As we move towards the age of 'Smart and Resilient Cities', our water infrastructure including water and waste water treatment processes also need transformative change. Emerging contaminants including per- and polyfluorinated alkyl substances (PFAS) are result of our rapid urbanization and modernization of our lifestyle and are now creating concerns for our potable drinking water sources. Also, recently the 'Flint Water Crisis' has exposed the vulnerabilities of our decades-old water distribution systems to unprecedented contamination scenario. Both emerging contaminants and emergency contamination cannot be tackled using conventional wastewater and water treatment technologies and require innovative solution. My research group focuses on the sustainable design, scalable synthesis, and innovative applicant on of novel and multifunctional redox-active and photocatalytic nanomaterials and nano-systems for water quality engineering while keeping their potential public health impacts to a minimum. I will present my group's research efforts on the rational and safer-design of novel carbon-metallic nanohybrids (i.e., single nano-entity which is a combination of at least two different nanomaterials) to elucidate their potential application for removing diverse range of pollutants including PFAS, while determining how and to what extent the hybridization of nanomaterials alters their potential environmental and human health risk. Understanding the risk-benefit relationship will allow us to design safer multifunctional nanohybrids for water treatment I will also discuss my future vision for smart nano-enabled water treatment technologies in the coming decade through the "convergence with sustainability, advanced manufacturing, and data-driven design".
Dr. Nirupam Aich is currently an Associate Professor of Environmental Engineering in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Nebraska - Lincoln (UNL). Pr or to joining UNL, Dr. Aich was an Assistant Professor of Environmental Engineering at the University at Buffalo (SUNY). His research group, Aich Laboratory for Environmental Nanotechnology and Sustainability (#AichLENS),is developing advanced materials and processes for water treatment and reuse as well as remediation of emerging contaminants including PFAS. Dr. Aich obtained his Ph.D.in Environmental Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin in 2015, M.S. in Environmental Engineering from the University of South Carolina in 2012, and B.Sc.in Chemical Engineering from Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology in2009.His past and present research work has resulted in total68 publications including 49 peer-reviewed
articles in highly ranked journals with1575 citations,7 book chapters, 6 peer-reviewed conference papers, and 2 patents. His research has been funded and supported the National Science Foundation (NSF), National Institute of Health Superfund Research program (NIH SRP), United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), US Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA), Department of Defense - Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program (OOD/SERDP), and Swedish International Development Cooperative Agency (Sida). As recognition of his contributions to the field of Environmental Nanotechnology and Engineering, Dr. Aich is the recipient of National Science Foundation (NSF) CAREER Award 2022,American Academy of Environmental Engineers & Scientists (AAEES) 40 under 40 Recognition Class of 2022, 2019 Sustainable Nanotechnology Organization (SNO) Emerging Investigator Award, and UNL College of Engineering Research Excellence Award 2022-2023.He is also serving as an early career advisory board member in the editorial board of the Journal of Hazardous Materials Letters.