Other Awards and Honors
1999 Discover Magazine Awards
Finalist - Environment Category - Mesoporous Silica for Mercury Removal-Xiangdong Feng
While a researcher at PNNL, Feng developed a process where molecules that can grab mercury out of the water are placed inside mesoporous silica. This spongelike rock has a surface area thousands of times larger than its size allowing it to grab the mercury quickly and efficiently. Eventually, Feng says, it should be possible to reduce the presence of mercury to a few parts per trillion, compared with a few parts per billion for current techniques, and do it more quickly as well. In addition, Feng says his invention can remove just about any pollutant or heavy metal from contaminated water. "People say I should quit my day job and start mining for gold."
Mesoporous Silica also won an R&D 100 award in 1998.