The JUN Group (Environmental Nanochemistry Laboratory, ENCL)
A Recent Picture of the Environmental NanoChemistry Lab Members (June 29, 2022).

The Jun group is exploring the environmental impacts of human activities through improved understanding of the fate and transport of contaminants and nanoparticles. In particular, we aim to improve our understanding of environmental impacts of climate change. We study biogeological cycling in complex environmental systems from nanoscale to macroscale, with a view to conserving and restoring sound water environments.

Based on our strong scientific understanding of nanoscale interfacial chemistry and solid nucleation, we seek innovation for sustainable water. We develop new treatment techniques and catalysts for purifying drinking water and remediating contaminated water and soil, benefiting water reuse, managed aquifer recharge, and membrane processes. In addition, the ENCL investigates biomineralization and bio-inspired chemistry for novel materials development.

To address challenges in energy-water nexus, our group research involves a more comprehensive investigations of energy-related subsurface operation systems for sustainability, including geologic carbon dioxide sequestration, conventional and unconventional oil and gas recovery, underground hydrogen storage, geoothermal energy, and nuclear waste disposal.

What did the former doctoral students do next and where are they now? Click here for the information (as of April 1, 2024)

Group Introduction Movie

To Solve Grand Challenges in Energy, Environmental and Chemical Engineering, We Need to Help Our Students Learn about...(click the text for more detailed information)

Driving Change in Research Culture

Is publishing in the chemical sciences gender biased?(Full Report by the Royal Society of Chemistry)

RSC's Joint Editorial Board Statement for Diversity and Inclusion

- Be aware about implicit bias and prevent it

- Improve recognition through awards

Professor Jun was elected to serve on the American Chemical Society’s Committee on Science (COMSCI, 2017-2025). The committee’s mission is to identify new frontiers of chemistry, examine the scientific basis of and formulate public policies related to chemical sciences, and recognize outstanding chemical scientists. Since 2020, Prof. Jun serves as the Chair of Science &Technology Subcommittee.The Committee on Science will lead the brand-new Innovative Program for the future ACS National meetings (Fall 2024 ACS meeting and forward).

Five topics for Spring 2025 Innovative Program (Clean Water, CO2 Removal, Sustainable Polymers, Qunatum Science & Technology, and Artificial Intelligence for Drug Design)

Prof. Jun serves on the Critical Issues Ad Hoc Writing Committee (2022-2024) of the American Geosciences Insitute (AGI):  AGI’s Critical Issues Document will be distributed to the U.S. Congress, federal agencies, and to presidential candidates to provide the consensus critical issues facing society from the vantage of the geoscience community.

What's new

Click here to see all news from the ENCL since 2008!

We are looking for 2 and more new doctoral students in Fall 2024 to work with us for their doctoral programs. Please feel free to contact Prof. Young-Shin Jun (ysjun@wustl.edu) . Here is our group introduction slide.

September 24, 2024: Congratulations! Our manuscript entitled "Three Distinctive Steps for Heterogeneous Nucleation of Tunnel Structured Mn Oxide on Quartz under Light Exposure" has been accepted to be published in Environmental Science & Technology. We show new pathways how the heterogeneous nucleation can contribute to the variety of poorly crystalline structures of natural Mn oxides found in the environment.

August 30, 2024: The ENCL's first fall group meeting. We celebrated the new semester start.

August 21, 2024: Congratulations! The ENCL will participate in the newly funded NSF Engineering Research Center (The Carbon Utilization Redesign for Biomanufacturing-Empowered Decarbonization (CURB) ERC).

