News & EventsDepartment Events
Events
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Apr7
EVENT DETAILS
TBA
TIME Monday, April 7, 2025 at 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM
LOCATION A230, Technological Institute map it
CONTACT Andrew Liguori andrew.liguori@northwestern.edu EMAIL
CALENDAR McCormick - Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE)
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Apr11
EVENT DETAILS
TBA
TIME Friday, April 11, 2025 at 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM
LOCATION A230, Technological Institute map it
CONTACT Andrew Liguori andrew.liguori@northwestern.edu EMAIL
CALENDAR McCormick - Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE)
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Apr14
EVENT DETAILS
TBA
TIME Monday, April 14, 2025 at 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM
LOCATION A230, Technological Institute map it
CONTACT Andrew Liguori andrew.liguori@northwestern.edu EMAIL
CALENDAR McCormick - Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE)
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Apr16
EVENT DETAILS
TBA
TIME Wednesday, April 16, 2025 at 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM
CONTACT Andrew Liguori andrew.liguori@northwestern.edu EMAIL
CALENDAR McCormick - Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE)
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Apr17
EVENT DETAILS
Abstract: Fatigue failure is the process by which materials break during repetitive loading. In metals and alloys, fatigue cracks nucleate by an atomic-scale process called ‘persistent slip’. Transmission electron microscopy studies of conventional coarse grained metals show persistent slip bands as dislocation ladder structures with dimensions of several 100’s of nanometers to micrometers. However, in nanocrystalline alloys the grain size itself is less than 100 nanometers, thereby suppressing the formation of a persistent slip structure. As a result, these nanocrystalline alloys demonstrate substantial enhancement in fatigue resistance compared to conventional structural metals. The fatigue cracking process of nanocrystalline metals involves room-temperature grain growth. Only when the grains are grown mechanically to several 100’s of nanometers, does crack nucleation occur. This new mechanism has been confirmed by synchrotron x-ray diffraction and in-situ TEM experiments as well as molecular dynamics simulations. To mitigate this new failure mechanism, binary nanocrystalline alloys have been formulated with improved thermodynamic resistance to grain growth. In a first study on these alloys, we find that there are no signs of fatigue damage after 10 billion cycles at cyclic strain amplitudes up to 0.8% corresponding to stress amplitudes in excess of 1 GPa. This same alloy has also been shown to exhibit remarkable resistance to wear, with a wear rate superior to sapphire and comparable to diamond-like carbon. Sandia National Laboratories is a multi-program laboratory managed and operated by Sandia Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of Lockheed Martin Corporation, for the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration under contract DE-AC04-94AL85000.
Bio: Dr. Boyce is a Senior Scientist at Sandia National Laboratories. Dr. Boyce received the B.S. degree from Michigan Technological University in 1996 in Metallurgical Engineering and the M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in 1998 and 2001 from the University of California at Berkeley. Dr. Boyce joined the technical staff at Sandia in 2001 where his research interests lie in micromechanisms of deformation and failure. He has published over 175 peer reviewed articles and holds 6 U.S. patents on topics such as microsystems reliability, nanoindentation, fracture in structural alloys, weld metallurgy, and fatigue mechanisms. Dr. Boyce is a past recipient of the Hertz Foundation fellowship, the J. Keith Brimacombe Medal, and the Marcus A. Grossman Young Author award. He served as the 2023 President of TMS, The Minerals Metals and Materials Society.
TIME Thursday, April 17, 2025 at 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM
LOCATION B211, Technological Institute map it
CONTACT Andrew Liguori andrew.liguori@northwestern.edu EMAIL
CALENDAR McCormick - Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE)
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Apr18
EVENT DETAILS
Abstract: Immuno-engineering is an interdisciplinary field using approaches in immunology, bioengineering and material sciences to manipulate immunity for therapeutic purposes. Much has been focused on how immune cells can be engineered for treating diseases spanning diabetes and cancer to infectious diseases. In this talk, I will first share my lab’s effort to enhance diabetic wound healing through mechano-activation of fibroblasts. This will be followed by the inhibition of cancer-associated fibroblasts to treat pancreatic cancer. Finally, I will discuss how the incorporation of stromal cells to immune organoids can create a more authentic in vitro human immunity in a dish model for studying infectious diseases.
Bio: Andy Tay graduated in 2014 from NUS with a First-Class Honors in Biomedical Engineering. He later headed to the University of California, Los Angeles for his PhD studies and graduated in 2017 as the recipient of the Harry M Showman Commencement Award. Andy next received his postdoctoral training at Stanford University before heading to Imperial College London as an 1851 Royal Commission Brunel Research Fellow. He is currently a Presidential Young Professor in NUS. Andy is a recipient of international awards including the Christopher Hewitt Outstanding Young Investigator Award, Terasaki Young Innovator Award and Micro and Nano Engineering Young Investigator Award. He is listed as a Forbes 30 Under 30 (US/Canada, Science), World Economic Forum Young Scientist and Top 2% Scientist in the World by Stanford University.
