News

11/2023: Our collaborative proposal with Dr. Xiaoli Ma (PI) and Dr. Shangping Xu (Co-PI) at UWM titled “Development of positively charged nanofiltration membranes for water softening: Phase II” has been selected for funding by the NSF I/UCRC Water Equipment and Policy Center.

11/2023: Our collaborative paper with Dr. Jinyong Liu at the UC-Riverside of Enhancing aqueous chlorate reduction using vanadium redox cycles and pH control has been accepted by Environmental Science & Technology.

10/2023: Qianqian’s paper of Adsorption of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) by ionic liquid-modified clays: Effect of clay composition and PFAS structure has been accepted by Journal of Colloid and Interface Science. Congratulations, Qianqian!

09/2023: Our collaborative paper with Dr. Brooke Mayer at the Marquette University of Peroxi-electrocoagulation for simultaneous oxidation of trace organic compounds and removal of natural organic matter at neutral pH has been accepted by Environmental Science: Advances.

09/2023: Our collaborative paper with Dr. Xiaoli Ma at UWM of Development of ceramic membranes with controllable PFAS mass transfer for passive sampling applications has been accepted by Chemical Engineering Journal Advances.

09/2023: Yanan’s paper of Adsorption of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances by aquifer materials: the important role of dolomite has been accepted by Environmental Science & Technology Letters. Congratulations, Yanan!

09/2023: Caine Kandler joins our group as an undergraduate researcher. Welcome, Caine!

07/2023: Our collaborative paper with Dr. Patrick McNamara at the Marquette University of Impact of corrosion inhibitors on antibiotic resistance, metal resistance, and microbial communities in drinking water has been accepted by mSphere.

07/2023: Our collaborative proposal with Dr. Kpoti Gunn (PI, UWGB) and Dr. Michael Holly (Co-PI) at UW-Green Bay titled “Mitigating PFAS contamination of groundwater: biochar sequestration of PFAS in biosolid leachate at the field scale” has been selected for funding by the Freshwater Collaborative of Wisconsin.

07/2023: Our collaborative proposal with Dr. Zhaohui Li (PI) and Dr. Lori Allen (Co-PI) at UW-Parkside and Dr. Shangping Xu (Co-PI) at UWM titled “Engaging undergraduate students in cutting-edge research on the use of earth materials for the removal of contaminants including per- and polyfluorinated substances (PFAS)” has been selected for funding by the Freshwater Collaborative of Wisconsin.

07/2023: Our collaborative proposal with Dr. Joseph Mondloch (PI) at UW-Stevens Point and Dr. Shangping Xu (Co-PI) at UWM titled “Development of a collaborative undergraduate research experience to improve per- and polyfluoroalkyl (PFAS) adsorption in nanoporous solids” has been selected for funding by the Freshwater Collaborative of Wisconsin.

06/2023: Our proposal titled “Lithium extraction from brine using metal-doped layered double hydroxide adsorbent in combination with membrane filtration” has been selected for funding by the UWM Research Foundation Catalyst Grant. This work is in collaboration with Dr. Shangping Xu (Co-PI) and Dr. Xiaoli Ma (Co-PI) at UWM.

05/2023: Sydney successfully defended her MS thesis. Congratulations, Sydney!

04/2023: Our collaborative proposal with Dr. Shangping Xu (PI) at UWM and Dr. Erin Berns-Herrboldt (Co-PI) at UW-Green Bay titled “An experimental investigation on the leaching of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) from contaminated soil” has been selected for funding by the University of Wisconsin System via Wisconsin Groundwater Coordinating Council.

04/2023: Our collaborative proposal with Dr. Shangping Xu (PI), Dr. Sonia Bardy (Co-PI) and Dr. Xiaoli Ma (Co-PI) at UWM titled “The development of novel biotreatment techniques for per- and polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) using microbial isolates from a heavily contaminated site” has been selected for funding by the University of Wisconsin System Ignite Grant .

