My research interest is to apply the knowledge of environmental microbiology to establish cost-effective and energy-efficient wastewater treatment processes and promote a sustainable relationship between humans and the natural water environment. My research group is currently developing novel on-site wastewater treatment systems in collaboration with New York State Center for Clean Water Technology (CCWT). These systems are based on various nitrogen transformation pathways to treat on-site wastewater that is both cost-effective and energy-efficient. Research is underway to test the feasibility of these novel on-site wastewater treatment systems at the micro-level in the lab as well as the feasibility at the macro level through pilot facility and field testing. The other research focus is to remove the contaminants of emerging concerns (e.g. 1,4-dioxane) from drinking water with a combination of physical/chemical and biological approaches. My other research interests include: bio-remediation of recalcitrant contaminants in groundwater and sediments, novel approaches for stormwater management, as well as bio-energy production from waste and wastewater.
Dr. Mian Wang (Postdoctoral Associate)
I received my M.Sc. degree and Ph.D. degree in Environmental Engineering from Purdue University in 2014 and 2019. My doctoral research focused on the development of molecular microbiology techniques to evaluate antibiotic resistance genes in natural and urban environments and the application of environmental biotechnology to remove contaminants from water. Currently, I am working on novel treatment technologies for decentralized wastewater and biological remediation of groundwater with contaminants of emerging concerns. The researches include bioreactor operation, microbial function analyses involved in the natural/engineered treatment system.
Dr. Arif Reza, (Postdoctoral Associate)
I completed my Master’s in Environment Management from Independent University, Bangladesh (2011) and earned my PhD in Environmental Science from Kangwon National University, South Korea (2016). My research is primarily focused on resource recovery from waste streams, process development and optimization, wastewater treatment, water quality monitoring and assessment, nutrient dynamics in agroecosystems, and agricultural nutrient management. Currently, I am working to develop cost-effective, practical, and sustainable phosphorus removal and recovery technologies for onsite wastewater treatment systems (OWTS) in New York State (NYS) with NYS Center for Clean Water Technology (CCWT). I have a keen interest in interdisciplinary research and collaborate closely with experts from diverse backgrounds, including civil and environmental engineering, chemical engineering, soil science, limnology, ecology, chemistry, plant and animal sciences, and agricultural economics. I am also passionate about science communication and have been involved in outreach activities to engage the public and inspire the next generation of scientists.
Dr. Yuyin Tang (Postdoctoral Associate)
My research interests lie in the removal of 1,4-dioxane, a possible human carcinogen and widespread groundwater contaminant on Long Island, from drinking water. I’m currently working in collaboration with the New York State Center for Clean Water Technology (NYSCCWT) focusing on i) enrichment of 1,4-dioxane degrading microbial communities from various sources and ii) enhanced removal of 1,4-dioxane and its byproducts produced during UV/H2O2 process using granular activated carbon (GAC) and biological activated carbon (BAC) filters.
Siwei Chen . Ph.D candidate
I completed my MS degree in the University of Massachusetts at Amherst in Environmental Engineering. My MS thesis mainly focused on investigating the formation of Low Molecular Weight Dissolved Organic Nitrogen (LMW-DON) in different wastewater treatment processes and its impact on eutrophication in the water body. I am currently working in collaboration with New York State Center for Clean Water Technology (NYSCCWT) on developing new nitrogen removing biofilter (NRB2.0) to achieve significant nitrogen removal for onsite wastewater.
Fanjian Zeng PhD student
I acquired my B.S & M.S degree in China. As an environmentalist, I am enthusiastic about environmental protection, especially in pollution reduction. For that, I threw myself into two areas. One is wastewater treatment, specializing in designing bio-reactor to reduce N & P in piggery waste water using micro-algae. The other is soil heavy-metal immobilization utilizing compost. Currently, I am glad to join Dr. Mao’s team and pursue on on-site wastewater treatment. I hope my work can contribute to the cause of environmental protection.
Xiumei Jian, PhD student
I received my Master’s degrees in Material Engineering from South China University of Technology and Doctoral degree in Agriculture Engineering from South China Agricultural University. Based on the previous experiences on the lab-research of such environmental situations, including eutrophication and heavy metal pollution by using the designed biochars, I plan to explore the scale-up engineering technique by developing a more flexible and accurate bio-based filter materials. Furthermore, I also have a strong interest in developing applicable solutions to water quality problems that will be applicable to developed and developing world.
Ao Fu, Ph.D Student 
I completed my M.Sc. degree in Environmental Engineering from Beijing University of Technology. My master’s research is related to advanced oxidation processes (AOPs). It is mainly about the degradation of pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) by heterogenous electro-Fenton based on iron-based MOF-derived composite cathodes. Currently, I am working on developing practical, cost-effective, and environmentally friendly technologies for biological nitrogen removal from onsite wastewater.
Yuhang Lu, PhD Student
I earned my MS degree in Civil Engineering at the University of Washington in Seattle, where I gained a foundational understanding of water and wastewater treatment techniques. I had the chance to put the theory into practice while working in an engineering firm in Shanghai, China, particularly in the field of
membrane filtration. I am aware that water and wastewater treatment is a combined technology with several parts related to each other. One of these sections, biological treatment, has a significant impact on the entire treatment process, which motivates me to carry out research in this area to look into more efficient strategies to remove and recover nitrogen-based nutrients for onsite wastewater treatment.
Master student
Shannon Haller (2023-)
Qi Pan (2023-)
Danny Lin (2023-)
Jenna Greenberg (2023-)
Alumni
Sarah Lotfikatouli (Ph.D) 2017-2022
Zahra Maleki Shahraki (Ph.D) 2016-2022
Matthew Lowe (Master student) 2021-2022
Avery Mack (Master student) 2021-2022
Corinne Testa (Master Student) 2021-2022
Stephan Ungar (Master student) 2019-2020
Amanda Thomas (Undergraduate Research Assistant) 2020-2022
Monica McStay (Undergraduate Research Assistant) 2019-2020
Alexandre George (Undergraduate Research Assistant) 2019-2020
Mohamadou Sy (Undergraduate Research assistant ) 2020
Sarah Monastero (Undergraduate Research assistant) 2017-2018
Kennedy Ezumah (Undergraduate Research assistant) 2016-2017
Maria Valencia (Undergraduate Research assistant) 2017-2018
Julia Zhu (High School Student Research Assistant) 2020-2021
James Hayes (High School Student Research Assistant) 2016-2018