Author Archive

Introducing Editorial Board Member, Lutgarde Raskin

We are delighted to introduce Lutgarde Raskin as an Editorial Board Member for our new journal Environmental Science: Water Research & Technology.

Lutgarde Raskin

Having completed her Ph.D. in Environmental Engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1993, Lutgarde is now the Altarum/ERIM Russell O’Neal Professor of Engineering at the University of Michigan.

Lutgarde has worked on a variety of biological water treatment processes.  Her current research focusses on anaerobic microbial processes for energy recovery from waste streams, and microbial processes in drinking water systems, including biological filtration, disinfection, and microbial ecology of distribution systems and premise plumbing.  In her research, she uses cutting-edge molecular tools to characterize and optimize water quality process performance.

Lutgarde’s Inspiration:

I am inspired by the complexity of the microbial world and the astonishing progress we have made in microbial ecology over the past few decades. This progress continuously motivates me to rethink engineered systems so we can better harness the power of microorganisms to treat water and recover resources from waste streams.

Lutgarde Raskin, Editorial Board Member, Environmental Science: Water Research &Technology


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Energy positive treatment for fracking water

$5 billion (£3 billion) is the estimated annual cost for disposing of contaminated water produced during shale gas extraction. Now, researchers in the US have developed a new technology that could reduce the cost of dealing with this water by 30–40%.

Reclaimed fracking fluid is a significant environmental impediment to the energy industry © FLPA / Alamy

Hydraulic fracturing, the process used to extract oil and gas from underground rock formations, produces over 20 billion barrels of contaminated water every year. Current methods, such as underground injection, to dispose of these vast quantities of contaminated water have risks, including a chance of initiating earthquakes. Reuse of this water avoids disposal issues, but requires multiple treatment processes to remove contaminants such as salts and organic hydrocarbons.

Zhiyong Jason Ren and colleagues from the University of Colorado Boulder have developed a technique that can simultaneously remove organic pollutants and salinity from contaminated water whilst producing energy. ‘The beauty of this technology is that it can replace five or six current processes with one to kill multiple birds with one stone,’ he says.

To read the full article please visit Chemistry World.

Congratulations to the team at CU-Boulder who were recently awarded first place in the National Science Foundation’s Innovation Corps Program for the development of this technology.

With energy companies eager to test the technology in the field, Ren’s team is now working to scale up the process. You can access their full research paper, which is part of our Fracking in Perspective web collection for free* by clicking the link below.

Environ. Sci.: Water Res. Technol., 2015, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C4EW00050A, Paper
From themed collection Fracking in perspective

*Access is free through a registered RSC account – click here to register.

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Introducing Editorial Board Member, Long Nghiem

We are delighted to introduce Long Nghiem as an Editorial Board Member for our new journal Environmental Science: Water Research & Technology.

Long Nghiem

Long is an Associate Professor for the School of Civil Mining and Environmental Engineering at the University of Wollongong in Australia where he completed his PhD in 2005.

Long’s research expertise covers a range of membrane separation processes, including pressure driven membrane filtration, forward osmosis, membrane distillation, facilitated transport membrane, membrane electrolysis, and membrane bioreactor. Current research work of his membrane separation laboratory focuses on the development of a membrane separation platform for the recovery of clean water, energy, and nutrients from wastewater. Long was the Vice President of the Membrane Society of Australasia from 2010 – 2014 and is currently a member of the Managing Committee of the IWA Membrane Specialty Group.

My aim:

To provide clean and affordable drinking water to all and to transform wastewater treatment into ‘biorefineries’ for energy and fertilizer production through innovative membrane processes.

Long Nghiem, Editorial Board Member, Environmental Science: Water Research &Technology


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Introducing Editorial Board Member, Mike Elovitz

We are delighted to introduce Mike Elovitz as an Editorial Board Member for our new journal Environmental Science: Water Research & Technology.

Mike Elovitz

Mike completed his Ph.D. at the Department of Environmental Science & Engineering, Oregon Health and Science University. He has been a Research Scientist at the US Environmental Protection Agency since 1997.