TIME Friday, April 18, 2025 at 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM
LOCATION A230, Technological Institute map it
CONTACT Andrew Liguori andrew.liguori@northwestern.edu EMAIL
CALENDAR McCormick - Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE)
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Apr18
EVENT DETAILS
TBA
TIME Friday, April 18, 2025 at 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM
LOCATION A230, Technological Institute map it
CONTACT Andrew Liguori andrew.liguori@northwestern.edu EMAIL
CALENDAR McCormick - Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE)
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Apr24
EVENT DETAILS
TBA
TIME Thursday, April 24, 2025 at 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM
LOCATION A230, Technological Institute map it
CONTACT Andrew Liguori andrew.liguori@northwestern.edu EMAIL
CALENDAR McCormick - Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE)
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Apr25
EVENT DETAILS
TBA
TIME Friday, April 25, 2025 at 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM
LOCATION A230, Technological Institute map it
CONTACT Andrew Liguori andrew.liguori@northwestern.edu EMAIL
CALENDAR McCormick - Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE)
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Apr28
EVENT DETAILS
TBA
TIME Monday, April 28, 2025 at 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM
LOCATION A230, Technological Institute map it
CONTACT Andrew Liguori andrew.liguori@northwestern.edu EMAIL
CALENDAR McCormick - Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE)
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Apr28
EVENT DETAILS
TBA
TIME Monday, April 28, 2025 at 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM
LOCATION A230, Technological Institute map it
CONTACT Andrew Liguori andrew.liguori@northwestern.edu EMAIL
CALENDAR McCormick - Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE)
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Apr28
EVENT DETAILS
TBA
TIME Monday, April 28, 2025 at 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM
LOCATION A230, Technological Institute map it
CONTACT Andrew Liguori andrew.liguori@northwestern.edu EMAIL
CALENDAR McCormick - Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE)
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Apr30
EVENT DETAILS
TBA
TIME Wednesday, April 30, 2025 at 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM
LOCATION A230, Technological Institute map it
CONTACT Andrew Liguori andrew.liguori@northwestern.edu EMAIL
CALENDAR McCormick - Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE)
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May2
EVENT DETAILS
TBA
TIME Friday, May 2, 2025 at 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM
LOCATION A230, Technological Institute map it
CONTACT Andrew Liguori andrew.liguori@northwestern.edu EMAIL
CALENDAR McCormick - Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE)
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May7
EVENT DETAILS
TBA
TIME Wednesday, May 7, 2025 at 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM
LOCATION A230, Technological Institute map it
CONTACT Andrew Liguori andrew.liguori@northwestern.edu EMAIL
CALENDAR McCormick - Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE)
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May9
EVENT DETAILS
TBA
TIME Friday, May 9, 2025 at 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM
LOCATION A230, Technological Institute map it
CONTACT Andrew Liguori andrew.liguori@northwestern.edu EMAIL
CALENDAR McCormick - Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE)
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May15
EVENT DETAILS
TBA
TIME Thursday, May 15, 2025 at 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM
LOCATION A230, Technological Institute map it
CONTACT Andrew Liguori andrew.liguori@northwestern.edu EMAIL
CALENDAR McCormick - Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE)
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May16
EVENT DETAILS
TBA
TIME Friday, May 16, 2025 at 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM
LOCATION A230, Technological Institute map it
CONTACT Andrew Liguori andrew.liguori@northwestern.edu EMAIL
CALENDAR McCormick - Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE)
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May19
EVENT DETAILS
TBA
TIME Monday, May 19, 2025 at 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM
LOCATION A230, Technological Institute map it
CONTACT Andrew Liguori andrew.liguori@northwestern.edu EMAIL
CALENDAR McCormick - Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE)
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May21
EVENT DETAILS
TBA
TIME Wednesday, May 21, 2025 at 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM
LOCATION A230, Technological Institute map it
CONTACT Andrew Liguori andrew.liguori@northwestern.edu EMAIL
CALENDAR McCormick - Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE)
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May23
EVENT DETAILS
Abstract: Anaerobic Membrane Bioreactor (AnMBR) is a promising technology for sustainable domestic wastewater (DWW) treatment, enabling energy, water, and nutrients recovery at low biomass production rates. However, membrane fouling remains a major challenge, increasing costs and limiting long-term performance. While fouling is often attributed to biomass components like extracellular polymeric substances (EPS), the mechanisms linking biomass responses to operational conditions and fouling remain poorly understood. This study presents a mechanistic framework for AnMBR fouling, demonstrating how changes in organic loading rate (OLR) and coagulant addition influence sludge rheology, sludge dewaterability, EPS hydration and viscoelasticity, and ultimately affecting membrane fouling propensity. Parallel investigations at lab- and pilot-scale AnMBR systems treating real DWW provide a unique comparison between controlled and real-world conditions. Our integrated microscale-to-macroscale approach captures the complexity of biomass behavior. On the microscale, EPS hydration and viscoelasticity were analyzed using quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation (QCM-D) and localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR). On the macroscale, dynamic rheometry, sludge volume index (SVI), and capillary suction time (CST) quantified biomass stability and dewaterability, while optical coherence tomography (OCT) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) revealed biomass floc structure and fouling layer formation. Our findings provide an expansive explanation of how OLR and coagulant addition affect biomass destabilization and membrane fouling in AnMBR for DWW treatment, paving the way for improved fouling mitigation strategies and contributing to more stable and cost-effective AnMBR operations.
