Project Team: Shubham Borole

My name is Shubham Borole. I am a graduate student at Michigan Technological University pursuing Master's degree in Chemical Engineering and I'm a research team member in MTU's Center for Environmentally Benign Functional Materials. I come from Vapi, Gujarat, India, a city evolving as a chemical & industrial hub. Growing up in such atmosphere, along with some family background, drew me towards chemical engineering studies. I completed my bachelors degree from Government Engineering College, Valsad (Gujarat, India) and worked for a year gaining experience in industry.

At Michigan Tech, I joined Dr. Gerard Caneba for research studies concerning oil spill control using surfactants. This included studies of foaming characteristics, dispersion effects in presence of crude oil and toxicity comparisons. I have just been introduced to Industrial Archaeology, specifically problems concerned with preservation of archaeological artifacts. I will apply my experience with supercritical carbon dioxide extraction at high pressures to museum and archaeology problems. This is a very exciting project since it involves applying chemical engineering to problems in art and history. Also, I get an opportunity to work and communicate with people from different educational disciplines. I hope to play my part in this project and supporting my colleagues to the fullest extent.


Connect with Shubham on LinkedIn.

Project Team: Eric Pomber

My name is Eric Pomber and I am a senior in the SocialSciences Program at Michigan Technological University.  I am originally from Detroit, Michigan, and grew up in a family in which most of my relatives worked in the auto industry. Growing up in an industrial town and seeing it's decline fed my interest in Industrial Archaeology.  I took part in the Cliff Mine Archaeological Project's 2011 Field School and worked as a Cultural Resources Intern for Isle Royale National Park in 2012. 

My first exposure to the problems of iron conservation came while working on old wooden boats.  In the past many shipyards used galvanized iron fasteners as an inexpensive alternative to bronze and this creates serious problems for people that maintain or restore those boats today (like me). The fasteners oxidize, leading to damage in the surrounding wood.  I was able to learn about traditional iron conservation techniques such as electrolysis during a course on Archaeological Sciences taught by Dr. Scarlett. I completed a project conserving iron artifacts from the Cliff Mine as a part of the course work.  That project was a great learning experience drew me into this project.  I look forward to helping develop this new technique to provide conservators a new option for iron conservation.  

Project Team: Stephanie Tankersley

My name is Stephanie Tankersley and I am a fourth year undergraduate student at Michigan Technological University. I am majoring in Materials Science and Engineering and minoring in Polymer Science and Engineering. I'm also completing a concentration in Michigan Tech's Enterprise Program. My interests are in sports and outdoor activities; eco-friendly processes; and textiles, polymers, and composite materials engineering. More about my interests and experience can be found on my LinkedIn account.

I'm new to the Supercritical Team. So far I have done research on polymers in conservation as well as readings about other supercritical treatments. I am very excited to start the process of experimentation with our various artifacts and I will be taking lots of photos and recording my findings along the way!

Project Team: Gerard Caneba

I am pleased to introduce my chief collaborator on this project!  Gerard Caneba and I had not worked together before this study, but when I read an article about the use of supercritical carbon dioxide treatments to dry waterlogged archaeological artifacts, I started looking for someone at Michigan Tech than could help me understand that process. Gerry and I spoke and something in our discussions sparked his interest.

Dr. Caneba is a chemical engineer and is the director of Michigan Tech’s Center for Environmentally Benign Functional Materials.  His expertise includes both polymer composites and precipitation polymerization.  Dr. Caneba’s main research involves the process of free-radical retrograde-precipitation polymerization (FRRPP) and the use of these polymers in oil recovery and remediation, adhesive formulation, wood preservation, copper ore processing, silicone formulation, carbon nanotube/polymer composites, and many other applications.  He has published many research articles and recently two monographs with Springer Verlag: Free-Radical Retrograde-Precipitation Polymerization (FRRPP): Novel Concept, Processes, Materials, and Energy Aspects (Caneba 2010) and Emulsion Free-Radical Retrograde-Precipitation Polymerization (Caneba and Dar 2011).

Gerry and I have assembled a small team of undergraduate and graduate students at MTU to work on this project. Over the next few posts, the students will introduce themselves and I will continue to write updates on aspects of the background for our research project.

Want to connect with Gerry? Try LinkedIn, Pivot (Community of Science)