​LSU Researcher Invents Whole New Ball Game to Boost Public Health Research​

Research from an LSU professor and his students could make it cheaper and easier for small towns and rural communities to test for infectious diseases in their wastewater, potentially giving them the upper hand in public health efforts. Aaron Bivins, a civil and environmental engineering assistant professor at LSU, used a 3-D printer to fashion what looks like a wiffle ball. It can be opened up, filled with a packet of activated charcoal pellets, screwed back together and then lowered on a string to sample wastewater.The cost per ball: $4, which puts it within reach of municipalities that can’t afford the