August 15-21, 2024: Prof. Jun, Minkyoung Jun and Honhyun Kim traveled to present our research progress at the American Chemical Society meeting in Denver. Prof. Jun also participated in the strategic planning retreat of the ACS Committee on Science and planning two new ACS innovative programs entitled "Elevating Atmospheric Chemistry Measurements & Modeling with Artificial Intelligence" and "Scaling New Heights of Chemistry Education with Artificial Intelligence Tools". Professor Jun also organized a (1) GEOC symposium "Geochemistry and Environmental Chemistry at the Water–Energy Nexus" and an (2) ENVR symposium "ACS Environmental Chemistry Division’s Women in Science & Engineering - Tribute to contributions made to environmental chemistry,”at the ACS Fall Meeting, August 18-22, 2024, in Denver, CO.

August 18-23, 2024: Ying Wang and Xueyi Liu traveled to present our progress in critical material recovery at Goldschmit meeting in Chicago.

July 26, 2024: Our new DOE project on rare earth element recovery from coal-based resources is highlighted in engineering news "Sustainable technology to extract critical materials from coal-based resources"

July 25, 2024: Congratulations! Our manuscript entitled "In Situ Monitoring In Situ Monitoring the Nucleation and Growth of Nanoscale CaCO3 at the Oil–Water Interface" has been accepted to be published in ACS Nano. We show important roles of an oil–liquid interface in directing CaCO3 mineralization which are common in natural and engineered systems. Link to the paper

July 22, 2024: Congratulations! Ms. Mingyang Song won a prize of the 2024 Chinese-American Professors in Environmental Engineering and Science (CAPEES) Student Poster Competition. Congratulations, Mingyang!

July 19, 2024: Welcome! Future scientists and engineers visited us. The ENCL hosted black middle school students from the BrightPath STEAM Academy and introduce Environmental and Chemical Science and Engineering.

July 2, 2024: Congratulations! Dr. Ping-I Chou successfully defended his doctoral dissertation entitled "Nanoscale Mineral Formation at Environmental Interfaces." Wonderful summary of your PhD journey! Dr. Chou is ENCL's 15th Ph.D. In September, he is joining Intel as a module development engineer in semiconductor manufacturing. He was recently chosen to be highlighted as Class Acts (highlighting excellent graduating students each year). Check it out here. Best wishes to Dr. Chou! Have greater wings to fly. You are so ready!

June 27, 2024: Dr. Burtrand Lee, a former ACS Petroleum Research Foundation (Materials and Surface Sciences) Program Director, visited and offered a seminar at Washington University. Prof. Jun hosted his visit.

June 24-26, 2024: Prof. Jun attended the annual meeting of the Advanced Materials for Energy-Water Systems (AMEWS) Energy Frontier Research Center (EFRC) led by Argonne National Laboratory. Prof. Jun serves on the Science Advisory Committee. She also met two ENCL alumni (Dr. Yaguang Zhu at Princeton University and Dr. Zhenwei Gao at the University of Chicago) who are currently participarting in AMEWS project.

June 22, 2024: Congratulations! Our paper entitled "Bridging Molecular-Scale Interfacial Science with Continuum-Scale Models" is published in Nature Communications. Link to the paper.

June 19, 2024: Welcome aboard! Mr. Young-Ha Lee joined the group for his summer research. He is a sophomore student in the Department of Energy, Environmental & Chemical Engineering at Washington University in St. Louis. Have lots of research fun!

June 12, 2024: Congratulations! Ms. Minkyoung Jung was selected to receive the ACS Geochemistry Division's Student Travel Award for attending the Fall ACS meeting in Denver. Congratulations, Minkyoung!

May 30, 2024: Congratulations! Mr. Honghyun Kim and Ms. Zixuan Xie have officially passed their doctoral qualification exams. Keep up the good work!

May 28, 2024: Welcome aboard! Mr. Rodrigo Uribe joined the group for his summer research. He is a junior student in the Department of Chemical Engineering, Tecnológico de Monterrey, Mexico. He received a 2024 McKelvey Undergraduate Fellowship. We look forward to working with you over the summer!

May 28, 2024: Welcome aboard! Ms. Zhimeng Bao joined the group for her summer research. She is a freshman student whose major is in Biology and Chemistry, Washington University. She received a 2024 Center for the Environment Summer Research Fellowship. We look forward to working with you over the summer!