Bio- Moshe Herzberg is a full professor at the Zuckerberg Institute for Water Research in Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, ISRAEL, appointed as a faculty member, since 2007. Prof. Herzberg did his postdoctoral training in Yale University and received both a PhD in Agricultural Engineering and BSc in Chemical Engineering from the Technion, the Israel Institute of Technology. Prof. Herzberg’s research interests focus on microbial biofilms, biofouling and fouling of membranes, interfacial processes that relate to membrane separation and “anti-fouling” modified-membranes. Prof. Herzberg is an author of 90 scientific publications and more than 140 presentations and seminars. He serves as a co-leader of the CoWERC, the US-Israel Collaborative Water-Energy Research Center. Prof. Herzberg is currently performing an enhanced synergistic collaboration with different scientists and industries around the world, from Jordan, Italy, the united-states, and Israel.
TIME Friday, May 23, 2025 at 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM
LOCATION A230, Technological Institute map it
CONTACT Andrew Liguori andrew.liguori@northwestern.edu EMAIL
CALENDAR McCormick - Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE)
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May28
EVENT DETAILS
TBA
TIME Wednesday, May 28, 2025 at 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM
LOCATION A230, Technological Institute map it
CONTACT Andrew Liguori andrew.liguori@northwestern.edu EMAIL
CALENDAR McCormick - Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE)
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May30
EVENT DETAILS
Abstract
The use of nanomaterials has become a rapidly growing approach for advanced water treatment technologies, but the continued emergence of highly oxidation-resistant micropollutants, such as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), calls for transformative strategies that move beyond recent oxidation-based remediation practices. Alternative reduction-based approaches utilizing aqueous electrons (eaq−, Eo = −2.9 V)—one of the most reactive nucleophilic species—are emerging as a promising solution for efficient PFAS breakdown. Herein, we leverage nanoconfinement engineering to enable a new water treatment approach—plasmon-mediated advanced reduction processes (PARPs)—for efficient, chemical-free PFAS destruction at room temperature. We first present novel nanoreactor designs that engineer the ‘nanoconfinement effect’, i.e. unique aggregation-induced interparticle interactions that are inaccessible by typical unconfined, bulk-phase nanomaterials. We demonstrate that the precisely controlled nanoconfinement of plasmonic nanoparticles can generate highly reactive reducing species under UV irradiation, capable of breaking even the strong C–F bonds in PFAS. The nanoreactor we developed achieved 81.5% mineralization of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) after 24 hours of UV irradiation in pure water at room temperature, compared to only 16.6% mineralization by UV photolysis. Further reaction monitoring under various conditions and multimodal NMR-guided investigation were conducted to elucidate PFAS degradation mechanisms and pathways. We further explored the potential of PARPs for the chemical-free remediation of nitrate, a prevalent oxyanion pollutant that is resistant to conventional oxidation-based treatments. Our findings highlight the transformative promise of nanoconfinement engineering to catalyze innovation in environmental nanotechnology and extend the frontier of advanced reduction processes for water treatment.
Bio- Haklae Lee is a PhD student in the Environmental Engineering & Science program and a member of the Gray Lab in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Northwestern University. He holds a B.S. and M.S. in Environmental Engineering from Pusan National University in South Korea. His work focuses on the design and engineering of nano-sized reactors for efficient and more sustainable remediation of emerging contaminants from wastewater. He uses mesoporous silica to spatially confine various metal nanoparticles within multi-layered nanoreactors, enabling unique features such as multifunctional compartments and nanoconfinement effects for previously unexplored environmental applications.
TIME Friday, May 30, 2025 at 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM
LOCATION A230, Technological Institute map it
CONTACT Andrew Liguori andrew.liguori@northwestern.edu EMAIL
CALENDAR McCormick - Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE)