Caroline is a PhD student studying environmental engineering at Penn State. She received a BS in chemistry from the University of Florida. There she focused on applications of sustainable technologies by minoring in sustainability studies, holding leadership positions focused on implementing sustainable practices, and working for an activated carbon company developing technologies for water treatment. Upon graduation, she was promoted and continued to work developing activated carbon technologies for a flagship production facility. Upon developing a successful technology, she assumed a technical sales role where she learned about water treatment facilities, their operations, and how they cope with regulatory compliance. Building off this experience, she continues her education at Penn State where her work focused on the modification of biochar to improve properties and facilitate application in a variety of industries, particularly water treatment. Her goal is to develop scalable carbon-based technologies , making regulatory compliance more sustainable and affordable. Outside of research, Caroline enjoys rock climbing, yoga, Pilates, and spending time outdoors.

Domenic is a PhD student in Environmental Engineering at Penn State. He received his BS from the University of Florida where he conducted undergraduate research and published work surrounding activated carbon surface chemistry and adsorption mechanisms. After graduating from the University of Florida, he worked for an activated carbon manufacturing company developing technologies for mercury adsorption in the air and liquid phase, phosphorous removal from wastewater, and in-situ remediation of toxic algal blooms in Florida. Having returned to Penn State for a graduate education, he was awarded the Diefenderfer Graduate Fellowship in Entrepreneurship, completed the NSF I-Corps regional program for two new-business ventures, and has earned his MS in Environmental Engineering. His work at Penn State surrounds the investigation of several renewable biomass sources for conversion to biochar or activated carbon, and comparisons to coal-based materials. Outside of research, Domenic is a Graduate Advisor for the First-Gen Advocates student organization on campus, and enjoys cycling, rock climbing, and watching ice hockey.    

Lina is a Ph.D. student in Environmental Engineering at Penn State University. She holds an M.S. degree in Municipal Engineering (Water Treatment) from Tongji University in Shanghai, China. Her master’s research focused on exploring the applications of nanobubbles in water treatment, including  the effect of ozone nanobubble on in-situ algal control and its impact on microbial community structure and function, as well as the effects of nanobubbles on the manganese oxidation of a manganese-oxidizing fungus Cladosporium sp. and the biogenic mechanism. During her Ph.D. studies, Lina will continue to investigate the potential of nanobubble technology in environmental engineering. In her free time, she enjoys photography, listening to music, and traveling.

Macy is an M.S. student in Civil and Environmental Engineering at Penn State. She holds a B.S. in Environmental Engineering from the University of Michigan (Ann Arbor). Macy's research interests lie mostly within PFAS fate and transport within different environmental media. She focuses on understanding how the environment is affected after contamination occurs. In her free time, she enjoys running, adventuring, swimming, and reading. 

Paulina is a Ph.D. student in Environmental Engineering at Penn State University. She holds an M.S. in Civil and Environmental Engineering from the University of Maine and a B.S. in Environmental Engineering from Escuela Politécnica Nacional in Quito, Ecuador. Her research focuses on the fate and transport of pollutants across environmental media, from understanding the mechanisms and scenarios that lead to contamination to identifying safer materials and practices that prevent it. She is also interested in developing and optimizing remediation strategies that restore ecosystems and protect human health, while incorporating sustainability principles into her experimental design to enhance long-term environmental resilience. Outside of research, she enjoys biking, trail-running, painting, visiting museums and galleries, watching movies, and traveling.

Kenneth is a Ph.D. candidate at the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Penn State. He has an M.S. degree in Environmental Engineering from the Egypt-Japan University of Science and Technology in Egypt and a B.S. degree in Minerals Engineering from the University of Mines and Technology in Ghana. Kenneth's research interests include advanced oxidation processes, adsorption, and biological treatment of water and wastewater. He is researching metastable oxygen nanobubbles for space exploration and other environmental applications, with the Apul Research Group. Kenneth spends his leisure time playing soccer, exercising at the gym, traveling, swimming, and hanging out with friends.

Dilara is a PhD candidate in Environmental Engineering at Penn State and an AWWA Dr. Abel Wolman Fellow. She earned her MS in Environmental Engineering from METU in Türkiye, and during her PhD, completed research fellowships at Yale University on the synthesis of nanomaterials towards environmental hyperthermia-based applications. Her doctoral dissertation research explores the thermal regeneration of spent granular activated carbons to help break the forever PFAS cycle in the environment. Outside the lab, she loves exploring the outdoors through camping and hiking, discovering new music, and traveling.

Would you like to live and work in the "Happy Valley" of the US while working in a vibrant, creative, collaborative and diverse research group? At Penn State we always seek motivated and hard working team players to fill in positions. If you are interested in becoming a team member, please email your (i) research interests in a cover letter (ii) a CV along with (iii) the names of your references to oga5061@psu.edu.  

Penn State is an elite research university, an AAU member, and a Carnegie R1 school with $1.34 billion annual research expenditures. Penn State has an extremely powerful alumni network enabling $4.5 billion endowment making Penn State Alumni Association is the largest dues-paying alumni association in the world. Also the university is one of the three land-, space-, sun-, and sea-grant schools in the nation and often ranked top 30 in public schools (according to US News).

Our research group is located in one of the newest interdisciplinary engineering buildings (eCORE built 2024) on the flagship campus of Penn State in College Park. The campus and the city are presenting a safe, productive, balanced and rewarding grad school experience. The campus is home to Beaver Stadium, the second-largest stadium in the Western hemisphere. Whether you're living on campus or commuting, you'll be part of a close-knit community that supports your personal growth, encourages collaboration, and provides a network of lifelong friendships.