Kartikey PandeyInterview Reflection
Problem: Air and Water Pollution
The topic of my problem pitch project was Air and Water Pollution. To learn more about the issue, I decided to interview Dr. Peter Smirniotis, Professor in the Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering. The interview with Dr. Smirniotis covered facts about emerging pollution as well as it’s possible solutions. It was a really interesting conversation and I really enjoyed his insightful take on the topic.
At the beginning of the interview began he shared with me some facts about pollution which I didn’t know before like how air pollution can damage wheat and soybeans crops, some of the world’s most important crops, and lead to food shortages around the globe. He also told me that 92% of the global population live in places with unhealthy air quality which puts them at risk of losing 1-2 years of a typical human life. The interview became more scientific and he educated me about the major air pollutants such as carbon monoxide, lead, nitrogen dioxide, and ozone.
Dr. Smirniotis’ main research is in catalytic clean-up of gaseous streams, so his perspective on the topic was highly educational. While my discussion with Dr. Smirniotis taught me about the various aspects of air and water pollution that I previously discussed, the most interesting thing to me was this topic of his research, which proposes a possible way to manage the air and water pollution. He showed me his research work on how factories and automobiles can use this process to minimize the concentration of pollutants they release in the atmosphere. I was mesmerized by his passion for his research work. Catalytic clean-up is not a complex process, it is fairly simple and quite affordable too. This process converts the harmful pollutants produced by factories to a less-harmful form which then goes through further processes to form a harmless product that can be released to the atmosphere. By using this method, the air pollution released by factories would be greatly reduced and would greatly help this problem.
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