Top News from the Dept. of Environmental Engineering & Earth Sciences
Top News from the Dept. of Environmental Engineering & Earth Sciences

Wastewater testing provides an early warning of community coronavirus levels, researcher says

David Freedman, chair of the University’s Department of Environmental Engineering and Earth Sciences, is testing coronavirus levels in wastewater on the University’s main campus and in the surrounding community to provide an early warning system that shows how fast the virus is spreading.

Department Highlights

Tanju Karanfil elected to prestigious scientific academy

Karanfil was elected to the Turkish Academy of Sciences, a society of the top academicians of his native country Turkey. He is Clemson University’s vice president for research and a professor of environmental engineering and Earth sciences.

Clemson University researchers are pursuing new breakthroughs in nuclear energy technology after receiving funding from the U.S. Department of Energy

Brian Powell, Fjeld Professor in Nuclear Environmental Engineering and Science is one of three Clemson University researchers who have received funding to advance nuclear energy technology.

Vanegas awarded major grant to study SARS-CoV-2 Virus

Diana Vanegas, assistant professor of biosystems engineering, has received an award totaling nearly $900,000 from the National Institutes of Health. Her research team is working to develop a versatile multiplexing detection platform for SARS-CoV-2 in saliva.

New research capabilities

One of the key engines behind advanced research is state-of-the-art instrumentation. The department took a big leap forward in acquiring new tools over the past year for analysis and quantification of trace elements in complex environmental matrices.

Ron Falta recognized for scientific achievement

Professor Ron Falta was selected by the National Ground Water Association to receive the 2020 John Hem Award, which honors an individual’s significant, recent scientific or engineering contribution to the understanding of groundwater. This led to his being recognized with a Clemson University Research, Scholarship and Artistic Achievement Award.

Kelli McCourt Wins Prestigious NSF Fellowship

McCourt, a Ph.D. student in biosystems engineering, has been awarded a Graduate Research Fellowship by the National Science Foundation. She is working with Dr. Diana Vanegas, an assistant professor of Biosystems Engineering.

Celebrating top talent

Nine outstanding faculty members from the College of Engineering, Computing and Applied Sciences were honored in a ceremony attended by the college’s department chairs and top administrators. The honorees from environmental engineering and Earth sciences were Nicole Martinez and Tim DeVol. Martinez was recognized with the Murray Stokely Award, and DeVol the Mentoring Award.

From the Chair

Greetings from Clemson and EEES. I hope this newsletter finds you with the vaccine in your arm, or at least close to that point. Like everyone else, EEES has adapted to the unprecedented times brought on by a global pandemic. In spite of many bumps in the road, we have managed to stay focused on our core mission of delivering top quality instruction and leading-edge research. As you will see in this newsletter, there are a number of achievements by EEES faculty and students that are noteworthy over the past several months. Ron Falta was recognized with two national awards, one from the American Academy of Environmental Engineers and Scientists and another from the National Groundwater Association. Tanju Karanfil was elected to the Turkish Academy of Sciences, a society of the top academicians of his native country Turkey. Tim DeVol and Nicole Martinez won top awards from the College of Engineering, Computing and Applied Sciences. Brian Powell won two major grants from the Department of Energy to continue his research on safe storage of nuclear waste, while our newest member of the EEES faculty, Diana Vanegas, won a major new award from the National Institutes of Health. My work on wastewater epidemiology applied to surveillance of the SARS-CoV-2 virus has received a good bit of media attention. Our doctoral students are being recognized too. For example, Kelli McCourt won a highly competitive Graduate Research Fellowship from the National Science Foundation. Many of these accomplishments are the result of major investments in leading edge research instrumentation, made possible in part by the generosity of our alumni.
One of the things I am looking forward to as we move towards a new normal is the opportunity to once again see the familiar faces of alumni in person. We might even be able to shake hands again! In the meantime, I hope you stay safe and healthy.
David Freedman,
Chair, Environmental Engineering and Earth Sciences
IDEAS Extra: Environmental Engineering & Earth Sciences Edition is published by the Clemson University Department of Environmental Engineering & Earth Sciences in the College of Engineering, Computing and Applied Sciences.
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