Dear CEE Faculty, Students and Staff,

CEE 500 Water and Environment virtual seminar starts this Thursday, Oct 1, at 3:30 (Zoom link below). Ours first speaker is CEE’s very own Prof. Jessica Ray. Zoom invite info is bottom of this message.

Title: Low-cost material development for contaminant removal in the urban water sector

Abstract: Global water demands continue to rise in response to population growth and urbanization, and stresses on freshwater supply by global climate change. As a result, water-strained regions are being forced to consider water reuse applications, shifting the current urban water supply paradigm towards more sustainable practices. Unfortunately, the presence of toxic contaminants and decreased recharge of water resources jeopardize human and environmental health and pose challenges to the realization of wastewater reclamation strategies. New technologies and approaches are needed to address these challenges. Our group designs, characterizes and applies engineered composite materials to remove contaminants from waste streams. This talk will present three applications of new technologies our group is developing to increase urban water supply sustainability and protect our water sources from contaminant exposure. The first application will describe opportunities to maximize contaminant removal during urban stormwater management using reactive engineered media. The two remaining applications will discuss our holistic approach to selectively target and degrade per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs): recalcitrant, acutely toxic trace organic contaminants that are widespread in environmental waters.

Short Bio: Professor Jessica Ray (she/her) is currently an assistant professor in CEE. Ray received her BS, MS, and PhD degrees from Washington University in St. Louis. Ray was a Miller Institute Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the University of California, Berkeley, before moving to UW. Prof Ray’s research focuses on new composite materials for selective contaminant removal in water. She is one of 12 early career scientists honored by C&EN, the weekly news magazine of the American Chemical Society, selected from a competitive pool of more than 500 nominees. Her other awards include NSF GK-12 Graduate Research Fellowship (MS), EPA STAR fellowship (PhD), Miller Institute Postdoctoral Research Fellowship, and College of Engineering Rogel Faculty Support Award, 2020.

Join Zoom Meeting
https://washington.zoom.us/j/98868577409

Meeting ID: 988 6857 7409
One tap mobile
+12532158782,,98868577409# US (Tacoma)
+12063379723,,98868577409# US (Seattle)

Please download and import the following iCalendar (.ics) files to your calendar system.
Weekly: https://washington.zoom.us/meeting/tJwlceGtqTwuGt0yriYNhgB6CuFvrELYa4-w/ics?icsToken=98tyKuCgpj0iH9OStBmORow-Go_oWe_wtmZbjbcNhQ3sOg5bZSGgFfdkJKBaPOHR

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