Not many high schoolers can say they spent their summer in a U-M research laboratory, but that’s exactly what Mehulee Mondal and Gorjan Stankovski have been doing.
Mehulee, a rising junior at Northville High School in Northville, and Gorjan, a rising senior at Dakota High School in Macomb, are wrapping up a six-week experience working alongside PhD students in Michigan Engineering’s Kamcev Research Lab. The lab develops materials for critical-mineral extraction, water treatment, energy storage, and other applications that improve efficiency and minimize environmental impacts.
This program is a component of a National Science Foundation Faculty Early Career Development award granted to Jovan Kamcev, PhD, Associate Professor of Chemical Engineering and Macromolecular Science & Engineering and the lab’s principal investigator.
Mehulee’s research focused on polymer membranes, which are specialized barriers designed to block certain types of molecules and let others pass through. Under the supervision of mentor and PhD candidate Lisby Santiago Pagan, Mehulee was tasked with developing two forms of membrane—one with low water content and the other with high water content—and assessing which one was more efficient at trapping specific ions while allowing critical minerals to pass through. She also worked under mentor and PhD candidate Aeva Silverman to analyze simulated membranes using molecular dynamics simulation tools.
Gorjan was mentored by PhD candidate Hridoy Roy and researched two chemical conversions with significant environmental and economic applications: the reduction of nitrate to ammonia, which can reduce nitrate contamination and produce a component of sustainable fertilizer, and the oxidation of glycerol to formate, which can turn a biodiesel byproduct into a high-efficiency energy carrier.
Along with their research, Mehulee and Gorjan underwent science communication training with UMMNH staff member Jade Marks. Each developed an activity to demonstrate concepts from their research and, along with high schoolers from the Aspirnaut Summer Research Internship program, presented their activity to museum visitors at the Young Scientist Spotlight on July 19.
Mehulee and Gorjan refined their activities within a framework that involved regular check-ins with their respective mentors and Jade, a “prototyping session” for peer review, and testing with friends and family (like Gorjan’s eight-year-old cousin). Through formal feedback and observation, each step gave the students opportunities to improve their activity before its debut at the museum.
“I really like how science communication is more complex than you would imagine,” said Mehulee. “You have to tailor your speaking to a wide variety of audiences.”
Mehulee said this program has her reconsidering her career path.
“I wanted to be a doctor, but I want to do research now,” she said. “You get to learn more and be curious, and there is no ‘straight curriculum.’”
Gorjan, on the other hand, felt the program reinforced his plans to study aeronautical engineering. Some of the research tools he used, such as computer-aided design software, activated Gorjan’s “engineering mindset” and are regularly used in his desired field of study.
As for the next stage of their lives, Mehulee and Gorjan both have their sights set on getting admitted to U-M. Gorjan put it succinctly: “It’s the best school in Michigan.”
