Jiwen Fan | Psyllium Husk as a Biological Amendment for Soil-based Shelter Coat Protection of Earthen Structures

Jiwen Fan (MSHP '24) won the Anthony Nicholas Brady Garvan Award for an Outstanding Thesis. 

Abstract: Common to all raw-earth-based construction, local availability, low cost, and low environmental impact are important aspects; however, earth is also highly sensitive to moisture. The increasing intensity of a single rain event due to climate change thus threatens the viability of earthen heritage in traditionally arid areas. For over 5 decades, synthetic organic polymers have been used to amend earthen materials; however, the success of these materials depends on the composition and moisture content of the soils. Incompatibility, irreversibility, and low sustainability further prompted reconsideration for alternatives to cope with diminishing resources and a changing climate.