Fun Day of Lab Training

Author: Michael Gerdjikian

So today began my training on the lab equipment at IHE. Thanks to Don, member of the lab staff, and Sergio, my mentor, I learned how to use five different machines. These include two types of Atomic Absorbance Spectrometers (graphite furnace and flame), the TOC analyzer, the Fluorospectrometer, and the UV Recording Spectrophotometer. It was hard to completely absorb everything that was going on but luckily Don and Sergio are happy to watch over me the first couple times I use the machines to make sure nothing goes wrong. I’ve been getting more acquainted with the various members of UNESCO-IHE and it’s been very comforting. Yesterday morning I met with Sergio and we discussed what it is that I’ll be doing during the next two months. I consider myself to be lucky because I will have the opportunity to visit the desalination plant in Zeeland with Sergio several times before I leave. I then met with Victor later that afternoon and he explained how to use the membrane filtration unit that they use there. It’s a bit more intricate than the one that I used at USF but the concept is the same. It didn’t take very long for me to get adapted to the system. It seems as though all of the loose ends have been tied up for the most part. I’m a lot more optimistic about this program now than when it first began.