May 24, 2024: Congratulations! Our manuscript entitled "The Roles of the Oil Water Interface in Forming Ultra-Small CaSO4 Nanoparticles" is published in ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces. CaSO4 at the oil–water interface affects energy and water system efficiencies. We report that nano-spherical amorphous CaSO4 preferentially forms at oil–water interfaces and then transforms to nanorod-shaped gypsum. The finding provides useful insights into mineral scaling during membrane separation and can inform more efficient oil transport in energy recovery systems. Link to the paper

May 14-24, 2023: Prof. Jun visited Seoul National University and Yonsei University, South Korea to promote educational programs at Washington University (McDonnell International Scholars Academy, Mekelvey School of Engineering, and Energy, Environmental & Chemical Engineering).

May 2024: Congratulation, Christina. Her interview as an excellent first-generation college student is highlighted in A New Course. "First-generation college students may not have the same familial models for higher education as their continuing-generation peers, but these driven students craft their own communities and support systems. By charting a different path for themselves, they break down generational boundaries and discover new futures."

May 10, 2024: Congratulations! Ping-I Chou celebrated the commencement day! Best wishes for bright future venture! The ENCL members joined the celebration with the Chou family. Best wishes~

May 9, 2024: Congratulations! Dennis (Ping-I) Chou is highlighted in Class Act as an outstanding doctoral student who is graduating in 2024. Check out his story

Aril 25, 2024: Our group's plastic research has been highlighed in McKelvey Engineering Momentum. (Left: Minkyoung Jung; Right: Andrea Carbonell) Illustration by Aimee Felter

April 19, 2024: Mr. Tobias Zaidman received Washington University's Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship. Congratulations! We look forward to continuously working with you over the summer.

April 17, 2024: Congratulations! Ms. Gun Yi Park (2023 ENCL McKelvey Dean's fellowship UG summer researcher) was chosen to be received the prestigious McDonnell International Scholars Academy Fellowship. She will join ENCL to conduct a PhD in August. We look forward to working with you soon.

April 12, 2024: Prof. Jun organized the ACS Frontier Fridays Webinar entitled "Accelerating Discovery with AI: Self-Driving Laboratories," Dr. Alán Aspuru-Guzik, Department of Chemistry and Computer Science at the University of Toronto, discussed how these emerging technologies promise to reduce the time for discovery in chemistry and materials science. Check the webinar website for the recording.

April 6, 2024: Hello, Future Woman Scientists and Engineers! Prof. Jun, Ying, and Minkyoung offered a hands-on program with female high school students and participated in a panel discussion as a part of the 2024 Washington University's Women in STEM event and introduced environmental nanochemistry and nanotechnology.

April 5, 2024: Congratulations! From the ACS Environmental Chemistry Division, Dennis and Minkyoung received Certificates of Merit, a recognition of their excellent presentations at the ASC Fall 2023 meeting. Great Achievement! Congratulations!

April 1, 2024: Congratulations! Dennis accepted a full time module development engineer position at Intel. Best wishes for your new and bright journey! We are very proud of you!

April 1, 2024: Professor Jun organizes a (1) GEOC symposium "Geochemistry and Environmental Chemistry at the Water–Energy Nexus" and an (2) ENVR symposium "ACS Environmental Chemistry Division’s Women in Science & Engineering - Tribute to contributions made to environmental chemistry," at the ACS Fall Meeting, August 18-22, 2024, in Denver, CO. The abstract submission is due April 1st, 2024. Please join us. You can submit the abstract here!

March 15-March 20, 2024: Prof. Jun, Ping-I Chou, Ying Wang, Xueyi Liu, and Mingyang Song travelled to participate in ACS meeting in New Orleans. We presented our most recent findings at the meeting. Check our talk schedules.The ENCL reunion at the ACS meeting. Prof. Jessica Ray (ENCL 2015) at the University of Washington and Dr. Yaguang Zhu (ENCL 2022) at Princeton University joined us. Click here to see other activities.

