Development of an Electrokinetic and Superabsorbent Polymer-Based Remediation Method for Saline Soils

Soil salinity is a growing problem for plant productivity around the world. Most crops are highly sensitive to excessive salt content in agricultural soils. Students assigned to this project will be challenged to develop an electrokinetic and superabsorbent polymer-based remediation method to significantly reduce the salinity level in a typical saline soil. The ultimate goal will be to reduce the soil salinity level of a contaminated soil by one class (e.g., from strongly saline to saline or from saline to slightly saline). The effectivity of the method will be further verified by a short-term biological viability test (e.g., germination rate and/or biomass production in wheat or barley seedlings).
Learning outcomes:
·       Reviewing the literature, proposing a novel hypothesis.
·       Designing and performing controlled scientific experiments.
·       Using statistical methods to show significance of results.
·       Learning to present results effectively by scientific graphing software.
·       Learning to write a proposal, progress and final reports of a typical scientific project.