KINGSVILLE (News Release) — Olubayo Olukayode Oginni, a doctoral student at Texas A&M University-Kingsville, recently received the $5,000 Dave Caldwell Scholarship from Brown and Caldwell through the American Water Works Association.

He currently works in the research group of Dr. Lucy Mar Camacho, associate professor in the environmental engineering department, on the collaborative research entitled Dry-Wet Phase Inversion Pathway of Graphene Oxide (GO)-Based Mixed-Matrix Membranes for Mineral Ions Separation by Membrane Distillation. This research was funded by the National Science Foundation.

“Winning a scholarship such as this can be a life-changing experience for students,” Oginni said. “From my personal experience, I know how difficult it is for students to pay their fees. Being awarded this scholarship is a life-changing experience for me in particular.

“Apart from the financial benefit, it is a moment of great joy, accomplishment, responsibility and validation for all the hard work and effort that I have put into my academic pursuits. It also is an indication that I must put more effort and hard work into my research for the benefit of the larger society,” he said.

Oginni is working with Camacho on the fabrication and production of a graphene oxide (GO) based membrane that is used during the membrane distillation process in a novel desalination process.

The GO sheets were development in Camacho’s engineering lab as an alternative to traditional polymeric membranes. The introduction of graphene oxide helps to increase mechanical strength, thermal stability and tunable surface chemistry, he added.

Oginni is originally from Nigeria. He earned his bachelor’s degree from University of Ilorin and his master’s degree from Federal University of Technology Akure, both in Nigeria.