(Left: posing with my lab mates and our "Trashcano," EOH 2019. Right: a captivating Trashcano plume from 2018).
Over the course of my PhD program, I was involved with a number of outreach activities. Each spring, from 2017 to 2019, I helped my research lab organize and run "Trashcano" demonstrations, either for Dr. Trish Gregg's undergraduate volcanology class or for UIUC's annual Engineering Open House (EOH), an event which attracts ~20,000 public visitors to the university's campus over a two-day period. In fact, I took the lead in organizing our lab's first EOH exhibit for March 2018. The Trashcano demonstration, short for "trashcan volcano," involves filling a large trash can with water and submerging a plastic soda bottle filled with liquid nitrogen. Pressure from the rapidly boiling and expanding nitrogen gas generates a spectacular water eruption column akin to the explosive lava fountains observed on basaltic volcanoes like Hawaii's Kīlauea volcano. For Dr. Gregg's volcanology class, we have also placed styrofoam blocks and balls of varying sizes on top of the water, prior to adding liquid nitrogen, to simulate the ejection and dispersion of lava "bombs," ash, and rocks swept up by the eruption column. Our Trashcano demos are an engaging way to teach both students and the general public the basic physical concepts behind volcanic eruptions.
