Alyssa Murphy

Undergraduate Research in the Neighborhoods

Alyssa’s study looked at a real-world application that we all use at least three times a day—hot-air operated hand dryers. First introduced in the 1990s, these are now used in bathroom settings as a main hand drying method. While this method is quick and seemingly effective, hot-air hand drying may cause the aerosolization of harmful bacteria and other microorganisms that are present on washed hands. Alyssa’s goal is to explore how high velocity air dryers mobilize bacteria from washed hands to air and to determine where these germs are dispersed around an indoor space. Results of her research study indicated that there’s a concentration gradient throughout the chamber. When comparing the quantity of airborne bacteria concentration in both passive and active air samples, Alyssa found that the greatest release of particles from hands is produced by the Xlerator hand dryer. Her work will enable current hand dryer companies to engineer new dryers that mitigate the spread of leftover microorganisms from our hands to public space, and thus reduce the infection risks. 

Learn more about this and other research in the Neighborhood Engagement Centers.