Author Archives: Nick

Upgraded microbiology lab = faster better research

Before

Before: Able to test 4 samples at a time, and very limited information besides how much bacteria was killed.

I’ve upgraded the microbiology lab, and it’s a big upgrade!  So, when you make filters you need to know how good they are at killing bacteria.  I have my own microbiology lab built for just that purpose.  Every material that I make is tested in this lab, and It tells me exactly the effectiveness of the filter versus live bacteria.

Before I was only able to test 4 samples each week. That setup was excellent for understanding the bactericidal effects, but I couldn’t take any other complimentary data.  And it was so few samples per month! On top of all that had to frequently throw away the samples to be able to re-use the testing holders, and thus couldn’t go back if I had later questions.

Now I can run 22 samples at a time with my new setup!  I can also run more water through and take data on more variables while I run the bacteria through the filter.  The whole reason for the upgrade is to run Statistical Experimental Design experiments, which are awesome.  Basically they use statistical magic to help you tease out differences between the filters.  This all means faster research, and much more data.  This is what your donations are supporting.

Bottom line: Now I can do about 5 weeks of work in 1week!

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After: The new testing setup can take 22 samples while being much much more accurate, and giving more data in addition to bacteria killed.

Well Received Talk on Water Filters as Conscience!

Conscience was the subject of the annual gathering of the Farmington-Scipio Gathering of Quakers.  The plenary session kicked off with my story of how I am following my conscience by working on water filters.  You can listen to the audio of that portion here:  Farmington-Scipio Spring Gathering Talk 2015 .

There are some interesting tidbits about what my conscience is, how I hear it, how I follow it, and how it feels.

Enjoy!

Sometimes following your conscience is beautiful like walking on a Mountain.  This one is Mt. Baker, Washington State.

Sometimes following your conscience is beautiful like walking on a Mountain. This one is Mt. Baker, in Washington State

Upcoming Talk on Water Filters as Conscience

Saturday 16th May 2015, 9:30-12:00 AM Farmington-Scipio Spring Gathering, Painted Post, NY

 

I can't condone graffiti, but can't support war either!

I can’t condone graffiti, but can’t support war either!

How are water filters building a peaceful and conscionable world? How did I decide to follow my conscience and dedicate my life to water filters? What can we as people working towards peace learn from my work and choices so far? Good news for the curious, because these questions lead to the the subject of a talk I am giving on Saturday the 16th of May. I’m calling my talk: Water Filters as Conscience. The Filters as Conscience talk includes an activity-based workshop on conscience in our everyday lives. What’s better than an engaging talk about how one person followed their conscience? An engaging talk with participation by everyone in the room! Come and play with conscience! My presentation is the plenary session for Farmington-Scipio Regional Meeting‘s largest annual gathering. Alfred Monthly Meeting which I am a member of, is a part of Farmington-Scipio RM. What an honor it is to share this work I’ve been doing with you all!

-Nick Rozard

Directions to Watson Homestead

 

Poplar Ridge Talk February 2015

The following announcement is for a talk given in February 2015.  The audio for that talk can be found here:  Poplar Ridge Talk

Hello!
You are invited to a talk I’m giving in Poplar Ridge, NY this Sunday the 8th of February.  If you’re in central New York, this is a great opportunity to hear more about the work!  The Talk is about how my conscience led me to Water Filters.  Quakers in Poplar Ridge have invited me to give their monthly after meeting talk that they call Soup and Sharing.  This is a very special invitation, because I grew up in Poplar Ridge Meeting.  My family attended the meeting for a number of years before we moved to Alfred when I was 10 years old.  The Poplar Ridge Meeting has invited anyone who would like to come to the Worship, or just come for the Soup and the talk!

When:  Sunday February 8th

10:00-11:00AM     -Meeting for Worship

11:30                    -Soup lunch

~12:00ish             -The talk will be directly after people are done with the soup!

Where: Poplar Ridge Friends Meeting
1868 Poplar Ridge Road
Poplar Ridge, NY 13139

Looking forward to seeing you there!
Nick Rozard

Make donations to Alfred Friends Meeting, P.O. Box 773, Alfred NY 14802. Alfred Friends Meeting has decided to support me personally through the next few months.

Meeting House

Fundraising Goal Reached!

Congratulations!  We did it!

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With your help we more than met the fundraising goal I had set at $10k!  We actually raised $11 052, all of which we will put to good use.  We’re already putting it to good use, for example we used a significant chunk of the money to pay for research at Alfred University.  The equipment with me in the picture is a Scanning Electron Microscope, or S.E.M. as we call it.  That machine can look at incredibly tiny things, and it costs around $900 000 to buy one.  This machine is informing the water filters.  This incredibly powerful tool and many others are available thanks to you.

You all deserve a pat on the back.

