Expertise

Research Interests:

  • Physical-Chemical Processes
  • Soil and Groundwater Remediation
  • Environmental Nanotechnology
  • Photocatalysis
  • Water and Wastewater Treatment  

Areas of Specialization

  • Developing novel stabilized nanoparticles for in situ degradation of organic pollutants and immobilization of metals, metalloids and radionuclides in soil and water.
  • Developing adsorptive photocatalysts for adsorption and destruction of persistent organic pollutants such as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in contaminated waters and soil.
  • Understanding transformation and environmental fate of spilled oil in seawater and coastal sediment and estuaries and developing cost-effective technologies to control pollution of coastal ecosystems and the nearshore environment.
Affiliations

Auburn Alumni Engineering Council Professor, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Samuel Ginn College of Engineering, Auburn University

Professor, Department of Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering, College of Engineering, San Diego State University

Chair, Department of Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering, College of Engineering, San Diego State University

Communities
Civil Engineering
Degrees
PhD, Lehigh University, Civil and Environmental Engineering, 1998
MS, Taiyuan University of Technology, China, Environmental Engineering, 1987
BCE, Taiyuan University of Technology, China, Civil & Environmental Engineering, 1984
Keywords
herbicides pesticides soil chemistry unit operations engineering mass transfer separation process transport phenomena absorption surfactants interfacial phenomena reaction engineering civil engineering nuclear or radioactive waste disposal sanitary engineering, environmental impacts solid waste disposal waste water treatment water supply water treatment hazardous waste disposal or cleanup filtration emission control adsorption reaction kinetics polymer chemistry aromatic compounds chemical reactions chemical kinetics & dynamics applied chemistry environmental chemistry environmental effects air pollution land pollution water pollution industrial waste bioremediation groundwater waste water water quality watersheds environmental management environmental restoration or remediation air quality hazardous materials & waste nuclear or radioactive wastes environmental technology nanostructured materials separations chemistry chemicals monitoring chemical transport environmental site use studies energy environmental studies - developing countries
Languages
Chinese, Mandarin, English, German
Associations
Air and Waste Management Association
American Academy of Environmental Engineers
American Chemical Society
American Institute of Chemical Engineers
American Society of Civil Engineers
Association of Environmental Engineering Professors
European Geophysical Society
International Society of Soil Science
Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry
Soil and Water Conservation Society
Soil Science Society of America
Water Environment Federation
Water Pollution Control Federation