In the second post of our Introducing series, we’re very pleased to introduce Editorial Board member Young-Shin Jun to the Environmental Science: Processes & Impacts blog readers!
Young-Shin Jun is an Associate Professor of Energy, Environmental & Chemical Engineering at Washington University (St. Louis, USA), where she leads the Environmental NanoChemistry Laboratory. She is a 2011 U. S. National Science Foundation CAREER award recipient. Her research focuses on interfacial reactions in complex aqueous systems. Her research group’s projects include elucidating physicochemical reaction mechanisms occurring during water reuse through aquifer storage, treatment, and recovery to secure underground sources for drinking water; improving our understanding of the fate and transport of contaminants and nanoparticles; and providing more environmentally sustainable CO2 sequestration strategies. Prior to her position at Washington University, she conducted postdoctoral research in Nanogeoscience at the University of California at Berkeley/Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, USA. She holds an S.M. and Ph.D. in Environmental Chemistry from Harvard University (Cambridge, USA). She received her B.S. and M.S. in Environmental Science and Engineering at Ewha Womans University (Seoul, Korea).
RESEARCH VISION: “In the face of unprecedented demands for energy and clean water, we simply must find ways to secure sustainable supplies of both. At the same time, we must respect and restore the environment and reduce our emission of greenhouse gases. Maintaining a sustainable energy-water nexus is a grand environmental challenge, one which environmental scientists and engineers are uniquely positioned to undertake. At complex environmental interfaces, various combinations of reactions can often occur simultaneously. A full understanding of dynamic interfaces at the molecular scale is essential in predicting the geochemical cycling of elements and the fate and transport of contaminants. This knowledge, in turn, will help us to develop better remediation methods for polluted sites, to design sustainable carbon sequestration and utilization, and to enhance our understanding of biomineralization and our development of environmentally benign bio-inspired materials. To advance our understanding of environmental interfacial reactions, my research group, the Environmental NanoChemistry Laboratory, in the Department of Energy, Environmental & Chemical Engineering at Washington University, has been providing in situ, real-time quantitative and qualitative information from unique experimental approaches. The dynamic environmental systems studied include nanoparticles’ formation and their transformation in natural and engineered aqueous systems, managed aquifer recharge, and energy-related subsurface operations. By providing crucial information for upscaling that is presently not available, we hope this research can benefit the larger scale engineering processes needed to make major impacts.”
