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!
Onur Apul is selected to be a member of Early Career Editorial Board (ECEB) at Elsevier's Chemical Engineering Journal Advances. Chemical Engineering Journal Advances focuses on four aspects of Chemical Engineering: Control, Treatment, Remediation of Environmental Hazards; Chemical Reaction Engineering; Environmental Chemical Processes and Engineering; Novel Materials and Nanotechnology Applications. Dr. Apul's membership term will start April 1, 2021.
Yigit Bozkurt, MS (2020) has an article accepted to be published in Bioresource Technology Reports. The article is titled: Effects of carbonaceous susceptors on microwave pretreatment of waste activated sludge and subsequent anaerobic digestion. Good work Yigit.
Our multidisciplinary proposal entitled: "Integrated assessment of alternative management strategies for PFAS-contaminated wastewater residuals" is recommended for funding, which will be supported by USGS/WRRI at University of Maine. The work will address critical questions raised by MaineDEP. The project team is lead by Dr. Kopec of University of Maine.
Our collaborative article entitled: "Nano-scale Applications in Aquaculture: Opportunities for Improved Production and Disease Control" is accepted for publication in Journal of Fish Disease. This article provides some nanotechnology solutions for the emerging problems that aquaculture systems are facing. The work was lead by University of Florida researchers. The graphics were rendered by Kemal Kolayca of Denzay. Kudos to all.