02/2023: Xiaopeng’s paper of Enhanced adsorption of short-chain perfluorobutanoic acid by functionalized periodic mesoporous silica: Performance and mechanisms has been accepted by Journal of Hazardous Materials. Congratulations, Xiaopeng!

12/2022: Adam successfully defended his MS thesis. Congratulations, Adam!

11/2022: Our collaborative proposal with Dr. Xiaoli Ma (PI) and Dr. Shangping Xu (Co-PI) at UWM titled “Development of positively charged nanofiltration membranes for water softening” has been selected for funding by the NSF I/UCRC Water Equipment and Policy Center.

11/2022: Our collaborative proposal with Dr. Patrick McNamara (PI) and Dr. Brooke Mayer (Co-PI) at Marquette University titled “Novel Iron-Based Electrocoagulation-Peroxidation Treatment Process for Removal of PFAS: Phase III” has been selected for funding by the NSF I/UCRC Water Equipment and Policy Center.

11/2022: Our proposal titled “Development of filter media to remove the overlooked nano-particulate lead from drinking water” has been selected for funding by the NSF I/UCRC Water Equipment and Policy Center. This work is in collaboration with Dr. Shangping Xu (Co-PI) and Dr. Xiaoli Ma (Co-PI) at UWM.

11/2022: Our invited book chapter of Palladium-based nanostructured catalysts for treatment of recalcitrant and problematic waterborne pollutants has been published in The Water Scientific Reference of Water Science: Volume 2: Nanotechnology for Water Treatment and Water Interfaces.

09/2022: Braden Dickas joins our group as an undergraduate researcher. Welcome, Braden!

09/2022: Our collaborative paper of Removal and inactivation of virus by ceramic water filters coated with lanthanum (III) has been accepted by ACS ES&T Water.

07/2022: Qianqian successfully defended her PhD thesis “Adsorption of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances on functionalized minerals: Effects of modifier property and mineral structure“. Congratulations, Dr. Dong!

06/2022: Dr. Wang has received the UWM Research Foundation Licensing Award.

05/2022: Xiaopeng and Jingwan’s paper of Enhanced sorption of perfluorooctanoic acid with organically functionalized layered double hydroxide has been accepted by Chemical Engineering Journal. Congratulations, Xiaopeng and Jingwan!

04/2022: Our collaborative proposal with Dr. Shangping Xu (PI) and Dr. Xiaoli Ma (Co-PI) at UWM titled “The use of pore-scale contaminant transport simulation framework to facilitate the development of next generation water filters” has been selected for funding by the University of Wisconsin System Ignite Grant .

04/2022: Our proposal titled “Elucidating the role of dissolved organic matter in regulating the sorption of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) by engineered adsorbents” has been selected for funding by the UWM Discovery and Innovation Grant. This work is in collaboration with Dr. Laodong Guo (Co-PI) and Dr. Shangping Xu (Co-PI) at UWM.

03/2022: Dr. Wang has been awarded Lawrence E. Sivak ’71 Professorship in the College of Engineering and Applied Science at UWM.

03/2022: Our collaborative paper of Lanthanum(III) coated ceramic filters in point-of-use water treatment for bacterial removal has been accepted by ACS ES&T Water.

01/2022: Our collaborative review paper with Dr. Erik Christensen at UWM and Dr. An Li at University of Illinois Chicago of Properties and fate and transport of persistent and mobile polar organic water pollutants: A review has been accepted by Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering.

11/2021: Our collaborative proposal with Dr. Xiaoli Ma (PI) and Dr. Shangping Xu (Co-PI) at UWM titled “High-flux nanofiltration and reverse osmosis membranes based on microporous covalent organic frameworks” has been selected for funding by the NSF I/UCRC Water Equipment and Policy Center.

11/2021: Our collaborative proposal with Dr. Brooke Mayer (PI) and Dr. Patrick McNamara (Co-PI) at Marquette University and Dr. Laodong Guo (Co-PI) at UWM titled “Novel Iron-Based Electrocoagulation-Peroxidation Treatment Process for Removal of PFAS: Phase II” has been selected for funding by the NSF I/UCRC Water Equipment and Policy Center.

