining detailed records and drafting scientific reports and presentations. Working in a multidisciplinary team will help you refine your collaboration and communication abilities. Additionally, you will gain a deeper awareness of the environmental impacts of oil spills and microplastics, contributing to effective remediation strategies. This experience will provide you with practical skills essential for a career in environmental science or related fields, offering opportunities for professional development, networking with experts, and contributing to impactful research. Moreover, it will strengthen your academic portfolio, paving the way for future research opportunities and career growth in environmental science.
Samira Shiri
When it comes to choosing a research topic, we have been always inspired by novelty, room for exploration and new venues of application, as well as personal enthusiasm. Our lab not shy away from delving into new projects and collaborating with researchers in disparate fields. We work on a combination of basic and applied projects targeted towards answering big questions and addressing the most pressing technological gaps. We believe that diversity, not only in skills, expertise, and academic background, but also in life experiences can ensure the prosperity of our lab, and we commit to that in recruiting our lab members. Moreover, our lab is managed in a way that inspires lab members to improve their scientific communication skills by leading their own projects as well as being involve in others'. Moreover, as a mentor, I continue teaching and learning to keep my group and myself at the forefront of scientific discovery.