{"603360":{"#nid":"603360","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Brewing a Better Cup of Coffee","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EThe four materials science and engineering majors gathered one August morning for their senior design class. It was 8am and they all sipped coffee.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ETyler Quill joked that his dentist would kill him for drinking coffee, knowing how the beverage\u0026rsquo;s acidity contributes to tooth and enamel erosion.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;Then we started talking about why that happens and how great it would be if we could find a way to fix the problem,\u0026rdquo; said Quill, who is from Grayson, Ga.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ETogether the team designed pHAM, a filter to reduce coffee\u0026rsquo;s acidity. They incorporated a mineral blend into the structure of the filter paper, which reduces the acidity of the brewed coffee without negatively affecting the taste.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe creation is one of six competing for Georgia Tech\u0026rsquo;s annual invention competition, the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/inventureprize.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003EInVenture Prize\u003C\/a\u003E. The 2018 winner will be picked March 14.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe filter wasn\u0026rsquo;t the team\u0026rsquo;s original idea. First, they designed a thermos that would change the pH of coffee once it was poured. But they realized there was an easier method that could be used earlier in the process.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;Coffee is brewed with a filter so we realized why not change the pH level during the process of making the coffee,\u0026rdquo; said Birmingham native Aaron Stansell. \u0026ldquo;We\u0026rsquo;re the basic solution to your acidity problem.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe challenge then became how to put the acidity-reducing mineral blend into the filter paper. Fortunately, team member Michele Lauto, who is from Santa Monica, worked at the Institute of Paper and Science Technology (now called the \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/rbi1.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003ERenewable Bioproducts Institute\u003C\/a\u003E) during freshman year and had ideas about adding another layer to the filter.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe pHAM filter fits in standard coffee makers and the grounds brew in a normal manner. The team ran tests proving their mineral blend neutralizes the acidity. It doesn\u0026rsquo;t change the taste, although some people say the coffee tastes smoother and more rounded, said Lucas Votaw, from Herndon, Va.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe team hopes to get pHAM into coffee shops and restaurants around the country. \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EInVenture won\u0026rsquo;t be the last time pHAM is on display. It is also their project for the spring \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/expo.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003ECapstone Design Expo\u003C\/a\u003E.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EInVenture Prize finalist pHAM designed new filters to reduce coffee\u0026rsquo;s acidity. The team is one of six finalists and winners will be announced March 14.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"InVenture Prize finalist pHAM designed new filters to reduce coffee\u0027s acidity"}],"uid":"27918","created_gmt":"2018-03-06 16:27:20","changed_gmt":"2018-03-06 18:25:55","author":"Laura Diamond","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2018-03-06T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2018-03-06T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"603310":{"id":"603310","type":"image","title":"pHAM - 2018 InVenture Prize finalist ","body":null,"created":"1520346855","gmt_created":"2018-03-06 14:34:15","changed":"1520346855","gmt_changed":"2018-03-06 14:34:15","alt":"","file":{"fid":"229950","name":"N18C10302-P32-006.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/N18C10302-P32-006.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/N18C10302-P32-006.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":236310,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/N18C10302-P32-006.jpg?itok=5RHREBY5"}},"603313":{"id":"603313","type":"image","title":"pHAM team - 2018 InVenture Prize finalist","body":null,"created":"1520347151","gmt_created":"2018-03-06 14:39:11","changed":"1520347151","gmt_changed":"2018-03-06 14:39:11","alt":"","file":{"fid":"229951","name":"N18C10302-P32-002.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/N18C10302-P32-002.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/N18C10302-P32-002.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":511199,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/N18C10302-P32-002.jpg?itok=JGRHWsZ_"}},"603314":{"id":"603314","type":"image","title":"pHAM filter - 2018 InVenture Prize finalist","body":null,"created":"1520347258","gmt_created":"2018-03-06 14:40:58","changed":"1520347258","gmt_changed":"2018-03-06 14:40:58","alt":"","file":{"fid":"229952","name":"N18C10302-P32-008.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/N18C10302-P32-008.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/N18C10302-P32-008.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":268967,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/N18C10302-P32-008.jpg?itok=jKXfjTiC"}}},"media_ids":["603310","603313","603314"],"related_links":[{"url":"https:\/\/inventureprize.gatech.edu","title":"Georgia Tech InVenture Prize"}],"groups":[{"id":"1214","name":"News Room"}],"categories":[{"id":"8862","name":"Student Research"},{"id":"145","name":"Engineering"}],"keywords":[{"id":"7764","name":"InVenture Prize"},{"id":"169753","name":"student startups"},{"id":"3472","name":"entrepreneurship"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"106361","name":"Business and Economic Development"},{"id":"71871","name":"Campus and Community"},{"id":"71881","name":"Science and Technology"},{"id":"71901","name":"Society and Culture"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ELaura Diamond\u0026nbsp;\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nMedia Relations\u0026nbsp;\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\n\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:laura.diamond@gatech.edu\u0022\u003Elaura.diamond@gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E404-660-2927\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["laura.diamond@gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}