Peer Reviewed Journal via three different mandatory reviewing processes, since 2006, and, from September 2020, a fourth mandatory peer-editing has been added.
The purpose of this environmentally inquiry-based lab was to
allow the students to engage into real-world concepts that
integrate industry setting (Ohio Aggregate Industrial Mineral
Association) with the academia setting. Our students are
engaged into a field trip where mining occurs to start the
problem based learning of how the heavy metals leak in the
mining process. These heavy metals such as lead and indium
in the groundwater are a serious concern for the environment
(Environmental Protection Agency) from the mining process.
The field experiences at the mining process assist in building
our students interest in developing sensors to detect heavy
metals of concern such as lead and indium simultaneously by a
unique electrochemistry technique called Square Wave Anodic
Stripping Voltammetry (SWASV). The field experience
assists building the students interest in real –world application
and what qualities do they want the electrochemical sensor to
possess to be successful for real world usage. During the field
trip the students are engaged into learning novel
instrumentation such as an SEM (Scanning Electron
Microscope) to study the working electrode sensor developed
to understand the sensor surface morphology properties better
as well. The integration of industry setting with academia has
been a positive experience for our students that has allowed
their understanding of real-world science research needs to
succeed in an industrial setting of research.
