An Inquiry process toward cleaner water

Mary Gin is an Assistant Professor of Chemistry at UIUC. Her Inquiry in Action is exploring the capabilities of organic compounds in the creation of ion channels called, "Biomimetic Ion Channels." Simply put, Prof. Gin is developing very small channels, which may switch between open and closed or filter specific matter. An introduction to Prof. Gin and her work may be found here.

Prof. Gin's inquiry exists in two levels. One for the continuing process of better understanding how organic compounds may form these ion channels. This can be seen as her personal inquiry and that of her group. Another level of inquiry is through collaboration with outside people exploring real-world applications. For water quality issues, the use of ion channels could have a significant impact in areas such as desalination, filtration, and impurity detection of water.

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