Environmental Science: Nano Blog

Dr. Drenkova-Tuhtan holds a PhD in Environmental Engineering from the University of Stuttgart, Germany since 2018. She is currently a senior researcher and principal investigator at the Laboratory of Environmental Toxicology, National Institute of Chemical Physics and Biophysics (KBFI), Tallinn, Estonia which she joined in 2020 as a Marie Skłodowska-Curie postdoc fellow.

Her research focuses on advanced wastewater treatment, resource recovery, sustainable water management, and the environmental safety of emerging technologies and materials. Her work combines environmental engineering, materials science, and aquatic ecotoxicology to develop and evaluate innovative solutions for water pollution control and nutrients recovery. Her current research interests include the development of reusable nanostructured adsorbents for phosphorus recovery, the removal of micropollutants and microplastics from wastewater, and the assessment of the potential environmental risks associated with advanced wastewater treatment technologies.

Read Asya’s Emerging Investigator Series article “Emerging investigator series: environmental safety assessment of 11 novel metal oxide/hydroxide nanocomposite adsorbents for advanced magnetic removal and recovery of phosphorus from wastewater” and read more about her in the interview below:

Your recent Emerging Investigator Series paper focused on evaluating the ecotoxicity of 11 metal oxide/hydroxide nanocomposite adsorbents for the advanced magnetic removal and recovery of phosphorus from wastewater. How has your research evolved from your earliest published work to your independent research?

My research journey began with applying nanotechnology to solve environmental challenges. During my MSc studies at the University of Stuttgart in Germany, I investigated the application of nanoscale zero-valent iron (nZVI) for the removal of phosphorus, organic micropollutants, and heavy metals from wastewater. This early work sparked my interest in the potential of engineered nanomaterials to improve conventional wastewater treatment processes.

During my PhD research, I focused on developing reusable magnetic nanocomposite adsorbents for the selective removal and recovery of phosphorus from wastewater and wanted to bridge the gap between material development and practical engineering applications, which led to the successful demonstration of magnetic phosphorus recovery at pilot scale.

A turning point in my scientific career came when I questioned whether the application of these technologically powerful novel materials could introduce new environmental risks. This motivated me to expand my research into environmental nanotoxicology. Through my Marie Skłodowska-Curie fellowship at the KBFI institute in Estonia, I combined my background in environmental engineering with ecotoxicological approaches to investigate the environmental safety of engineered nanomaterials.

My independent research now involves international collaboration and takes a broader perspective, integrating advanced wastewater treatment, resource recovery, environmental risk assessment, but also developing strategies to reduce the release of emerging pollutants (including microplastics, pharmaceuticals, etc.) into the aquatic environment.

What aspect of your work are you most excited about at the moment?

What I find especially rewarding is the possibility of translating scientific findings into practical solutions that can be implemented at full scale. Seeing research move beyond the laboratory and contribute directly to cleaner water, resource conservation, and the protection of aquatic ecosystems is a powerful motivation for my work.

In your opinion, what are the most important questions to be asked/answered in your field of research?

I believe one of the most important questions in environmental engineering is how to develop increasingly efficient, resilient and sustainable water treatment technologies without creating new environmental problems, especially in the context of climate change and global instability.

What do you find most challenging about your research?

One of the greatest challenges is translating promising laboratory findings into technologies that perform reliably under real operating conditions. Another major challenge is the interdisciplinary nature of my research. Developing environmentally sustainable wastewater treatment technologies requires bringing together expertise from different fields (engineering, materials science, analytical chemistry, microbiology, etc.). Each discipline has its own methods, terminology, and priorities, and integrating them into a coherent research approach can be demanding.

In which upcoming conferences or events may our readers meet you?

I will have an oral presentation at the IWA World Water Congress & Exhibition in Glasgow, UK.

How do you spend your spare time?

I enjoy spending quality time with my family, travelling, and exploring new places and cultures. I particularly appreciate spending time outdoors in nature with my two children, which provides a refreshing contrast to the demands of scientific research.

Which profession would you choose if you were not a scientist?

Probably a human psychologist.

