Graduate Student Research
Some of the current projects being carried out in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering are listed below.
Current Research Projects
Decontaminate Passaic River Sediments using Ultrasound with Ozone Nano Bubbles
Janitha Hewa Batagoda, Ph.D. CE (Geo-Environmental Engineering)
Research Advisor: Jay N Meegoda, Ph.D., P. E.
Development of an Artificial Neural Network Model for Predicting Spatio-Temporal Freeway Work Zone Delays with Big Data
Bo Du, Ph.D. (Transportation)
Research Advisor: Steven Chien, Ph.D.
Nanoscale Imaging and Quantifying Chemically Modified Membrane Properties during Fouling and Aging Process
Wanyi Fu, Ph.D. (Environmental Engineering)
Research Advisor: Wen Zhang, Ph.D., P. E.
Development and Evaluation of Cooperative Vehicle-Infrastructure Control under Connected and Automated Vehicles Environment
Slobodan Gutesa, Ph.D. (Transportation)
Research Advisor: Joyoung Lee, Ph.D.
Multifunctional Reactive Electrochemical Membranes for Efficient Biomass Recovery, Pretreatment, Water Purification and Reuse
Likun Hua, Ph.D. (Environmental Engineering)
Research Advisor: Wen Zhang, Ph.D., P. E.
Tracking of Endpoint Legionella Bacteria and Other Co-factor Parameters in Public Water Systems to Develop Corrective Action Solutions
Veronica Kero, Ph.D. (Environmental Engineering)
Research Advisor: Wen Zhang, Ph.D., P. E.
Electroosmotic Consolidation of Clay Soils
Lucas Martin, Ph.D. (Civil Engineering)
Research Advisor: Jay N Meegoda, Ph.D., P. E.
Prediction of Failure in Flexure Dominated HPFRCC Members through Experimental Study and Numerical Simulation
Mandeep Pokhrel, Ph.D. (Civil Engineering)
Research Advisor: Matthew Bandelt, Ph.D.
Optimization Of Headway, Stops, And Time Points Considering Stochastic Bus Arrivals
Liuhui Zhao, Ph.D. (Transportation)
Research Advisor: Steven Chien, Ph.D.
Connected Vehicle Technology
Zijia (Gary) Zhong, Ph.D.(Transportation)
Research Advisor: Joyoung Lee, Ph.D.
Condition Assessment and Long-term Performance of Culverts
Zhenting Zou, Ph.D. (Civil Engineering)
Research Advisor: Jay N Meegoda, Ph.D., P. E.
Safe Yield Study for the Passaic River Basin in New Jersey
Stephanie R. Santos, P. E., P. P., (Civil Engineering)
Research Advisor: Robert Dresnack, Ph.D.
Understanding the Interfacial Processes of Reactive Nanobubbles toward Environmental and Agricultural Applications
Xiaonan Shi, Ph.D. student (Environmental Engineering)
Research Advisor: Wen Zhang, Ph.D., P. E., BCEE; Co-advisor: Taha Marhaba, Ph.D., P.E., F.ASCE
Faceted Nanomaterial Synthesis, Characterizations and Applications in Electrochemically Reactive Membrane Filtration
Qingquan Ma, Ph.D. student (Environmental Engineering)
Research Advisor: Wen Zhang, Ph.D., P. E., BCEE
Nanobubble Watering for Enhanced Plant and Soil Decontamination: Mechanisms of Nanobubbles and Soil Species interactions
Shan Xue, Ph.D. student (Environmental Engineering)
Research Advisor: Wen Zhang, Ph.D., P. E., BCEE; Co-advisor: Taha Marhaba, Ph.D., P.E., F.ASCE
Advanced Electrochemical Technologies for Water Treatment/Remediation
Jianan Gao, Ph.D. student (Environmental Engineering)
Research Advisor: Wen Zhang, Ph.D., P. E., BCEE; Co-advisor: Taha Marhaba, Ph.D., P.E., F.ASCE
Enhanced Removal of Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) via Microwave-Fenton-Reactive Membrane Filtration
Fangzhou Liu, Ph.D. student (Environmental Engineering)
Research Advisor: Wen Zhang, Ph.D., P. E., BCEE
Recovery of Valuable Metals from Spent-Lithium-ion Batteries (LIBs) using Organic Acids: Assessment of Techno-Economic Feasibility
Leqi Lin, Master of Science (Civil Engineering)
Research Advisor: Wen Zhang, Ph.D., P.E., BCEE; Co-advisor: Lucia Rodriguez-Freire, Ph.D.
Life Cycle Analysis and Innovation of Membrane Development for Lithium/Cobalt Recovery
Vikas Patchamatla, Master of Science (Chemical Engineering)
Research Advisor: Wen Zhang, Ph.D., P.E., BCEE
Electromagnetically reactive membrane filtration to remove algogenic inhibitors and recovery valuable elements
Xiaoyu Wang, Visiting Ph.D. student (Environmental Engineering)
Research Advisor: Wen Zhang, Ph.D., P. E., BCEE
Dewatering of source-separated human urine for nitrogen and water recovery by air-gap membrane distillation
Zhifeng Hu, visiting Ph.D. student (Environmental Engineering)
Research advisor: Wen Zhang, Ph.D., P.E., BCEE
Mechanisms of partition of per- and polyfluorinated alkyl substances (PFAS) in rhizosphere environments
Boran Wang, Ph.D. student (Environmental Engineering)
Research advisor: Lucia Rodriguez-Freire, Ph.D.
Bioleaching and bioaccumulation of rare earth elements from mine waste
Maedeh Soleimanifar, Ph.D. student (Environmental Engineering)
Research advisor: Lucia Rodriguez-Freire, Ph.D.
Production of polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) biopolymer from wastewater activated sludge
Bo Deng, Ph.D. student (Environmental Engineering)
Research advisor: Lucia Rodriguez-Freire, Ph.D.
Advanced Reinforced Concrete Materials for Transportation Infrastructure
Seyed Masoud Shirkorshidi, Ph.D. student
Research co-advisors: Matthew Adams, Ph.D., FACI and Matthew Bandelt, Ph.D.
Mechanical confinement influence on corrosion propagation
Jin Fan, Ph.D. student
Research co-advisors: Matthew Adams, Ph.D., FACI and Matthew Bandelt, Ph.D.
Thermo-chemical Energy Storage Using Ettringite Cement Systems
Aaron Strand, Ph.D. student
Research advisor: Matthew Adams, Ph.D., FACI
Impact of Conversion of Calcium Aluminate Cement Hydrates on Durability of Concrete Systems
Marwa Mohsen Ibrahim, Ph.D. student
Research advisor: Matthew Adams, Ph.D., FACI
Durability of Alternative Cement Systems Used for Rapid Pavement Repair
Noah Thibodeaux, Ph.D. student
Research co-advisors: Matthew Adams, Ph.D., FACI and Matthew Bandelt, Ph.D.
Understanding mechanical properties of concrete with recycled concrete aggregates
Anuruddha Jayasuriya, Ph.D. student
Research co-advisors: Matthew Adams, Ph.D., FACI and Matthew Bandelt, Ph.D.
Abiotic Dechlorination by Reactive Iron Mineral Coatings in Contaminated Sediments
Han Hua, Ph.D. student
Research advisor: Lisa Axe, Ph.D.