Susan De Long

Associate Professor
Colorado State University

Dr. Susan De Long is an Associate Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Colorado State University. She has over 15 years of experience working in the fields of environmental engineering and molecular biology. She holds Bachelor’s degrees in Environmental Science and Molecular and Cell Biology from the University of California, Berkeley and earned her M.S. and Ph.D. in Engineering from The University of Texas, Austin. Her research is focused on developing environmentally sustainable biotechnologies. On-going work is advancing technologies for bioenergy generation from waste materials, site bioremediation, biodegradation of emerging contaminants, and water reuse. Dr. De Long’s research group applies molecular biology tools to investigate microbial communities involved in successful treatment processes and leverages this knowledge to improve treatment process design. Additionally, Dr. De Long’s group is conducting research to discover genes and enzymes involved in degradation of recalcitrant pollutants; this knowledge will support development of molecular biology assays to track key microbes in natural or engineered systems to guide development of the next generation of treatment technologies. Current research is funded by the National Science Foundation, the Environmental Research and Education Foundation, the California Energy Commission and industry partners.