March 8, 2024: Celebrating the 2024 International Women's Day! United Nations Link

January 25-28, 2024: Prof. Jun served as a workshop facilitator at the ACS Leadership Institute, Atlanta, GA. The Committee on Science will lead the brand-new Innovative Program for the future ACS National meetings (Fall 2024 ACS meeting and forward).

January 22, 2024: Mr. Ping-I (Dennis) Chou was selected to receive the ACS Geochemistry Division's Student Travel Award for attending the Spring ACS meeting in New Orleans. Congratulations, Dennis!

January 19, 2024: Prof. Jun organized the ACS Frontier Fridays Webinar and moderated the discussion. Dr. David Moore, the Carbon Capture Technology Leader for GE Vernova Advanced Research, discussed about scaling up a promising sorbent-based direct air capture (DAC) system by more than 20-fold for a new round of testing in 2024. ~1200 registrants signed up for the DAC Frontier with 95% satisfaction! Link to the webinar website

January 16, 2024: Ms. Andrea Carbonell joined the ENCL for her undergraduate research. Welcome aboard!

January 10, 2024: Congratulations! We were selected to receive a grant from the Department of Energy's Fossil Energy and Carbon Management to develop effective recovery processes of rare earth elements from coal-based resources. Link to the award announcement

January 5, 2024: "Turning trash into treasure to help quench the world’s thirst sustainably" We have started a new project a National Alliance for Water Innovation project supported by the Department of Energy's Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy to advance desalination and water reuse technologies across the U.S. Check the engineering news Click here for one pager project summary

January 4, 2024: Congratulations! Our paper entitled “Supercritical Carbon Dioxide/Nitrogen/Air Extraction with Multistage Stripping Enables Selective Recovery of Rare Earth Elements from Coal Fly Ashes” was selected as a 2023 Hot paper of RSC Sustainability. Link to the paper

January 3, 2024: Mr. Tobias Zaidman joined the ENCL for his undergraduate research. Welcome aboard!

December 13, 2023: Congratulations! Ms. Minkyoung Jung successfully defended her thesis proposal! Keep up good work!Virtual handshaking "Congratulations on your successful proposal defense!"

December 13, 2023: Mr. Honghyun Kim and Ms. Zixuan Xie officially assigned to be ENCL PhD students.

November 17-19, 2023: Prof. Jun participated in the Strategic Planning workshop of the American Chemical Society's Environmental Chemistry Division, the ACS headquaters, Washington, D.C.

November 4, 2023: Minkyoung Jun presented our EPA project related to phosphate recovery of mineral-hydrogel composites at the 2023 Mid-American Environmental Engineering Conference at the University of Missuri, Columbia. Five ENCL members, Minkyoung, Ping-I (Dennis), Ying, Mingyang, and Zixuan, participated in the meeting.

November 2-3, 2023: The 2023 Annual All hands meeting of the Department of Energy's Critical Materials (Ni and Co recovery) Project was held at Washington University in person. This meeting consisted of research progress report, technical discussion, furture planning, instrument setup instruction, early career development panel discussion, and network building. Drs. Sebastien Kerisit, John Loring, and Xinyi Shen from Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) visited us. Some of team members from PNNL joined remotely.

October 21, 2023: Welcome, Future Environmental & Chemical Scientists and Engineers! The ENCL offered a hands-on workshop for middle school students from BrightPath's Young Black Scholars LEAP Program (https://brightpathsteam.org/) This workshop provided environmental chemistry lecture and lab activities to Black middle school students and teachers.

September 21-22, 2023: Prof. Jun participated in RSC Advances Ediorial Board Meeting at Burlington House in London, UK.

