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One-third of the world's people do not have access to clean drinking water. Nadella and Nadella tackle this issue by testing a low-cost filtration system for removing heavy metal and bacteria from water.

Seeking an approach to address the increasing levels of methane and chlorinated hydrocarbons that threaten the environment, the authors worked to develop a novel, low-cost biotrickling filter for use as an ex situ method tailored to marine environments. By using methanotrophic bacteria in the filter, they observed methane degradation, suggesting the feasibility of chlorinated hydrocarbon degradation.

This paper develops a gelatin-based hydrogel dressing infused with bromothymol blue dye that visibly changes from yellow to blue as wound pH rises from 5.0 to 8.0, signaling possible infection. The color shift was visually detectable and statistically significant across all six Fitzpatrick skin tones, suggesting a low-cost ($0.40/dressing) tool for early infection monitoring in settings with limited access to care.

A key barrier to adoption of solar energy technology is the low efficiency of solar cells converting solar energy into electricity. Sims and Sims tackle this problem by coding a Raspberry Pi as a multimeter to determine which wavelength of light generates the most voltage and current from a solar panel.

The authors looked at the ability to grow S. platensis on a larger scale with reduced cost given that it is currently quite expensive to grow, but poses as an important food source in the future.

The number of bacterial infections in humans is rising, and a major contributor is foodborne illnesses, which affect a large portion of the population and result in many hospitalizations and deaths. Common household cleaners are an effective strategy to combat foodborne illness, but they are often costly and contain harmful chemicals. Thus, the authors sought to test the antimicrobial effectiveness of spices (clove, nutmeg, astragalus, cinnamon, turmeric, and garlic) on microbes cultured from refrigerator handles and cutting boards. Results from this study demonstrate long-lasting, antimicrobial effects of multiple spices that support their use as alternatives to common household cleaners.

In the study, the authors looked at an environmentally friendly alternative to A/C systems/cooling. They wanted to test the effectiveness of this cooling system called the Eco-Cooler as well as see if they could improve it. They found that the Eco-Cooler had minimal cooling, while their altered Eco-Cooler system had some cooling. This results shows the use of water helps cool the environment a lot more.

In this study the authors look at elastic modulus and stiffness of steel rules with vary lengths of cracks. They found that cracks decreased the overall elastic modulus and bending stiffness of the ruler. This work has applications to structural engineering and the design of items such as airplanes and bridges.

The authors set to test a system that would help with the dehumidification and overall management of greehouses.

The authors looked at how soil temperature changes with fire to develop a sensor system that could aid in earlier detection of fires.