Can you share one piece of career-related advice or wisdom with other early career scientists?

Be persistent, stay focused and never give up pursuing your goals, build strong scientific networks, seek out supportive mentors, have a clear sense of purpose, be curious and open to exploring research directions beyond your immediate field of expertise.

Briana Aguila is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemistry at Francis Marion University in Florence, SC. After completing her undergraduate studies in Chemistry at the University of Florida, Briana earned her Ph.D. in Chemistry at the University of South Florida under Prof. Shengqian Ma studying “Functional Porous Materials: Applications in Environmental Sustainability”.  During her Ph.D. Briana was an intern at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) and worked on metal-organic frameworks for nuclear waste remediation under research scientist Dr. Praveen Thallapally. As Briana began her career as an Assistant Professor, she was able to travel back to PNNL through the Visiting Faculty Program and worked alongside research scientist Dr. Quin Miller on carbon mineralization in basalt rock.

Read Briana’s Emerging Investigator Series article “Emerging investigator series: kinetics of diopside reactivity for carbon mineralization in mafic–ultramafic rocks” and read more about her in the interview below:

Your recent Emerging Investigator Series paper focuses on Kinetics of Diopside Reactivity for Carbon Mineralization in Mafic-Ultramafic Rocks. How has your research evolved from your first article to this most recent article?

My first publication in graduate school was from an internship at PNNL working on the removal of Cs and Sr from nuclear waste using a functionalized metal-organic framework (Chem. Commun., 2016, 52, 5940-5942). I am grateful for the mentorship I had from my host, Dr. Praveen Thallapally, and my Ph.D. advisor, Dr. Shengqian Ma, for the research opportunities and helping produce a publishable piece of work. Throughout my career, I have always been interested in materials for environmental applications. Now, I am eager to be delving into geochemistry and how we can use minerals found in nature to solve environmental problems. Transitioning into the mentor role, I also want to be including my undergraduate researchers so they can experience the writing process. I look back and laugh, as one of the reasons I went into chemistry was because I was much more math and science focused with little enjoyment in writing; how the times have changed!

What aspect of your work are you most excited about at the moment?

Currently, I am most excited about studying new minerals and how they behave once injected with CO₂. A better understanding of the fundamentals at the nano-scale is the first step in moving forward with putting carbon storage technologies at the forefront of creating a carbon-negative industrial sector. I am also excited about recruiting new students who can get hands-on experience with this type of research at the undergraduate-level.

In your opinion, what are the most important questions to be asked/answered in this field of research?

I think the most challenging part of most research is putting what you learned at the bench and applying it to the real world. As we learn the fundamentals of how these minerals are transforming into carbonates, this needs to be supplemented with large-scale studies in the basalt rock, similar to PNNL’s Wallula Basalt Project (https://www.pnnl.gov/projects/carbon-storage/wallula-basalt-project). Other important questions would be how to capture the CO₂ for injection, whether direct air capture is feasible and implementing point source capture to create green industries.

What do you find most challenging about your research?

Since I am at a predominantly undergraduate institution, the hardest part, for both my students and myself, is committing adequate time for research. I am very grateful for summers, when there are not as many courses and the priority can shift to research. This is also a great time to partake in summer research programs, such as the PNNL Visiting Faculty Program, which has been vital for making research progress in my group.

In which upcoming conferences or events may our readers meet you?

I enjoy presenting at conferences and supporting my undergraduate research students as they present their posters, some of which, are experiencing a scientific conference for the first time! I am planning to attend the Southeastern Regional Meeting of the American Chemical Society in Durham, NC October 25-28^th, 2023. I can also be reached via email at briana.aguila@fmarion.edu and on twitter @BriAguila.

How do you spend your spare time?

When I have a free moment, I like to spend time with my husband and our three dogs. I also love cooking, watching The Bachelor, reading, going to the movies, camping, and spending time with family.

Which profession would you choose if you were not a scientist?

Two professions come to mind. Given my lifelong love of crime dramas, Criminal Minds, NCIS, Law & Order, etc., and my most recent obsession with true crime podcasts, I would want to be some sort of criminal investigator. My other choice would be the host of a food travel show; move over Guy Fieri!

