Water Quality Systems Engineering at UC Riverside focuses on understanding and improving water quality in both natural and engineered systems, spanning scales from micro to macro. This research area integrates advanced chemical, biological, and engineering approaches to ensure safe and sustainable water resources.

Current Research Areas:

• Hexavalent Chromium Occurrence and Treatment in Drinking Water – Investigating sources, behavior, and innovative treatment technologies for this toxic contaminant.

• Advanced Oxidation and Radical-driven Processes – Developing cutting-edge oxidation methods to degrade persistent pollutants in water systems.

• Water Purification Catalysts and Pollutant Detection Technologies Based on Biomimetic Metal Complexes – Designing catalysts and sensors inspired by biological systems for efficient purification and monitoring.

• Chemical Destruction of Recalcitrant Contaminants – Targeting inorganic, organic, and perfluorinated compounds in water and wastewater through advanced chemical processes.

• Environmental Biotechnology – Understanding biological processes of pollutant degradation and developing cost-effective biotechnologies for pollutant control and environmental remediation.

• Antibiotic Resistance in the Environment – Elucidating mechanisms of antibiotic resistance development and transmission in aquatic and agricultural environments.  

• Environmental Behavior Study and Recovery Technology for Rare Elements – Understanding the fate of rare elements and developing recovery strategies for resource sustainability.

• Transport of Energy-Related Contaminants – Understanding how geocolloids facilitate or hinder the transport of energy-related contaminants in subsurface water bodies, with emphasis on nanoconfinement effects, salinity, and particle concentration on contaminant mobility and fate.

Meet Our Faculty