Research Symposium

BIO

Hello, my name is Jal Patel, and I’m from Celebration, Florida.

For my UROP project, I investigated how salinity impacts micelle surfactants. Using our university’s high-performance computing resources, I analyzed how different salt concentrations affect the structure and behavior of micelles. This research contributes to a deeper understanding of surfactant behavior, which has potential applications in environmental remediation—such as addressing oil spills.

Through UROP, I gained hands-on experience in computational research, which I plan to build on through further undergraduate research. I aim to pursue a Ph.D. and eventually start my own research company focused on advancing healthcare solutions.

How are micelle surfactants affected by salinity?​

Abstract

How do micelle surfactants reach their activation energy, and what factors influence them to be more efficient molecules?​

​

I wondered what was important in researching this molecule until I realized it makes up many everyday household items, such as pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, the food industry, and industrial applications. Micelle surfactants can trap and transport molecules, making them a very versatile compound. If we understand how they reach their final form, it will make the current products we use more efficient, but also, we could implement them in drug delivery and pollution removal. It is also such an important molecule that we use in everyday life that we want to know how it's able to achieve its activation energy, and with the understanding it will allow scientists to create new efficient and effective systems in different fields of science. ​

Keywords: Chemical engineering, micelle surfactants