Sable Phillips, a senior in the Russell School of Chemical Engineering, won first place in the technical research presentation competition at the 2025 AIChE Mid-America Regional Conference. Her presentation was entitled “Cellulose Based Bio-adsorbents for Removal of Chromium (Cr) in Water.”
The 2025 AIChE Mid-America Regional Conference is a two-day event during which undergraduate students gather to participate in engaging workshops, career fairs, and competition to showcase their research. The event is sponsored by the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE).
Phillips’ research focuses on heavy metal pollution in water. A member of the Osage Nation, she has always been sensitive to heavy metal pollution on land, which can lead to water contamination. Chromium poses severe health risks, including DNA damage, neurotoxicity, and cancer. Phillips’ research looks to remove this heavy metal from water using bio-adsorbents synthesized using green chemistry. Most existing literature uses a two-step process for activating this, but she has discovered a one-step activation which outperformed the two-step process.
For two years, Phillips has worked on the project with research mentor Hema Ramsurn, A. Paul Buthod Endowed Chair in Chemical Engineering, and graduate student Suriya Ramasubramanian. She is in the process of writing a research article based on their findings and will attend the national AIChE conference in Boston this November.