Humans are part of nature and have always affected the natural world. That reality is behind the concept of the anthropocene, the proposed name of a geological epoch in which human activity—more than any other force on Earth—is the main driver of change from the micro to the planetary level. The term was rejected as an official designation by the International Union of Geological Sciences but has entered common usage, especially among environmental scientists.

A project is rarely “one-and-done” in the lab of Paul Ohodnicki, associate professor of mechanical engineering and materials science in the Swanson School of Engineering. His research results are often two-fold, resulting in the primary scientific findings as well as novel engineering applications.