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Orlando Coronell, Ph.D.
Principal Investigator

Ph.D. and M.S. in Environmental Engineering in Civil Engineering
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

B.S. in Civil Engineering
Universidad del Norte, Colombia

Email: coronell@unc.edu

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Holly Haflich
Doctoral Candidate

M.S. in Environmental and Ecological Engineering
Purdue University

B.S. in Environmental and Ecological Engineering
Purdue University

Electromembrane processes

Email: hhaflich@live.unc.edu

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Haley Macdonald
Doctoral Student

B.S. in Chemistry
University of  North Carolina Wilmington

Novel sorbents for PFAS remediation

Email: haleymac@email.unc.edu

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Graham Parker
Doctoral Student

B.S. in Chemical Engineering
North Carolina State University

Novel sorbents for PFAS remediation

Email: guparker@unc.edu

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Wei Zhang, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Research Associate

Ph.D. in Desalination and Water Treatment
Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel

M.Sc. in Environmental Science
Sichuan Agriculture University, China

B.S. in Microbiology
Chengdu University, China

Membrane fabrication and modification for water/wastewater treatment

Email: wei_zhang@unc.edu

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Nick Chew, Ph.D.
Water Process Engineer

Ph.D. in Environmental Engineering
Nanyang Technological University, Singapore

B.E. in Environmental Engineering
Nanyang Technological University, Singapore

Technologies for removal of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances

Email: nickgpc@email.unc.edu

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Abigail Sveen
Water Scientist

B.S. in Environmental Science
University of Minnesota – Twin Cities

Technologies for removal of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances

Email: asveen@unc.edu

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Rex Chen
Doctoral Student

B.S. in Geology
Bates College, ME

M.S. in Environmental Engineering
University of California, Berkeley

Novel Membranes for Water Purification

Email: rexcc@unc.edu

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Chhabilal Regmi, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Research Associate

Ph.D. in Materials Science
Sun Moon University, Republic of Korea

M.S. in Chemistry
Tribhuvan University, Nepal

Dialysis Membranes

Email: chregmi@unc.edu

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Brian Yu
Masters Student

B.S. in Polymer Science and Engineering
Case Western Reserve University

Granular Sorbents for PFAS Removal

Email: brianyu@unc.edu

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Madeleine Sparrow
Undergraduate Student

B.S. in Environmental Science
Minor in Applied Sciences and Engineering
Expected Graduation May 2027

Granular Sorbents for PFAS Removal

Email: mcsparr@unc.edu

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Connor Bost
Undergraduate Student

B.S. in Environmental Science, B.S. in Business
Minor in Applied Sciences and Engineering
Expected Graduation May 2027

Novel Membranes for Water Purification

Email: ncbost@unc.edu

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Alumni

Postdoctoral Research Associates

Fei Liu, Ph.D. (2020)
Optimization of osmotic ballasts for salinity gradient energy applications

Shan Zhu, Ph.D. (2017)
Ionic conductivity of ion exchange membranes

Seokjong Byun, Ph.D. (2010)
Monitoring of trace ions in process waters of fossil power plants

Ph.D. Students

Riley Vickers (2023)
Molecular-scale Analysis of the Morphology, Topology, and Performance of Crosslinked Aromatic Polyamide used in Reverse Osmosis Membranes

Mikayla Armstrong (2022)
Effects Of Alternative Polymerization And Solvent Activation Post-Modifications On The Properties And Performance Of Reverse Osmosis Membranes

Kasia Grzebyk (2019)
Modifying interfacial polymerization reaction conditions in high-pressure membrane fabrication for enhanced organic micropollutant removal

Alex Gorzalski (2019)
Modeling contaminant degradation in oxidation processes in water treatment plants

Ryan Kingsbury (2019)
Investigation of selective mass transport in ion exchange membranes for clean energy and water processes

Jingbo Wang (2018)
Characterization of transport phenomena in thin-film composite and thin-film nanocomposite membranes

Ariel Atkinson (2017)
Development and application of a novel anti-biofouling membrane

Lamar (Tony) Perry (2017) (Applied Physical Sciences)
Understanding the property-performance relationships of membrane active layers containing porous nanoparticles

Panitan (Wan) Jutaporn (2016)
Relationship between organic fouling of polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) ultrafiltration (UF) membranes and the fluorescence signature of dissolved organic matter in raw and pretreated feed waters

Lin Lin (2015)
Characterization of the water transport properties of the active layers of polyamide reverse osmosis and nanofiltration membranes

Visiting Ph.D. Students

Arianna Catenacci (2013)
Zero valent metals for removal of contaminants at the point of use

Chuan Wang, Ph.D. (2010-2011)
Removal of copper and lead from aqueous solution using zero valent media

Masters Students

John Gilles (2015) (co-advised with Dr. Mark Sobsey)
Point of use filtration for microbial and metal removal from water

Sabrina Sultana (2014) (Applied Physical Sciences)
Ion exchange membranes for electrodeionization

Joshua Powell (2013)
Characterization of the degradation of polyamide membranes by free chlorine

Alex Gorzalski (2013)
Membrane fouling during nanofiltration of waters from North Carolina aquifers

Eliot S. Meyer (2012)
Degradation of the supports of thin-film composite and thin-film nanocomposite membranes during Rutherford backscattering spectrometry (RBS) analysis

Brad N. Bennett (2012)
Removal of nitrate from aqueous solution using zero-valent metals

Professional Interns

Sabrina Sultana (2015) (MS, UNC Applied Physical Sciences)
Graphene oxide membranes

Undergraduate Researchers

Josh Singleton (2022-2023)
Electromembrane Processes

Christian Chung (2021-2022)
Novel Sorbents for PFAS Removal

Nicholas Hall (2016-2018)
Fabrication and testing of nanocomposite membranes for water reuse applications

Will Blanks (2016-2017)
Water purification using reverse osmosis and nanofiltration membranes

Sophie Flotron (2015-2017)
Electricity generation using reverse electrodialysis

John Eskew (2015-2017)
Water purification using reverse osmosis and nanofiltration membranes

Kaity Emerson (2014-2016)
Membranes for electrodeionization (Research Honors in Biomedical Engineering, 2016)

Jamie Michael (2015-2016)
Thin-film nanocomposite membranes for water reuse applications

Ted Lee (2014-2015)
Thin-film nanocomposite membranes for water reuse applications

Ellen Quinlan (2012-2013)
Fouling of nanofiltration membranes by groundwaters

David Holcomb (2011-2012)
The Reduction of Nitrate by Iron, Zinc, Copper, and Brass Media (BSPH Honors Thesis, awarded Highest Honors, UNC ESE, 2011-2012)

Mindy Feng (2011-2012)
Characterization of active layers of thin-film composite membranes by spectroscopic methods

Teresa Long (2011)
Forward osmosis membrane filtration for water desalination and reuse

Peter J. Attayek (2010-2011)
Development of a remotely-controlled, semi-automatic target system for the study of organic membranes using high-energy ion beam analyses

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