Norma Arcelia Alcantar
Personal Information
Born: Unknown
Country of Birth: Mexico
Nationality: Hispanic/American
Ethnicity: Hispanic
Education
BA Chemical Engineering 1993; UC Santa Barbara PhD Chemical Engineering 2000
Professional Life
Field of Study: Chemical Engineering
Institution/Corporation: University of Southern Florida
Degrees & Memberships: Member: American Association for the Advancement of Science (1998) American Institute for Medical & Biological Engineering (2019)National Academy of Inventors (2019) American Institute of Chemical Engineers (1994)
Awards & Achievements
Awards: UNAM-DeGAPA Studies Abroad Fellowship; 2016-17 Core Fulbright Award; 2018 Summer Faculty Fellowship, Jewish National Fund; 2010 Hispanic Pathways Award; 2016 Excellence in Innovation Award, National Academy of Inventors; 2021 Florida Inventors Hall of Fame
Achievements: Pioneer/inventor of filtration of contaminents from freshwater & provides clean drinking water; expert in surface force measurement & Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy; holds patents for her use of cacti in treatment of Alzheimer's, cancer, drug delivery systems , water purification & improving fish farming
born & grew up in Mexico City, Mexico; credits her mother, Acrelia Alcantar, & her grandmother, Balbina Zamora, as the 2 forces who guided her life & career; grandmother was illiterate & Norma taught her how to read & write when she was middle-aged; spent lots of time with her grandmother while her mother was working helping her care for her over 300 birds & tending to her native medicinal plants; grandmother taught her that boiling nopals of prickly pear cactus in muddy water would purify the water; she later discovered it was the cactus mucilage that purified the water; used her water purification method in Haiti after the 2010 earthquake to purify water for the victims; also used the technique after the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill; holds 23 patents