UNC Charlotte ASCE team wins national Innovation Contest


UNC Charlotte’s American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) team recently won the Innovation Contest at the ASCE Annual Convention held October 18-21 in Chicago.

The team’s project, titled “The use of engineered algae to biochemically remove micro and nano plastics in wastewater,” proposed using bioengineered algae to treat wastewater effluent to remove microplastics and nanoplastics. The design is now in the process of being patented.

The team included Niner Engineers Luke Bender, Jordan Landis (co-chair), Katherine (Katie) McKendrick, Abigail Rose, Justin Sprumont (co-chair) and Jarrod Vonkchalee, and bioinformatics student Emma Fredericks.

Dr. Olya Keen is the team’s mentor and Dr. Erika Weber is the ASCE chapter faculty advisor. 

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