Recent alumnus Ritchie Lafaille published his first peer-reviewed article in Case Studies in Chemical and Environmental Engineering. His article is entitled: "Repeatable Use Assessment of Silicon Carbide as Permanent Susceptor Bed in Ex Situ Microwave Remediation of Petroleum-Impacted Soils". This article was a collaboration between Chevron and Arizona State University researchers. Kudos Ritchie.
Ashton Collins and Amatullah Ahmad presented a poster at the 95th ACS Colloid and Surface Science Symposium. The poster was entitled: Determination of organic matter leaching from microplastics during ultraviolet weathering. The work was a collaboration between Dr. Perreault of Arizona State University and Dr. Ateia of Northwestern.
Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost and Office of the Vice President for Research of University of Maine selected Dr. Apul for the first cohort of the EMPOWER mentoring program. Dr. Apul is paired with Dr. Sharmila Mukhopadhyay, the Director of Frontier Institute for Research in Sensor Technologies. The cohort will start the 1- year program in August 1st, 2021.
Apul Research Group recently got an article accepted for publication in Science of the Total Environment. The article entitled "Effect of superfine pulverization of powdered activated carbon on adsorption of carbamazepine in natural source waters" investigates the role of submicron pulverization of activated carbons on their adsorptive properties. Congratulations Semra for the accomplishment.
Dr. Apul and Dr. Garcia-Segura of Arizona State University received a new research grant to study water treatment in microgravity environments. The work will be supported by Maine Space Grant Consortium, an initiative of Maine NASA EPSCoR Program.
PhD student Busra Sonmez got her critical review paper accepted in Environmental Science and Technology. The article is titled: "Thermal Regeneration of Spent Granular Activated Carbon Presents an Opportunity to Break the Forever PFAS Cycle". This collaborative paper was a joint effort between James Reuther of University of Massachusetts Lowell, Arjun Venkatesan and Yi Zhang of Stony Brook University and Navid Saleh of University of Texas at Austin. The efforts were lead by Dr. Apul of University of Maine. Great work Busra. Kudos.
Dr. Apul presented as an invited seminar speaker virtually at University of Florida's Department of Environmental and Global Health Seminar Series. The presentation was entitled: "Nanotechnology and Responsible Water Treatment". The coordination of the seminar was conducted by Dr. Tara Sabo-Attwood. Many thanks to her and the engaging and welcoming audience.
Dr. Apul gave a talk at UMaine Chemical and Biomedical Engineering Distinguished Lecture Series on 4/2/2021. The seminar followed by faculty Zoom lunch was a great opportunity to get to know the CHB Engineering researchers. Thank you Dr. Caitlin Howell for the invitation.
Apul Group presented microplastics and PFAS projects during 2021 Maine Sustainability and Water Conference, which was held virtual this year. Congratulations to all presenters and thanks to all great collaborators!
1. Collins, A., Costigan, E., Bhagat, K., Oswald, J., Perreault, F. Apul, O.G. Adsorption of synthetic organic compounds by microplastics: A cacophonous literature. Maine Sustainability & Water Symposium (Virtual), March 2021 (Poster Presentation).
2. Kopec, D., Apul, O.G., Macrae, J., Noblet, C., Peckenham, J. PFAS? Yes, PFAS – A Serious Problem in Need of a Sustainable Solution. Maine Sustainability & Water Symposium (Virtual), March 2021 (Oral Presentation).
3. Apul, O.G., Sonmez, B.B., Zhang, Y., Reuther, J., Saleh, N. B., Venkatesan, A. Thermal Regeneration of Spent Granular Activated Carbon Presents an Opportunity to Break the Forever PFAS Cycle. Maine Sustainability & Water Symposium (Virtual), March 2021 (Oral Presentation).
Ashton Collins is awarded the prestigious Thurgood Marshall Scholarship to cover his tuition in 2021-2022. Within his first year of graduate studies, Ashton showed diligent efforts showing his devotion to academic growth. This is a well-deserved award. Congratulations Ashton!