11/2021: Our proposal titled “Porous organic framework modified with TiO2 for the removal and destruction of PFAS” has been selected for funding by the NSF I/UCRC Water Equipment and Policy Center. This work is in collaboration with Dr. Xiaoli Ma (Co-PI) and Dr. Shangping Xu (Co-PI) at UWM.

09/2021: Our collaborative proposal with Dr. Shangping Xu (PI) at UWM and Dr. David Hart (Co-PI) at UW-Madison titled “Initial estimation of PFAS flux to Lake Michigan through the quantitative understanding of PFAS contamination within Wisconsin’s connected aquifers” has been selected for funding by the Wisconsin Sea Grant.

09/2021: Our collaborative review paper with Dr. Patrick McNamara at the Marquette University of Electrochemical technologies for PFAS mitigation in drinking water and water treatment residuals has been accepted by AWWA Water Science.

09/2021: Jingwan’s paper of Comparison of Zn-Al and Mg-Al layered doubled hydroxides for adsorption of perfluorooctanoic acid has been accepted by Chemosphere. Congratulations, Jingwan!

08/2021: Sydney Morgan joins our group as a new MS student. Welcome, Sydney!

08/2021: Wenxin Zhang joins our group as a new PhD student. Welcome, Wenxin!

08/2021: Xiaopeng successfully defended his PhD thesis “Silica-based materials for water treatment applications: adsorption and supported noble metal-based catalysis“. Congratulations, Dr. Min!

07/2021: Dr. Wang (Co-PI) has received a collaborative grant with Dr. Shangping Xu (PI) and Dr. Erica Young (Co-PI) at UWM from UWM Research Foundation Catalyst Grant to develop novel algal reactors for PFAS removal.

06/2021: Qianqian’s paper of Efficient sorption of perfluoroalkyl acids by ionic liquid-modified natural clay has been accepted by Chemical Engineering Journal Advances. Congratulations, Qianqian!

05/2021: Our collaborative research on PFAS passive sampling has been spotlighted on Spectrum News 1. Watch the video and read the story here.

05/2021: Our collaborative proposal with Dr. Shangping Xu (PI) at UWM titled “Impact of injectable particulate carbon on per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) transport in groundwater” has been selected for funding by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.

05/2021: Dulay successfully defended his MS thesis. Congratulations, Dulay!

04/2021: Our collaborative research on PFAS passive sampling has been reported by Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Read the story here.

04/2021: Abdulhameed Kutubi received the Outstanding Presentation awards at the 2021 UWM Virtual Undergraduate Research Symposium. Congratulations, Hameed!

02/2021: Our collaborative review paper with Dr. Patrick McNamara at the Marquette University of Cast iron drinking water pipe biofilms support diverse microbial communities containing antibiotic resistance genes, metal resistance genes, and class 1 integrons has been accepted by Environmental Science: Water Research and Technology.

01/2021: Abdulhameed Kutubi joins our group as an undergraduate researcher. Welcome, Hameed!

01/2021: Adam Schmidt joins our group as a new MS student. Welcome, Adam!

12/2020: Jingwan’s paper of Zirconium-modified natural clays for phosphate removal: Effect of clay minerals has been accepted by Environmental Research. Congratulations, Jingwan!

10/2020: Our collaborative paper with Dr. Thanh Huong Nguyen at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign of Effect of non-phosphorus corrosion inhibitors on biofilm pore structure and mechanical properties has been accepted by Environmental Science & Technology.

07/2020: Dr. Wang (PI) has received a collaborative research grant from NSF Environmental Engineering Program to investigate the impact of corrosion inhibitors and corrosion products on antibiotic resistance in drinking water. We will be collaborating with Prof. Patrick McNamara (PI) at Marquette University and Prof. Ryan Newton (key personnel) at UWM on this 3-year award. More information can be found here.

