Perspectives of Environmental Applications of Nanotechnology

Prof. Yongsheng Chen
School of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Georgia Institute of Technology

Abstract: The unique properties of nanomaterials enable emerging technologies for addressing environmental challenges. This talk will give an overview of our work on (1) fabricating novel nanomaterials, (2) structurally controlled nanomaterials for indoor air purification, (3) modified intelligent polymer for ozone sensing, (4) quantum calculation for nanomaterial design, (5) nanocomposite ultrafiltration membrane for water treatment, and (6) nanocomposite ion exchange membrane for salinity gradient energy production.

Bio: Dr. Yongsheng Chen is a professor in the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Georgia Institute of Technology and also holds an adjunct position at Arizona State University. He has served as the principle investigator for many federally-funded projects including DOE, DAPAR, EPA, NSF, and private companies such as Boeing and Litree Company, with total funding more than $10M. He has authored or co-authored more than 130 peer-reviewed papers and also served as a panel reviewer for a number of federal funding agencies including NSF, EPA and DOE. In addition, he has served as an expert to review proposals from abroad such as The Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research and The French National Research Agency (ANR). He has received a number of awards including Association of Environmental Engineering and Science Professors (AEESP) outstanding PhD dissertation advisor and Sigma Xi outstanding PhD dissertation advisor.