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Purdue Graduate Student Researcher in Dr. Chad Jafvert's Arequipa Nexus Project Receives Award

April 21, 2021

Taymee Brandon, graduate student researcher in Dr. Chad Jafvert’s Arequipa nexus project: “Seasonal Heavy Metal Concentrations in Streams in the Arequipa Region”, was awarded the second place in the International Development (I2D) Exposition at Purdue. The virtual event was hosted by Purdue’s Shah Family Global Lab and the poster topics were social development challenges, sustainable development goals and global challenges. Taymee Brandon presented the work she developed with Dr. Jafvert, Drs. Betty Paredes and Dr. Corina Gonzales from the Universidad Nacional of Saint Augustine de Arequipa (UNSA), who are Co-PIs in the project. The poster titled: “CHROMIUM REMEDIATION FROM TANNERY WASTEWATER IN AREQUIPA, PERU USING SURFACE-MODIFIED BIOCHAR”. She proposes a process to diminish the impact of tannery wastewater using surface-modified biochar for chromium removal in the Rio Seco Industrial Park, which is located in the second largest industrial area of Perú, in the Arequipa region.

Taymee Brandon has a bachelor's degree in chemistry from the University of Montana, with Highest Distinction through the Davidson Honors College, and a master's degree in environmental engineering from the Montana Technical University. She is currently pursuing a Doctoral degree at Purdue in Environmental Ecological Engineering (EEE). Taymee’s research focus on Investigating the use of surface-modified biochar for the removal of trivalent and hexavalent chromium from tannery wastewater in Arequipa, Peru with Dr. Javert’s research in the Arequipa Nexus Institute. She is also researching colorimetric methods of arsenic detection for application in developing an enzyme-based field arsenic kit.