2025 Internship Project Overview

I worked with the Deike Lab to analyze how air bubbles in water collect microplastics as they rise. Microplastic pollution is pervasive in the ocean and it has been shown that the bursting of bubbles on the ocean’s surface can transport microplastics from the water to the air. However, the physics underlying the attachment mechanism is not well understood. In the lab, I used a high speed video camera to record bubbles in microplastic-contaminated water at several depths and processed the data by finding the cross-sectional area of microplastics attached to the bubble. I conducted the experiment for bubbles in deionized water with varying amounts of contaminants (using sodium dodecyl sulfate as model surfactant). I also investigated parameters such as microplastic concentration and bubble size. By studying these processes more deeply, we can better understand how pollution spreads in the environment. Through this internship, I have reaffirmed my desire to pursue physics while also gaining new skills in data analysis.

 

ORGANIZATION/RESEARCH GROUP

Deike Lab, Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Princeton University

LOCATION

Princeton, New Jersey

 

Interns

Karina Lad ’28
Major: Physics
Minor(s): East Asian Studies
"While it was super fun observing bubbles in the lab and capturing images of them, I didn’t expect that I would also deeply enjoy working with Python to analyze the images. I have gained a newfound appreciation for computer science."

Click to view the end-of-project presentation

 

Luc Deike
Associate Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering and the High Meadows Environmental Institute

Mentors

  • Tristan Aurégan, Postdoctoral Research Associate, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
  • Megan Mazzatenta, Ph.D. Candidate, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering