NEWPORT, R.I.—When he was six years old, Salve Regina junior Joshua Jeudy moved from Bridgeport, Conn. with his parents back to their home, Akra, Ghana. Upon returning, he noticed a stark difference in the perception of science among Ghanaians and Americans.

“Here, we appreciate it but don’t cling to it,” explains the SURF student, who is working under RI C-AIM researcher Dr. Bernard Munge, professor and chair of Chemistry at Salve. “Back in Ghana, you hold onto it really tight and don’t let go because it will get you somewhere.”

Jeudy is working alongside Munge and fellow SURF Issaiah Burch to develop devices which can detect chemicals in sea water. The pair are learning about the field of ‘microfluidics,’ or the study of fluid movements at sub-milimeter scales, learning how to use electrical currents to test the sensitivity of devices being developed by RI C-AIM.

“We have been becoming familiar with the equipment and lab etiquette, getting to know other students as well,” says Burch about his first few weeks on the job.

“Just in the field alone, I have learned physical, analytical, electrical, organic chemistry—all different things I haven’t even taken yet,” adds Jeudy. “You run into error, but it is the good kind of error because you are doing something that no one has thought to do.”

“There is nobody watching over you telling you to do that at this time, it has to get done or we are not moving forward with the experiment. You have to learn how to manage your time.”
Joshua Jeudy

Jeudy describes the microfluidic device as something similar to a glucose meter, but instead of testing blood for sugar levels, it is a tool which can determine how much nitrate or phosphate is in a particular water sample.

“It’s like a GPS tracking phosphate and nitrate levels continuously through time in the ocean.”

Burch and Jeudy both gave high praise to Munge for his expertise in chemical engineering and care as an educator.

“I never thought that electrical chemistry would be interesting, but Munge makes it interesting and fun,” says Burch. “He wants our aspirations and goals to become a reality.”

The SURF students do understand, however, that conducting long-term research requires a high level of self-reliance.

“There is nobody watching over you telling you to do that at this time,” stresses Jeudy. “It has to get done or we are not moving forward with the experiment. You have to learn how to manage your time.”

The SURF program can be a stepping stone to further research, publication and other professional opportunities, but what will the two Salve students do after the 10 weeks are over? Burch, although he does not know where, wants to study chemistry at the graduate level.

“When things start moving forward, I want to put a mattress in this lab and live in here,” he laughs. “I want to get my foot in the door of the scientific community.”

Jeudy, who has spent the last five years working as an emergency medical technician, wants to continue his own already active research on the effects of alcohol on human anatomy.

“I have always been curious, what causes a hangover?” he says with an inquisitive tone. “I started to see all these things, traces in certain fruits and breads, and I was like, ‘wow, who knew this?’ That is why I love chemistry, thinking about something so small, but who knows if it is the answer to the next biggest question?”

Written by Shaun Kirby, RI C-AIM Communications & Outreach Coordinator