Environmental Internship Program - 2023 Booklet

Olivia Chen ’26
ELECTRICAL AND COMPUTER ENGINEERING
WATER AND THE
ENVIRONMENT
PROJECT TITLE
Molecular Simulation of
Natural Organic Matter
and Organic Contaminants
ORGANIZATION(S)
Interfacial Water Group,
Department of Civil
and Environmental
Engineering, Princeton
University
LOCATION(S)
Princeton, New Jersey
MENTOR(S)
Ian Bourg,
Associate Professor of
Civil and Environmental
Engineering and the High
Meadows Environmental
Institute
I worked to construct and simulate organic
contaminants using molecular dynamics
simulations. I began by creating input files to
model per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances
(PFAS) or “forever chemicals”, a class of
compounds that have recently received a lot
of media attention due to their persistence in
the environment and potential negative health
effects. I also created input files for hydrophobic
amino acids and fatty acids. I introduced the idea
to model PFAS precursors, which contribute to
PFAS levels but aren’t studied as much, and HFO
refrigerants, which are a new class of refrigerants
with a lower global warming potential but
higher water pollution potential. In total, our
team contributed over 30 new compounds to the
Interfacial Water Group database. This work is
important in revealing the physical properties of
compounds and will also aid future development
of removal techniques. Exploring chemistry in
a computational way was new to me and I found
it engaging to look at chemistry in an applied
context. I am interested in taking this research a
step further to look at these compounds in a more
specific environment, and I plan to continue
working with Professor Ian Bourg as a part of an
independent research project.
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