CAREER: Surfactant Mixtures in Complex Environmental Systems

概况.这里提出的工作将联合收割机研究环境相互作用，涉及表面活性剂混合物，复杂的环境吸附剂，和有机液体混合物，在本科生和研究生发展抽象的问题解决能力的教育重点。这项研究工作将提供新的知识，直接应用于新的环境修复系统的设计和了解有机液体污染物在环境中的命运。教育部分的拟议工作将强调提高本科生和研究生的能力，在定量抽象问题解决-一个基本技能。这项工作的具体研究重点将是提供一个复杂的表面活性剂混合物在环境中的相互作用的全面检查，重点是低浓度的表面活性剂混合物的影响，在地下的有机液体污染物的运动和分布。 当存在复杂的表面活性剂混合物时，混合物中的单个组分通常对整体表面活性剂行为具有不成比例的影响。在这种情况下，混合表面活性剂行为的定量理解是必不可少的有机化学品在环境中的命运。为该项目进行的实验工作将与广泛的数值模型开发相结合。这项工作的教育部分将侧重于提高学生解决定量和抽象问题的能力。这将通过在本科和研究生课程活动的综合方案，与拟议的研究计划密切结合来实现。在五年项目期间将开展七项具体活动。在本科和研究生课程中，将在四个单独的班级中开发和实施新的教育单元。教育单位将教授不同方面的一般问题解决方法，有针对性的年级水平和学生的需要在课堂上。课程将进行重组，以提供动手实践与定量抽象问题解决。新的教育单位将强调重要的解决问题的技能，如检查答案，测试假设，并开发概念模型。与调查员的研究小组的活动将包括学生主导的重要问题解决文本的讨论，动手模型开发研讨会，以及学生主导的K-12外展计划，在该项目的支持下，研究生与小学和高中学生进行问题解决研讨会。

Overview. The work proposed here will combine research examining environmental interactions involving surfactant mixtures, complex environmental sorbents, and organic liquid mixtures, with an educational emphasis on developing abstract problem solving skills in undergraduate and graduate students. The research work will provide new knowledge with immediate direct application in design of new environmental remediation systems and understanding the fate of organic liquid contaminants in the environment. The educational portion of the proposed work will emphasize enhancing abilities of undergraduate and graduatestudents in quantitative abstract problem solving - an essential skill.Research Plan. The specific research focus of this work will be to provide a comprehensive examination of the interactions of complex surfactant mixtures in the environment, with emphasis on the impacts of low concentration surfactant mixtures on the movement and distribution of organic liquid contaminants in the subsurface. When complex surfactant mixtures are present, individual components in the mixtures often have a disproportionate influence on the overall surfactant behavior. A quantitative understanding of mixed surfactant behavior in this context is essential to understanding the fate of organic chemicals in the environment. Experimental work conducted for this project will be combined with extensive numerical model development.Educational Plan. The educational component of the work will focus on enhancing students' abilities in quantitative, abstract problem solving. This will be achieved through an integrated program of activities in undergraduate and graduate courses, coupled closely with the proposed research program. Seven specific activities will be implemented over the five year project period. In the undergraduate and graduate curricula, new educational units will be developed and implemented in four separate classes. The educational units will teach different aspects of general problem solving methods, targeted to the grade level and needs of students inthe class. Classes will be restructured to provide hands-on practice with quantitative abstract problem solving. New educational units will emphasize important problem-solving skills, such as checking answers, testing assumptions, and developing conceptual models. Activities with the investigator's research group will include student-led discussions of important problem-solving texts, hands-on model development workshops, and a student-led K-12 outreach program where graduate students supported by the project conduct problem-solving workshops with elementary and high school students.