August 25, 2023: Congratulations! Dr. Zhenwei Gao (ENCL PhD 2022) and Dr. Yaguang Zhu (ENCL PhD 2022) received the 2022 Chinese Government Awards for Outstanding Self-Financed Students Abroad.

August 28, 2023: Ms. Christina Alexakos and Ms. Cindy Borrayo-Carrera joined us for undergraduate research. welcome aboard!

August 25, 2023: Mr. Honghyun Kim joined the ENCL for his doctoral work. Welcome aboard!

August 12-17, 2023: The ENCL attended the ACS Fall meeting in San Francisco. Click here to see all our presentation schedules including our proud alumni presentations. Come and learn about our research! Click here to learn our activities at ACS.

August 13-14, 2023: Join us for a Special COMSCI symposium on "Critical Materials: Perspectives from the industry, government, and research communities" at the ACS Fall 2023 meeting, San Francisco. Prof. Young-Shin Jun serves as a co-chair of the symposium.
Symposium Program; Flyer;
ACS Policy statement on Critical Materials: Prof. Jun served as a writing committee member

August 11, 2023: Ms. Gun Yi Park successfully completed her summer research! Good job! Minkyoung has been a great graduate mentor for Gun Yi. Congratulations to both of you!

August 2-4, 2023, The 36th US-Korea Conference 2023 on Science, Technology, and Entrepreneurship (UKC 2023) is jointly organized by the Korean-American Scientists and Engineers Association (KSEA), the Korean Federation of Science and Technology Societies (KOFST) and the Korea-US Science Cooperation Center (KUSCO). UKC Conference webiste Prof. Young-Shin Jun served as the chair of the keynote symposium on "Achieving Carbon Neutrality: Perspectives and Challenges." and provided an invited talk in K-Water Symposium.

July 23-26, 2023, The 10th International Water Association (IWA) Membrane Technology Conference & Exhibition for Water and Wastewater Treatment and Reuse"Washington University in St. Louis,Co-chaired by Prof. Jason He and Prof. Baoxi Mi. Prof. Young-Shin Jun served as the conference organizing committee and a session chair. Prof. Jun and Dennis presented our membrane work during the conference. Conference webiste

July 21, 2023: Prof. Jun,Ying, Minkyoung, and Alex offered a hands-on workshop for middle school students from BrightPath STEAM Academy Summer Camp (https://brightpathsteam.org/) BrightPath STEAM Academy helps address critical educational gaps that impact African American youth, their future and our national economy.

July 9-14, 2023: Prof. Jun presented our carbonate nucleation study at the 2023 Goldschmidt conference, Lyon, France.

June 26-28, 2023: Prof. Jun attended the annual meeting of the Advanced Materials for Energy-Water Systems (AMEWS) Energy Frontier Research Center (EFRC) led by Argonne National Laboratory. Prof. Jun serves on the Science Advisory Committee.

June 20-23, 2023: ENCL participated in the 2023 AEESP Research & Education Conference, Northeastern University. Dr. Yaguang Zhu and Dr. Zhenwei Gao presented our pH nanoprobe work and Mn oxide nanoplastic work, respectively.

June 12, 2023: Welcome aboard, Ms. Gun Yi Park, a rising senior undergraduate from National Taiwan University and Mr. Alex Shen, a rising senior undergraduate from EECE WashU. They will work with us for their summer research!

June 8, 2023: In celebration of the World Environment Day, Congratulations! Prof. Jun wrote a catalyst article "Catalyst: The Roles of Chemistry in Clean Water for All " has been published in Chem. Highlight in the Engineering News.

Free to download for the first 50 times
Link to the paper

June 5, 2023: Congratulations! Ms. Mingyang Song and Ms. Xueyi Liu have officially passed their qualification exams. Keep up the good work!