Mike conducts research for the Treatment Technology Evaluation Branch in the Water Supply and Water Resources Division of the Office of Research and Development’s National Risk Management Research Laboratory. His current research projects focus on computation fluid dynamics modelling approaches to ozone contractor design and halonitromethane formation during chlorination. Mike also investigates mixing in baffled ozone contractors using 3D lased-induced fluorescence and reactive transport model.

Mike’s passion:

I’m not sure why I care about the environment as much as I do! I guess that if it comes from a place within that can’t be explained, then – even  for a scientist – it may not need a rationalization.

Mike Elovitz, Editorial Board Member, Environmental Science: Water Research &Technology


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Introducing Editorial Board Member, Peter Vikesland

We are delighted to introduce Peter Vikesland as an Editorial Board Member for our new journal Environmental Science: Water Research & Technology.

Peter Vikesland

Peter is a Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Virginia Tech, USA. He completed his Ph.D. in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at The University of Iowa in 1998.

Professor Vikesland’s research interests include nanomaterials in the environment and improved sensors for drinking water. His research on the environmental implications of nanotechnology examines the effects of solution chemistry on the aggregation and dissolution of environmentally relevant nanoparticles. Peter is the director of the Virginia Tech Sustainable Nanotechnology Interdisciplinary Graduate Education Program, where the primary goal is to facilitate the incorporation of sustainable design concepts in the nanotechnology field. Peter’s research group is interested in the development and testing of sensor technologies for the detection of environmental contaminants, with a particular emphasis on the use of Raman spectroscopy to detect biological and organic compounds. He is also works to evaluate drinking water disinfectant reactions with aqueous contaminants, focusing on disinfectant reactions with pharmaceutical and personal care products.

Peter’s inspiration:

My children are my inspiration. For their benefit I’m continually inspired to work to improve the world and better understand our ever evolving role in it.

Peter Vikesland, Editorial Board Member, Environmental Science: Water Research &Technology


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Introducing Editorial Board Member, Jeremy Guest

We are delighted to introduce Jeremy Guest as an Editorial Board Member for our new journal Environmental Science: Water Research & Technology.

Jeremy Guest

Jeremy completed his Ph.D. in Environmental Engineering at the University of Michigan and is currently an Assistant Professor in the Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and the Thrust Leader for Sanitation and Resource Recovery at the Safe Global Water Institute. His research interests are in in the development of technologies and decision-making tools that increase access to, and the sustainability of, environmental infrastructure.

Jeremy is primarily focusing on sanitation and the development of biotechnologies that manage wastewater as a renewable resource for energy production, chemical production, and nutrient and water recovery. By integrating experimentation, modelling, and quantitative sustainable design, his research group leverages fundamental insights into molecular- and cell-scale processes to advance systems-scale sustainability, connecting technology innovation with broader societal initiatives for advancing energy, food security, health and nutrition in both developing and technologically advanced communities.

My inspiration:

I am continually inspired by passionate students who are committed to solving meaningful problems facing society.”.

Jeremy Guest, Editorial Board Member, Environmental Science: Water Research &Technology


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Introducing Editorial Board Member, Michael Templeton

We are delighted to introduce Michael Templeton as an Editorial Board Member for our new journal Environmental Science: Water Research & Technology.

Michael Templeton

Michael is a chartered civil engineer and Senior Lecturer in Public Health Engineering in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Imperial College London, UK. He completed his Ph.D. in Civil-Environmental Engineering at the University of Toronto, Canada.

Michael’s research aims to develop engineering solutions to public health challenges relating to water supply and sanitation. His current projects include: devising strategies for water utilities to minimise disinfection by-products in tap water; maximising the effectiveness of water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) interventions for preventing schistosomiasis in Africa; optimising ultraviolet disinfection and oxidation processes for water treatment; detecting and controlling antibiotic-resistant bacteria in drinking water supplies.

Michael’s inspiration:

The millions of women and girls in developing countries who sacrifice so much of their lives collecting water for their families.