Can you share one piece of career-related advice or wisdom with other early career scientists?

I think a lot of early career folks struggle with imposter syndrome; just know you are not alone in this and it is completely normal. As long as you stay true to what you are passionate about you will surprise yourself with what you are capable of.

Yaqi You is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Environmental Resources Engineering at the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry. Her research group studies microbiomes in both natural and engineered system through an interdisciplinary lens, with a long-term goal of harnessing the environmental microbiome for a sustainable food-energy-water nexus. Current research directions of interest include manipulating soil and rhizosphere microbiomes using carbonaceous materials, understanding the impact of emerging contaminants on the spread of antibiotic resistance, and addressing aquatic intermittency effects on stream microbiomes and water quality. She received a PhD in Environmental Engineering from Johns Hopkins University and a postdoctoral fellow in Environmental Health from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Read Yaqi’s Emerging Investigator Series article “Emerging investigator series: Differential effects of carbon nanotube and graphene on the tomato rhizosphere microbiome” and read more about her in the interview below:

Your recent Emerging Investigator Series paper focuses on Differential effects of carbon nanotube and graphene on the tomato rhizosphere microbiome. How has your research evolved from your first article to this most recent article?

My first paper was about the persistence of mobile antibiotic resistance genes in agricultural soils due to a process called horizontal gene transfer and the influence of antibiotic residues on that process. Since then, my research has continued to focus on the environmental microbiome but evolved significantly to encompass areas in environmental health, sustainable nanotechnology, biotechnology, and biogeochemistry. What has also expanded over time is my research toolbox. My current group employs systems microbiology, analytical chemistry, and data science to understand responses of microbial systems to environmental changes with an ultimate goal of harnessing microbial powers for sustainable development. This recent article exemplifies the trajectory of that evolution. In this work, we found that carbon nanotubes have a greater impact than graphene on the rhizosphere microbiome and that rhizosphere microbes have unique responses to carbon nanotubes compared to bulk soil microbes. I hope our work can help unveil mechanisms underlying CNM-introduced plant phenotypic changes.

 What aspect of your work are you most excited about at the moment?

At the moment, I am very excited about delineating microbial responses to carbonaceous materials, particularly those in the rhizosphere. The rhizosphere microbiome is an essential component of the plant holobiont and significantly contributes to host fitness. Material-based manipulation of the plant rhizosphere holds promise to achieve sustainable crop production.

 In your opinion, what are the most important questions to be asked/answered in this field of research?

When studying the rhizosphere, I think important questions include (1) how can we disentangle complex microbe-chemical interactions in response to material-based modulation, and (2) to translate knowledge in this line to the implementation of precision rhizosphere manipulation and even engineering.

What do you find most challenging about your research?

The rhizosphere represents one most complex microenvironment where a tremendous diversity of microbes and molecules coexist. Multi-omics is an ideal tool to understand the dynamic rhizosphere. However, multi-omics integration, a merger of molecular biology, analytical chemistry, bioinformatics, and data science, is always challenging.

In which upcoming conferences or events may our readers meet you?

My group is attending the AEESP (Association of Environmental Engineering and Science Professors) Research & Education Conference in Boston beginning on June 20, 2023. We also plan to attend the ASA (American Society of Agronomy)-CSSA (Crop Science Society of America)-SSSA (Soil Science Society of America) International Annual Meeting in St. Louis starting on October 29, 2023.

How do you spend your spare time?

I enjoy traveling and photographing, watching movies, reading books, playing ukulele, and spending time with friends and family.

Which profession would you choose if you were not a scientist?

My childhood dream was becoming an astronaut and I almost chose an astronomy major as an undergraduate. I was also fascinated with ancient world history and comparative history.

Can you share one piece of career-related advice or wisdom with other early career scientists?

Creating a supportive “network” (credit to Earth Science Women’s Network) is critical and rewarding, both professionally and personally; learning research directions not immediately adjacent to one’s own field can spark new, interdisciplinary ideas.