Alexander Rowland, a rising junior chemistry major from Avon, Ohio is one of six students selected for Westminster College's ninth annual Summer Research Fellowship. Under the guidance of chemistry professor Dr. Pete Smith, Rowland is researching “Lithium Extraction from Oil Brines.”  On campus, Rowland is a member of the Phi Kappa Tau fraternity and works in the food industry during the summer months. 

What is the objective of your research?
The first purpose of this research is to help an outside company that handles mineral extraction from waste by designing and developing a system to extract lithium efficiently and effectively from oil brines for various uses in the aqueous form. One goal of the research is to produce more lithium domestically inside the United States. 

What are some details about the project?
Most of the project uses varying ratios of an organic solution in the presence of lab-made brines and measuring how much lithium was extracted using our microwave plasma atomic emission spectroscopy machine. There was also some work done with ion exchange resins regarding purifying the brine so it can be introduced to the organic solution.

How did you become interested in the summer research fellowship program?
I found out about this opportunity in my freshman year and approached Dr. Patrick Lackey, director of the Drinko Center for Undergraduate Research, to ask him about the process and timeline. When I became a sophomore, I spoke with Dr. Pete Smith about doing a potential project with him. I am grateful for the ability to learn and work with him. Once we discussed the logistics of the project, I knew I had made the right decision, especially working with a company that handles waste products.

What have you learned from the research so far?
I have learned a great deal from this opportunity, such as problem solving, how to design experiments and working collaboratively with a professor. This taught me how to persevere when things don't go as planned, which can be discouraging at first, but you must remind yourself that you're doing this for a purpose and this is preliminary.

One of my favorite quotes from Dr. Smith is “Data is hardly ever bad. Data is data, which can be used in a way we may not have originally intended.” His advice helped me get a better perspective on the project and changed my mindset going forward.

“This project meant so much to me,” Rowland said. “I got to work beside one of the best professors I have ever had and learned so much in such a brief time from one of the people I look up to the most.” 

To learn more about Westminster’s Department of Biochemistry and Chemistry, click here.

Sponsored by the Drinko Center for Undergraduate Research, Summer Research Fellowships at Westminster College allow students to conduct hands-on research and creative projects under the guidance of our experienced faculty mentors.

To read more student stories, visit our Titan Spotlight page.

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