Science & Engineering of Our Environment

Discoveries and impact

  • Studies of pollutant fate and transport led to Minnesota banning the use of triclosan in consumer products (from SSR)
  • Contributions to the understanding of photochemical and surface-mediated reduction reactions. 
  • Paradigm shifting insights on the  fate of emerging and legacy contaminants in aquatic systems.
  • Key results linking microbial structure and function analysis on the single cell level
  • Quantification of the impacts of microbiology processes in wastewater treatment and water distribution systems.
  • Advances in identifying biochar interactions for the management of soil fertility, greenhouse gas emissions, and contaminant transformation.
  • Identification of anthropogenic contributions of mercury to lakes.

Our Research

  • Understanding how meteorological and hydraulic conditions control the formation of harmful algal blooms
  • Investigating the presence and persistence of emerging contaminants in the environment
  • Understanding the fundamental mechanisms of abiotic organic pollutant transformation
  • Developing water remediation and treatment technologies
  • Understanding microbiology of drinking water and municipal wastewater
  • Integrating microbial technologies within the framework of the water-energy nexus
  • Applying molecular (screening) techniques to obtain structural and functional insights into microbial communities that perform services for society (e.g. wastewater treatment, pollutant remediation)