Research addresses a central challenge in desert agriculture: the limited ability of sandy soils to retain water and nutrients. Inspired by the fertile dark earths of the Amazon, researchers developed Carbosoil, an engineered biochar designed to improve soil fertility, support plant growth, and store carbon over the long term. The work combines material development with field testing to explore more resource-efficient agriculture and landscape restoration in arid environments.
We have developed superhydrophobic sand mulches in our laboratory towards reducing the loss of water from arable soils.
We are creating omniphobic (or omniphilic) coatings via micro- or nano-fabrication techniques for prevention of biofouling and scaling. We are also curious about wetting of natural surfaces, such as flowers, spider webs, and wings of butterflies.
We are investigating proton transfer reactions (e.g. catalysis, polymerization, and acid-base neutralization) and speci fic ion eff ects at the air-water interface—an archetypical interface between water and hydrophobic media. Resulting insights will enhance our understanding of chemistries in clouds and at the interface of oceans and the atmosphere. in lms of water are also implicated in contact electri cation at solid interfaces, e.g. PTFE and aluminum.