Internships

Jeffrey Chen ’17

This summer I interned with Dr. Jeff Fitts, a researcher in the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department working on characterization of hazardous element mobilization in waste waters produced from shale operations. Fracking requires large quantities of water, and the waste water generated contains various hazardous elements that may severely impact local water sources. In this project, we performed batch experiments on shale samples from different rock formations under various solution environment conditions, focusing specifically on heavy metals. Characterization of the mobilization of these heavy metals could allow for understanding of leakage of heavy metals into local water sources near fracking operations and could provide insight into the adequacy of heavy metal removal processes. This experience not only afforded me the opportunity to work on an interesting project and use state-of-the-art machines, it also made me more aware of the issues that surround the practice of fracking. This internship has spurred me to seek fields that integrate multiple disciplines of study.