“I’m an electrical engineer, but I think the most important connections are those between humans. This is what drives my work managing Monitoreo De Agua En Colombia (Water Monitoring in Colombia) a project at the University of the Andes in Bogotá. In Colombia, many rivers are contaminated, for example with mercury used in illegal gold mining. Through this project, the university’s engineering students work with groups in remote areas to co-design water probes, such as the one I’m using in the picture.

I lead this project alongside my research using nanotechnology to create innovative materials for energy applications. Utilizing my engineering skills and resources to make humanitarian technologies for people here in Colombia is a hugely satisfying and important part of my job.

In this picture, taken last November, I’m demonstrating how to use a custom-designed probe to record the pH, conductivity, dissolved-oxygen level and temperature of the water. We upload the results to our website to form a publicly accessible data set that shows the safety of water across the country. As of February, we have worked with 8 communities and have made around 50 probes. I am proud that this project is open science, so that any community can build a probe for themselves.