TAMPA, Fla. — Dr. Norma Alcantar was born and raised in Mexico City, where her love for science first began.
"I was very curious, you know, I was always looking at how plants will start like a new flower. My grandma had birds, so I was also looking at, you know, when the eggshell starts like breaking," Alcantar said.
What she didn't know at the time was that her scientific curiosity, combined with a family secret involving cactuses, would eventually earn her a spot in the Florida Inventors Hall of Fame.
When she first began her research at the University of South Florida, she needed a topic. And her breakthrough came from an unexpected source - a conversation she remembered with her grandmother during her sophomore year of high school.
"When I was in high school, my grandma, I believe it was my sophomore year, and I was telling her that we were looking at these surfactants that you put in the water," Alcantar said.
To her surprise, her grandma, who at the time could not read or write, knew all about surfactants.
A surfactant is a chemical compound that lowers the surface tension of water, making it easier to remove contaminants like dirt and grease.
Her grandmother had been using cactus pedals her entire life for that exact purpose.
"Whenever there was like a big storm that they had lots of debris in the water, she had to boil the cactus and put the cactus in there. So the cactus was a surfactant," says Alcantar.
Years later, that conversation gave her a jumping-off point for her research.
"That's how we started looking into what kind of molecules and how can we harvest those molecules and how can we actually make them into something that can be applicable to a larger scale," Alcantar said.
The research focused first on extracting specific molecules from cactus pads that can be used for water purification on a larger scale.
Dr. Alcantar has since had success in purifying water using natural products that are biodegradable.
And she hopes that this natural approach could revolutionize access to clean water, particularly in underserved communities.
"It can be implemented in low-income communities that don't have available water or clean water to them. They can grow the plant and then they can use it to clean water," Alcantar said.
Using knowledge from her heritage and a secret that's been in her family for over 100 years, Alcantar is working to make a difference one cactus pad at a time.
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