Give yourself one now as you get up from reading this email.IMG_0939

Special thanks to the many donors:  Evelyn Kennenwood, Friends Peace Teams, John Edminster, Alfred Monthly Meeting, The Slining Haynes Family, Thadeus Dziekonski, Jens and Spee Braun, Charles Mohler, Gay Howard, Ted and Debra First, Farmington-Scipio Conscience and War committee, Lorraine Hoyt, John Fitzgerald, The Blackburn Family, Mary Way, Mary-Lou Cartledge, Deb Mayes, Jane and Paul Simkin, Lynn and Jenifer Taylor, Tim Cox, Ken and Marty Grundy, Ithaca Monthly Meeting, Petra Doan, Edward Dunlop, Vansantha Amarakoon, Richard Gorycki.

Thank You,
Nick Rozard

Make donations to Alfred Friends Meeting, P.O. Box 773, Alfred NY 14802. Alfred Friends Meeting has decided to support me personally through the next few months.

Your money at work: It is enabling filter testing!

So far I have received donations from many people. Thank you all, I feel very supported. I have already put that money to good work.

I’ve hired a temporary lab technician to run my microbiology lab! His name is John Buckwalter. John is now responsible for growing bacteria and running it through the filter to see how much comes through alive, a formidable task. This frees up about 5 hours per week of my time and also gives us higher quality results than I could get on my own.

Nick and John Buckwalter in the Microbiology lab in Alfred, NY

Nick and John Buckwalter in the Microbiology lab in Alfred, NY

John is the perfect person for the job. He recently retired from teaching biology at Alfred State College and then used the first part of his retirement to travel to China teaching microbiology and chemistry to environmental engineering students. Not only does he have decades of laboratory and teaching experience, he is an Alfred community member, and he is the father of Esther Buckwalter who traveled to Indonesia with me in 2011. To this day Esther continues to help by editing these updates, and generally supporting the water filter work. Fun fact: John and I also volunteer together with the local fire and ambulance department.

Please join me in welcoming John Buckwalter to the Triton Ceramics team. John we look forward to your data!

Thanks to Corine Pettit for editing. And many thanks to all of you for the donations so far!

Make donations to Alfred Friends Meeting, P.O. Box 773, Alfred NY 14802. Alfred Friends Meeting has decided to support me personally through the next few months.

The Research Continues . . . But only With Your Support!

Me with the donation barometer, photo taken in Alfred University labs

Me with the donation barometer, photo taken in Alfred University labs

The last 5 years working on these water filters have been marked by good news followed by better news! So far we have accomplished many major milestones, including proving that the filter is killing bacteria, and ensuring that the water produced is free of harmful chemicals. We have created two generations of research filter that are both meeting microbiological standards. The first generation was called Alfa, and the second generation is called Beta material. We found ways to easily manufacture both of these materials and keep tight controls on quality. We have also made multiple “bench prototypes” which have taught us about how to make a device that is durable and easy to use. I have also been making great strides maturing as a young professional. This week I’ve been putting on my accounting tophat and learning about the different IRS accounting methods, as well as business tax law.

Currently the bench prototype using Beta material is working extremely well, but it is too expensive. The Alfa generation of material is less expensive, but has other problems. It’s hard to predict research timelines, but my best guess is that for at least the next six months, we will work on refining the material. Then we will take those lessons and create a Gamma material. When we finish, we will have a product that is efficient, easily manufactured and inexpensive.

All summer I worked hard painting and doing home repairs to make enough money to pay for my simple personal life. This left only about 5-10 hours per week to work on the filters. At the end of the summer I realized I did not have enough money saved to allow me to stop making income and just concentrate on the filters. I’m not released to do the work, because the need to make enough money to support my family has taken me away from it.

The way I’ve structured my life and the Triton Ceramics company is perfect for the next steps on this technology development odyssey. I do not have any work commitments outside of the filters, and I can easily slide into working on them full time. Also, since I don’t have any employees, overhead, or financial commitments that Triton Ceramics needs to meet, the research can continue at its own pace. We don’t need to rush out and start producing filters to pay the bills. Because we are going at the right speed, we can get everything right. It would be very costly to start manufacturing and then run into an issue that takes months to solve, while our people are being paid and everyone is waiting around until a solution is found. It’s like barbecue. The more patient you are, the more time you have to cook those meats into the most juicy and delicious meal. Apologies to my vegetarian readers.

For the last 3 weeks or so I have been asking for support from people that I’ve encountered. So far in those weeks I have received $7707! We only need a little more from a few of you to complete our goal of $10K. Every little bit counts!

Why would you want to donate? Because you are supporting a socially responsible technology, and you are helping make peace in the world. This work is life affirming and takes away the occasion for war. You are also contributing to support me, a young adult adventuring down a positive nonviolent career path. Having another healthy young professional engaged in the work of the community is something we can all support.

Many thanks to the people who have generously donated to this campaign so far: Keith and Suzanne Blackburn, Ted and Debra First, Gay Howard, Alfred Monthly Meeting, Friends Peace Teams, John Edminster, Farmington Scipio Regional Meeting’s Conscience and War committee, Evelyn Kennenwood, Daniel and Kathryn Slining-Haynes, Jens and Spee Braun, Charles Mohler, Loraine Hoyt, and John Fitzgerald.

Make donations to Alfred Friends Meeting, P.O. Box 773, Alfred NY 14802. Alfred Friends Meeting has decided to support me personally through the next few months.