07/2020: Dr. Wang (PI) has received a research grant from UWM Research Foundation Catalyst Grant Program to develop novel adsorbents for PFAS removal. This work is in collaboration with Dr. Xiaoli Ma (Co-PI) at UWM.

07/2020: Our collaborative paper with Dr. Jinyong Liu at the University of California, Riverside of Catalytic reduction of aqueous chlorate with MoOx immobilized on Pd/C has been accepted by ACS Catalysis.

06/2020: Our collaborative review paper with Dr. Patrick McNamara at the Marquette University of The impact of metal pip materials, corrosion products, and corrosion inhibitors on antibiotic resistance in drinking water has been accepted by Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology.

06/2020: Dr. Wang (PI) has received a research grant from Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources to investigate PFAS adsorption by selected Wisconsin aquifer sediments. This work is in collaboration with Dr. Shangping Xu (Co-PI) at UWM.

06/2020: Our collaborative proposal with Dr. Xiaoli Ma (PI) at UWM titled “Development of novel nanofiltration membranes based on multilayered covalent organic frameworks for desalination” has been selected for funding by the DOI Bureau of Reclamation Desalination and Water Purification Research Program. More information can be found here.

06/2020: Dr. Wang (PI) has received a research grant from DoD Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program to develop a novel PFAS passive sampler with efficient sorbent media and robust membrane barrier. We will be collaborating with Prof. Xiaoli Ma (Co-PI) at UWM and Prof. Feng Xiao (Co-PI) at University of North Dakota. More information can be found here.

05/2020: Dr. Wang (PI) has received a collaborative research grant from NSF Environmental Engineering Program to develop novel catalytic materials for water purification application. We will be collaborating with Prof. Jinyong Liu (PI) at UC-Riverside and Prof. Danmeng Shuai (PI) at George Washington University on this 3-year award. More information can be found here.

04/2020: Xiaopeng’s paper of Amine-bridged periodic mesoporous organosilica nanomaterial for efficient removal of selenate has been accepted by Chemical Engineering Journal. Congratulations, Xiaopeng!

04/2020: Dr. Wang joins the Editorial Board of Chemical Engineering Journal Advances

04/2020: Haiyan’s reviewer paper of Ceramic water filter for point-of-use water treatment in developing countries: Principles, challenges and opportunities has been accepted by Frontiers of Environmental Science & Engineering. Congratulations, Haiyan!

01/2020: Haiyan’s paper of Development of Effective and Fast-Flow Ceramic Porous Media for Point-of-Use Water Treatment: Effect of Pore Size Distribution has been accepted by ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering. Congratulations, Haiyan!

01/2020: Alina Urbansky joins our group as an undergraduate researcher. Welcome, Alina!

01/2020: Yanan Zhao joins our group as a new PhD student. Welcome, Yanan!

10/2019: Our U.S. Utility Patent Application: Removal of water contaminants using enhanced ceramic filtration materials has been submitted (No. PCT/US19/56674). Thank you all for your efforts!

10/2019: Li’s paper of Facile construction of novel BiOBr/Bi12O17Cl2 heterojunction composites with enhanced photocatalytic performance has been accepted by Journal of Colloid and Interface Science. Congratulations, Li!

10/2019: Dr. Wang accepted the position to serve as a Guest Editor for the Special Issue: Accounts of Environmental Chemistry and Technology Research in Frontiers of Environmental Science & Engineering. The submission deadline is Dec 31, 2019.

10/2019: Our proposal “Functionalized layered double hydroxide adsorbents for the removal of PFAS: phase II” has been selected for funding by the NSF I/UCRC Water Equipment and Policy Center. This work is in collaboration with Prof. Shangping Xu (Co-PI) at UW-Milwaukee.

09/2019: Tony Smith joins our group as an undergraduate researcher. Welcome, Tony!

08/2019: Dr. Wang organized and presided a symposium “Catalysis for Environmental and Energy Applications ” at the 2019 Fall ACS Meeting in San Diego, CA.