Michael Templeton, Editorial Board Member, Environmental Science: Water Research &Technology


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Introducing Editorial Board Member, Yunho Lee

We are delighted to introduce Yunho Lee as an Editorial Board Member for our new journal Environmental Science: Water Research & Technology.

Yunho Lee

Yunho Lee is an assistant professor in the School of Environmental Science & Engineering at Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology-GIST, Korea. He completed his Ph.D. in the Chemical Engineering Department at Seoul National University, Korea in 2005. He did a postdoctoral research at EAWAG, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology before joining GIST in 2011.

Yunho’s research interests include:

  • drinking water quality and treatment
  • wastewater reclamation and resource recovery
  • (photo) chemical oxidation processes in natural and technical water systems

Yunho is currently researching the fate and treatment of organic contaminants of concern (e.g., antibiotics, resistant genes, nitrosamines) in natural and technical water systems, with focuses on environmental redox processes. To understand and optimize the redox processes and technologies, his group takes inter-disciplinary approaches combining chemistry, toxicology, microbiology, and process engineering. In addition to the water quality issues in urban, centralized systems, his group is investigating small-scale, decentralized treatment/recovery technologies for sustainable water and resources management. Current research topics are treatment/recovery technologies for source-separated urine and gravity-driven membrane-based water treatment technologies.

My inspiration:

I like to do research and education in this multidisciplinary field of water science and engineering in which one can enjoy learning from basic theories to practical applications, and contribute something for attaining sustainable and healthy environment.

Yunho Lee, Editorial Board Member, Environmental Science: Water Research &Technology


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Introducing Associate Editor, Tamar Kohn

We are delighted to introduce Tamar Kohn as an Associate Editor for our new journal Environmental Science: Water Research & Technology.

About Tamar

After receiving a Diploma in Environmental Science at ETZH in Switzerland, Tamar completed her PhD in Environmental Engineering at John Hopkins University in 2004. She then became a Postdoctoral researcher at the University of California, Berkeley.

Currently, Tamar is an Associate Professor at École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, in Switzerland, where she heads the Environmental Chemistry Laboratory. The aim of Tamar’s research is to understand the fundamental principles and processes that lead to improved water quality in natural and engineered systems, including pertinent water quality issues such as viral pathogens and organic micropollutants. She uses a combination of (photo-) chemical, molecular biological and modelling tools to gain knowledge enabling the improvement of existing water treatment systems and development of novel, more effective methods.

Previously, Tamar was co-guest editor for the themed issue, 2012 Emerging Investigators, in our sister journal, Environmental Science: Processes & Impacts.

My most memorable advice:

“Make sure to step back from your work every once in a while, to reflect on what you’re doing, and to decide if you’re still headed in a relevant direction. If not, be brave enough to change course.”

Tamar Kohn, Associate Editor, Environmental Science: Water Research & Technology

Tamar is now accepting submissions – submit your manuscript to her today!

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Introducing Associate Editor, Paige Novak

We are delighted to introduce Paige Novak as an Associate Editor for our new journal Environmental Science: Water Research & Technology.

About Paige

Paige completed a B.S in Chemical Engineering at the University of Virginia. She then attended the University of Iowa, where she completed her M.S and PhD in 1997 – both in Environmental Engineering.

Currently, Paige is a Professor at the University of Minnesota, where she heads a research group, specializing in research on the biological transformation of hazardous substances in sediment, groundwater and wastewater. She works both in the laboratory and in the field, trying to understand the interactions between microorganisms and environmental conditions. Her current research focuses on:

  • PCB dechlorinators
  • The natural role of dehalorespirers in the environment
  • The fate of estrogenic compounds in wastewater and the environment
  • The effects of micropollutants on microbial communities
  • Reactive membrane systems

Paige has recently published a paper, ‘identifying sources of emerging organic contaminants in a mixed use watershed using principal component analysis’ in our sister journal, Environmental Science: Processes & Impacts.

Paige’s Inspiration:

I am inspired by the large number of incredibly bright people working to improve water quality and environmental sustainability through research and practice.”

Paige Novak, Associate Editor, Environmental Science: Water Research & Technology

Paige is now accepting submissions – submit your manuscript to her today!

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