We’re Killing Bacteria

100 000 bacteria went in the filter, zero came out! Good news from Triton Ceramics, and wow is it good news. With this news
we now feel safe knowing that the filter is doing it’s job protecting from harmful bacterial. I’m feeling good, it’s been a 5 year process to get to this point. I have hard work, a little luck, and many supportive people to thank for getting us here!

When I drink a glass of water in the United states, I never question how much bacteria is in the water. I am so confident that I won’t get sick, that I just pour a glass straight from the tap, and drink it the way it comes out. I can drink it because it’s clean and free of harmful bacteria.

When I drink a glass of water in the United states, I never question how much bacteria is in the water; I am so confident that I won’t get sick that I just pour a glass straight from the tap, and drink it the way it comes out. I can drink it because it’s safe.

The utter and complete confidence I have in US tap water being safe comes from stringent standards and rigorous testing. The Environmental Protection Agency(EPA) in the US sets drinking water standards for community systems that are so high that if followed properly people will not be ingesting harmful bacteria. Couple that with quality control on every drop of tap water produced in the US, and you have the basis for confidence. Then take that quality control and keep up the good behavior for 100 plus years (3 generations or so) and you can get very solid confidence. Confidence is so high that many people aren’t even aware of what goes on to make their tap water drinking water.

Killing BacteriaTriton Ceramics is committed to developing a similarly high level of confidence in our filters and the drinking water they provide. Using the WHO Guidelines for Drinking Water Quality (2011), we have met the standard of removing 99.999% of bacteria from infected water with our filter media. As we continue to test filters, we are simultaneously developing protocols to ensure consistently reliable filters in the field. With these protocols met and regularly verified, we will help people all over the world to be healthier just by pouring a glass of water straight from the tap.

What about good bacteria? That comes from your mother, your food, and your environment. Bacteria from these sources is much more restrained than through water. When you get bacteria from unimproved water, it can contain anything and everything. From the most healthy bacteria to the most destructive disease-causing bacteria, it’s all in there. It is much healthier to get good bacteria from sources other than your water.

Heartfelt thanks to all the supporters of this work: Bethany Rees for microbiology advice that helped get the microbiology lab set up and running, Joe Dosch and Nancy Evangelista for providing space for the laboratory. Dr. Bill Carty and Paul Culley for providing the finances to put me to work full time. And Michael Putnam for helping keep the microbiology lab running.

Good News for Global Drinking Water!

By Esther Buckwalter

2011: Esther in Indonesia showing samples to Wuri, a sheep staffer.  Testing silver in the effluent water was a long off goal at this stage.  From Left: Wuri, Esther, Nick

2011: In Yogyakarta Indonesia showing samples to Wuri, a SHEEP staffer. Testing silver in the effluent water was on my mind, but a long off goal at this stage. From Left: Wuri, Esther, Nick

Approximately 2.6 years ago, I got on a plane to Indonesia to spend a summer working towards building an inexpensive and effective ceramic water filter.

Despite my interest in the matter, Nick and I realized it was not yet time to research silver in the effluent. First we needed to build a relationship with SHEEP Indonesia and set up working microbiology and ceramic labs. And that we did.

But I am happy to announce to you that the time to study the silver in the effluent is now, and so far the results are excellent! In experiments just conducted by Nick, silver levels were 20 times below the World Health Organization’s standard of 0.1 mg/L. A picture of the experimental setup is below.

December 2013: testing the amount of silver in water

December 2013: testing the amount of silver in water

Often the filters that use silver to kill bacteria end up putting silver into the water, so it is exciting that the levels are so low initially! These positive results are an encouragement and a testament to all of the support to Triton Ceramics, by Friends Peace Teams to Asia West Pacific, SHEEP Indonesia, and professor Bill Carty! It takes a community to develop a filter :)

With Love,
Esther Buckwalter

Microbiology Lab Complete in Alfred, NY!

Nick Rozard in the recently completed microbiology lab in Alfred, NY!

Nick Rozard in the recently completed microbiology lab in Alfred, NY!

The newly completed Microbiology lab allows Triton Ceramics to test ceramic filters created right in Alfred.  The location of the lab in Alfred, NY, USA keeps Nick close to many professionals and resources necessary to research this new water filter technology.  The new lab puts us in an excellent position to both continue research on the technology, and to support SHEEP Indonesia.  SHEEP are our partners in Indonesia, and previously we helped build microbiology and ceramics labs at their location in Yogyakarta, Indonesia.  The Indonesian and US labs are similarly set up.  Because of their location, the labs in the US have external access to ceramics, and microbiology experts.  They also provide easy access to the extensive array of testing machines located in Alfred.  The US lab will be the seat of the research being done on the technology, while the Indonesian labs will support the development and manufacture that will eventually be done in that location.

Thanks to Jane and Paul Simkin, Poplar Ridge Monthly Meeting, and Ruth Hyde, Rochester Monthly meeting for donating the money used to buy supplies.  Thanks to Astuti Bijlefeld for donating the pressure cooker we use to sterilize the lab equipment.  And Joe Dosch and Nancy Evangelista for providing the space that the lab is in!

Just Believe.