2024 Student Winners

1st Place

One Man’s Trash is Another Bug’s Treasure

Ivy Kwok, University of California, Los Angeles
Advisor: Dr. Shaily Mahendra

 

2nd Place

Development of a Rapid Screening Method for PFAS in Drinking Water Supplies

Yukun Jin, University of Notre Dame
Advisor: Dr. Graham Peaslee

 

3rd Place

Evaluation of PFAS Sorption to Camp Fire (Paradise, CA) Sediment Control Devices

Haley Grable, University of Nevada, Reno
Advisor: Dr. David Hanigan

 

1st Place

Accelerated degradation of perfluorosulfonates and perfluorocarboxylates by UV/sulfite + iodide: Reaction mechanisms and system efficiencies

Zekun Liu, University of California, Riverside

 

2nd Place

Ionic strength and natural organic matter affect adsorption of perfluoroalkyl substances to colloidal activated carbon and its performance as an in-situ barrier for groundwater remediation

Rachel Molé, Carnegie Melon University

 

3rd Place

Photocatalytic Granular Media for the Destruction and Defluorination of PFOS

Hannah McIntyre, University of Missouri, Kansas City

 

Honorable Mentions

The Impact of 1,4-Dioxane and Trichloroethylene on the Activity and Composition of a Landfill Microbial Community

Alyssa Graham, University of Waterloo

1st Place

Anaerobic biotransformation of 8:2 FTOH in soil from AFFF-impacted sites under nitrate-, sulfate-, and iron-reducing conditions

Pengfei Yen, Auburn University

 

2nd Place

Using Strain in the Vadose Zone During Sinusoidal-Rate Well Tests to Characterize an Aquifer

Riley Blais, Clemson University

 

3rd Place

Sustainability of arsenic immobilization in soil by iron nanoparticles and application of machine learning

Ziwei Han, University of California, Irvine

 

Honorable Mentions

Utilizing the Plant Microbiome and Bioaugmentation to Degrade 1,4-Dioxane And Co-Contaminants

Reid Simmer, University of Iowa

1st Place

PRESENTATION: Improving Removal of Organic Contaminants in Alternative Water Treatment by Biochars Pretreated with Ash, Acid and Base

Matthew Bentley, The University of Colorado, Boulder

 

2nd Place

Performance and Cost-Effectiveness of Novel PFAS Removal Technologies

Charlie Liu, Colorado School of Mines

 

3rd Place

Removal of Trace Levels Hormonal Compounds-Endocrine Disruptors From Water by Green Synthesized Acalypha indica Silver Nanoparticles

Pavani Gonnabathula, Texas Southern University

 

2020 Emerging Contaminants Summit Student Poster Presentation Participants

1st Place

Development of a Sonolytic Reactor for In Situ PFAS Remediation: Preliminary Laboratory Study Results

Fiona Laramay, Clarkson University

 

2nd Place

Bench-scale Studies on the Efficacy of In Situ Chemical Oxidation of PFASs, in a Contaminated Aquifer

Emily Cook, University of California, Berkeley

 

3rd Place

Reducing Chlorinated Ethene Flux from Low Permeability Zones: Evaluating the Contribution of Abiotic Reactions

Erin Berns, University of Texas at Austin

 

Honorable Mentions

Investigating Emerging Contaminants in Harvested Rainwater (HRW) via Co-Created Citizen Science Using Analytical Techniques, Particularly Liquid Chromatography High-resolution Mass Spectrometry (LC-HRMS)

Norma Villagómez-Márquez, University of Arizona

 

2019 RemTEC Student Competition Participants

1st Place

PRESENTATION: Biodegradation of CVOCs and 1,4-Dioxane by an Engineered Microbial

Alexandra Polasko, The University of California, Los Angeles

 

2nd Place

PRESENTATION: Determining the Pure-Phase ?13C Signatures for Different CFC Compounds for Use in Environmental Remediation Studies

Camille Malcolm, University of Toronto

 

3rd Place

PRESENTATION: Remediation of Aqueous Film-Forming Foam (AFFF)-Impacted Groundwater by UV-Sulfite Treatment: Application for Treatment of Per- and Polyflurooalkyl Substances (PFASs) in Groundwater

Raul Tenorio, Colorado School of Mines

 

Honorable Mentions

PRESENTATION: Homologous Series to Find Hydrocarbon Surfactants in AFFFs and in AFFF-impacted Groundwater

Raymmah Garcia, Oregon State University

 

2018 Emerging Contaminants Summit Student Poster Presentation Participants

1st Place

Quantification of TCE Co-oxidation in Groundwater Using a 14C Assay

James Mills, Clemson University
Advisor: David L. Freedman

 

2nd Place

Fact or Fiction: Field and Laboratory Data on Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFASs) in Groundwater to Inform the Selection of Sampling and Storage Conditions

Alix Robel, Oregon State University
Advisor: Jennifer Field

 

Selective Sensing and Simultaneous Scavenging of Cr(VI) in Water Using Fluorescent Nanogold

Ben Yin, Rice University
Advisor: Michael Wong

 

2017 RemTEC Student Competition Participants

1st Place

High-Throughput Quantification of Dehalogenating Bacterial Populations

Koshlan Mayer-Blackwell, Stanford University
 

2nd Place

Perfluoroalkyl Acid Exposure Elicits Diverse Responses from Subsurface Microorganisms Associated with Chlorinated Solvent Degradation

Tess Weathers, Colorado School of Mines
 

3rd Place

Effects of Chemical Oxidation on Fluorinated Surfactants in Groundwater

Thomas Bruton, University of California, Berkeley
 

Honorable Mentions

Bioreactor Design for High-rate Dechlorination of Chlorinated Solvent-contaminated Groundwater

Devyn Fajardo-Williams, Arizona State University

Simultaneous Degradation of Chlorinated Solvents and 1,4-Dioxane by Propane-oxidizing Bacteria

Shu Zhang, University of California, Los Angeles

2015 RemTEC Student Competition Participants