Two Purdue University engineering professors recently participated in the 19th annual Indiana Partners for Pollution Prevention Conference and Training. Dr. John Howarter, assistant professor in environmental and ecological engineering and materials engineering, and Dr. Chad Jafvert, professor of environmental and ecological engineering and civil engineering, took part in the conference in Plainfield, Indiana on September 28. 

Dr. John Howarter (pictured left) presented his talk, Achieving Laboratory Sustainability Goals through Improved Safety Culture, during the Success Stories track of the conference. His presentation detailed the common challenges to securing research laboratory safety, particularly in regards to the health of lab workers. He noted this is especially true in a university setting, with new lab users each year, and limited seniority for student-users.

Environmental impacts of lab activities are sometimes overlooked, and Dr. Howarter highlighted the changes in policies, habits, or processes that can be implemented to increase both safety in the workplace and create positive environmental outcomes. He also gave an overview of associated risks and liabilities for research labs. Howarter discussed case studies from Purdue that have successfully incorporated principles of green chemistry and green engineering to improve the sustainability goals of the research lab.

Dr. Chad Jafvert (pictured right) presented Point-of-Use Drinking Water Treatment for Rural Communities in Developing Countries during the Water track of the conference. During the presentation, Dr. Jafvert discussed his more than 90 undergraduate students who have been designing drinking water treatment systems for use in rural areas of developing countries.

As part of service learning courses sponsored by the Global Engineering Program (GEP) at Purdue, many of these students have travelled to Columbia on four separate occasions. During these trips, students have constructed and delivered point-of-use slow sand filters to 18 rural elementary schools in the Barbosa, Antioquia, Columbia area. The project has recently expanded to Kenya, where GEP is collaborating with a local NGO to bring drinking water infrastructure to rural schools in western Kenya.

Margaret Whelton, Environmental and Ecological Engineering Manager of Industrial Experience, and four EEE students also attended the Indiana Pollution Prevention conference. Students Andres Valero, Daniel Franz, Sanyukta Gokhale, and Mingyu Zhang (pictured left to right) were sponsored by EEE.

Learn more about Purdue Environmental and Ecological Engineering (EEE) at: https://engineering.purdue.edu/EEE

Learn about Dr. John Howarter at: https://engineering.purdue.edu/EEE/People/ptProfile?resource_id=74793

Learn about Dr. Chad Jafvert at: https://engineering.purdue.edu/EEE/People/ptProfile?resource_id=2065