08/2019: Li successfully defended his MS thesis. Congratulations, Li!

06/2019: The new BSE in Environmental Engineering has been approved by the UW System Board of Regents! This new program will be launched in Spring 2020.

06/2019: Our collaborative proposal with Dr. Ganhua Lu (PI) at NanoAffix Science “Graphene-based nanosensor device for rapid, onsite detection of total lead in tap water: phase II” has been selected for funding by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. For more information, please read here.

06/2019: Leah Stewart joins our group as an undergraduate researcher. Welcome, Leah!

05/2019: Haiyan’s paper of Removal of arsenate and chromate by lanthanum-modified granular ceramic material: the critical role of coating temperature has been accepted by Scientific Reports. Congratulations, Haiyan!

05/2019: Dr. Wang has received a research grant from University of Wisconsin Applied Research Grant Program to develop tailored adsorbents for PFAS removal.

04/2019: Haiyan’s paper of Lanthanum(III) coated ceramics as a promising material in point-of-use water treatment for arsenite and arsenate removal has been accepted by ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering. Congratulations, Haiyan!

04/2019: Jingwan’s paper of Nanocomposites of three-dimensionally-ordered porous TiO2 decorated with Pt and reduced graphene oxide for the visible-light photocatalytic degradation of waterborne pollutants has been accepted by ACS Applied Nano Materials. Congratulations, Jingwan!

04/2019: Dr. Wang (PI) has received a research grant from Water Quality Research Foundation to develop a predictive modeling of U.S. drinking water emergencies. This work is in collaboration with Prof. Junhong Chen (Co-PI) at UWM.

04/2019: Haiyan, Xiaopeng and Qianqian presented at the Spring 2019 ACS National Meeting in Orlando, FL. Dr. Wang organized and presided a symposium “Innovative and Practical Approaches for Treatment of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances“.

03/2019: Our collaborative paper with Dr. McNamara at the Marquette University of Removal of estrogenic compounds via iron electrocoagulation: impact of water quality and assessment of removal mechanisms has been accepted by Environmental Science: Water Research & Technology.

01/2019: Eileen Freres joins our group as an undergraduate researcher. Welcome, Eileen!

12/2018: Our collaborative paper with Dr. McNamara at the Marquette University of Analysis of operational parameters, reactor kinetics, and floc characterization for the removal of estrogens via electrocoagulation has been accepted by Chemosphere.

10/2018: Dr. Wang (PI) has received two research grants from the NSF I/UCRC Water Equipment and Policy Center to develop adsorption materials for the removal of PFAS and As, respectively. The two projects are in collaboration with Prof. Shangping Xu (Co-PI) at UWM.

09/2018: Dr. Wang (Co-PI) has received a collaborative research grant with Prof. Jinyong Liu (PI) from UC-Riverside to treat legacy and emerging fluoroalkyl contaminants in groundwater from the DoD Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program.

08/2018: Dr. Wang presided a symposium “Catalysis for Environmental and Energy Applications” at the Fall 2018 ACS National Meeting in Boston, MA.

07/2018: Our collaborative paper of Enhanced catalytic ozonation treatment of dibutyl phthalate enabled by porous magnetic Ag-doped ferrospinel MnFe2O4 materials: Performance and mechanism has been accepted by Chemical Engineering Journal.

06/2018: Seyedsoheil successfully defended his MS thesis. Congratulations, Soheil!

06/2018: Qianqian Dong joins our group as a new PhD student. Welcome, Qianqian!

06/2018: Dulay Trujillo joins our group as a new MS student. Welcome, Dulay!

05/2018: Jingwan successfully defended her PhD thesis. Congratulations, Dr. Huo!

05/2018: Dr. Wang (PI) has received a research grant from Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection to assess pesticide contamination in suburban drinking water wells in Southeast Wisconsin. This work is in collaboration with Prof. Shangping Xu (Co-PI) at UWM.

