Sophia van Mourik

School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences

Grantham Scholar

Sophia van Mourik
Profile picture of Sophia van Mourik
svanmourik1@sheffield.ac.uk

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Sophia van Mourik
School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences
Dainton Building
13 Brook Hill
Sheffield
S3 7HF
Profile

This interdisciplinary project aims to develop a sustainable solution for hydroponic agriculture growth media made from polyurethane foam by combining plant biology, microbiology, metabolomics, and polymer chemistry knowledge. To ensure the food safety of the newly proposed synthetic soil, mass-spectrometry metabolomics methods are being used to characterize the synthetic soil microbiome that develops and any potential foam degradation and leaching from the substrate into the crop. The ultimate goal is to create a biocompatible, bio-derived, and biodegradable synthetic soil grow media that can be fully utilized by soil microorganisms and converted back into starting materials or processed further to provide fertilizer for the next generation of crops, achieving a circular life cycle.