A University of New Mexico undergraduate engineering student thinks algae could solve the problem of arsenic contamination in water.
Chase Stearnes said he got the idea after hearing about researchers who were able to use algae to collect and harvest gold from water samples.
“I heard about that research and thought ‘ok, what else can we do with that?’ and I’m interested in rural communities and developing water resources,” Stearnes said. “So, I combined those two into the idea of creating an algal biofilm treatment system that could possibly help communities in places like India and Bangladesh.”
The 25-year-old Albuquerque native said he’s always had an interest in sustainability, and helping developing communities is one of his passions. He said soon after graduating from Sierra Alternative High School, he became interested in plant science – which led him to studying civil engineering and eventually, algae. Seeing biofilms created by other researchers, he set his sights on creating sustainable ways to reduce arsenic in water.
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