04/2018: Dr. Wang (Co-PI) has received a collaborative research grant with Prof. Shangping Xu (PI) at UWM from the University of Wisconsin System to investigate the dynamics and speciation of arsenic in Wisconsin private drinking water wells.

04/2018: Dr. Wang (Co-PI) has received a collaborative research grant with Prof. Shangping Xu (PI) at UWM from the UWM Research Growth Initiative Award to develop improved zero valent iron nanoparticles for environmental remediation.

04/2018: Xiaopeng and Li presented at the Spring 2018 ACS National Meeting in New Orleans, LA. Dr. Wang organized and presided a symposium “Innovative Chemical & Material Approaches for Sustainable Water Purification“.

10/2017: Dr. Wang (PI) has received a research grant from the NSF I/UCRC Water Equipment and Policy Center to develop ceramic materials for the removal of As, Se and virus. This work is in collaboration with Prof. Shangping Xu (Co-PI) at UWM.

08/2017: Dr. Wang (Co-PI) has received a collaborative grant with Dr. Ganhua Lu (PI) at NanoAffix Science from National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences to develop graphene-based nanosensor device for rapid, onsite detection of dissolved lead in tap water.

06/2017: Dr. Wang (Co-PI) has received a collaborative grant with Dr. Shangping Xu (PI) at UWM from UWM Research Foundation Catalyst Grant to develop Mn-containing ceramic material for As(III) removal.

05/2017: Dr. Wang has received a research grant from the UWM Research Growth Initiative Award to develop modified mineral adsorbent to removal Cr(VI).

04/2017: Yonghong and Xiaopeng presented at the Spring 2017 ACS National Meeting in San Francisco, CA.

12/2016: Our collaborative paper of Exploring beyond palladium: Catalytic reduction of aqueous oxyanion pollutants with alternative platinum group metals and new mechanistic implications has been accepted by Chemical Engineering Journal.

10/2016: Haiyan joins our group as a new postdoctoral associate. Welcome, Dr. Yang!

08/2016: Li joins our group as a new MS student. Welcome, Li!

05/2016: Dr. Wang (Co-PI) has received a collaborative grant with Dr. Shangping Xu (PI) at UWM from the University of Wisconsin Applied Research Grant to develop ceramic-based water filtration materials for the removal of arsenic and virus.

04/2016: Yonghong presented at the Spring 2016 ACS National Meeting in San Diego, CA.

01/2016: Seyedsoheil Hosseinibalajadeh joins our group as a new MS student. Welcome, Soheil!

10/2015: Dr. Wang has received two research grants from the NSF I/UCRC Water Equipment and Policy Center to investigate phosphate-free corrosion inhibitors and to develop improved silica-based adsorbents, respectively.

09/2015: Our collaborative paper of Mechanism and mitigation of the decomposition of an oxorhenium complex-based heterogeneous catalyst for perchlorate reduction in water has been accepted by Environmental Science & Technology.

08/2015: Xiaopeng Min joins our group as a new PhD student. Welcome, Xiaopeng!

07/2015: Our collaborative paper of Pd-catalytic hydrodechlorination of chlorinated hydrocarbons in groundwater using H2 produced by a dual-anode system has been accepted by Water Research.

07/2015: Lixia Wang joins our group as a new postdoctoral associate. Welcome, Dr. Wang!

03/2015: Yonghong Zou joins our group as a new postdoctoral associate. Welcome, Dr. Zou!

12/2014: Our collaborative paper of Bioinspired complex-nanoparticle hybrid catalyst system for aqueous perchlorate reduction: rhenium speciation and its influence on catalyst activity has been accepted by ACS Catalysis.

10/2014: Dr. Wang has received a research grant from the NSF I/UCRC Water Equipment and Policy Center to develop a hybrid nanoadsorbent for removal of multi-pollutants in water.

09/2014. Jingwan Huo joins our group as a new PhD student. She is co-advised with Prof. Chris Yuan at UWM. Welcome, Jingwan!