June5, 2023: Congratulations! Our manuscript entitled "Surface Functional Groups Affect Iron (Hydr)oxide Heterogeneous Nucleation: Implications for Membrane Scaling" has been accepted to be published in Environmental Science & Technology. This paper provides new insights on incipient membrane scaling: hydrophobicity & functional group density shape iron (hydr)oxide nucleation. Link to the paper Free to download for the first 50 times

June 1, 2023: Congratulations! A collaboration manuscript entitled "Gravity-Driven Controls on Fluid and Carbonate Precipitation Distributions in Fractures" has been accepted to be published in Scientific Report. This paper highlights that the ability to sequester CO2 through carbonate mineralization along fractures will depend on the fracture orientation relative to gravity, with horizontal fractures more likely to seal uniformly. Link to the paper The color scale represents the extent of CaCO3 precipitates on surfaces.

May 30-June 9, 2023: Prof. Jun visited Korea to participate in the International Symposium for Smart Water Environmental Management at Ewha Womans University and to promote McDonnell International Scholars Academy at Seoul National University.

May 24, 2023: Congratulations! A mega collaboration review paper (300 pages in a word file) was published in Chemical Reviews and highlighted as the Cover Art. The title of the paper is "Oxide- and Silicate-Water Interfaces and Their Roles in Technology and the Environment" This paper is a celebration of scientific advances in solid-water interfaces since Brown et al. (1999) seminal Chemical Reviews paper. Prof. Jun is a leading corresponding author of this mega paper and a creator of the Cover Art. link to the paper; Link to the highlight article in Engineering News

May 14, 2023: Congratulations! Dr. Albern Tan (The 14th ENCL PhD) and Ms. Zixuan Xie (Master of Science) celebrated their commencement day! Best wishes for many bright future excitements!

May 3, 2023: Congratulations! Our paper "Effects of Sodium and Magnesium Ions on the Photochemically-Induced Heterogeneous Formation of Manganese Oxides and their Structural Evolution" was accepted to be published in the Journal of Physical Chemistry C as a part of Dr. Michael Hoffmann Festschrift. Link to the paper

April 21, 2023: Triple Congratulations to Ying, Minkyoung, and Dr. Yaguang Zhu! Ying Wang and Minkyoung Jung received 2023 EECE Graduate Teaching Awards; and Dr. Yaguang Zhu received a 2023 Graduate Student Research Impact Award from the Department of Energy, Environmental & Chemical Engineering, Washington University.

April 2023: Congratulations, Dr. Hyuna Kwon (2016 ENCL undergraduate member) earned her doctoral degree at the University of California-Riverside and she started a postdoctoral position in Materials Science Division at the Lawrence Livermore National Lab. Exciting big step and best wishes, Dr. Kwon!

March 22, 2023: Congratulations! We were selected to receive a DOE award from the National Alliance for Water Innovation supported by the Department of Energy's Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy to advance desalination and water reuse technologies across the U.S. Link to the award announcement

March 22, 2023: Celebrating 2023 World Water Day! Water is essential for every one of us. We are happy to have our ENCL mission to support cleaner water! World Water Day 2023 is about accelerating change to solve the water and sanitation crisis. Image source: the United Nations.

March 20, 2023:Congratulations! Our manuscript entitled “Opportunities for emerging wastewater phosphorus recovery technologies to enable circular phosphorus usage in non-traditional hydroponic agriculture” has been accepted to be published in ACS Agricultural Science & Technology. This viewpoint article provides suggestions for a sustainable nutrient recovery and reuse and a circular economy, which supports two UN sustainable development goals (UNSDG):Goal 2 Zero Hunger and Goal 6 Clean Water and Sanitation.
Link to the paper

March 9, 2023: Congratulations! Our manuscript entitled “Supercritical Carbon Dioxide/Nitrogen/Air Extraction with Multistage Stripping Enables Selective Recovery of Rare Earth Elements from Coal Fly Ashes”was highlighted as a Jounral cover art of RSC Sustainability. We report the use of supercritical fluids (carbon dioxide, nitrogen, and air) as greener solvents to directly and selectively extract REEs from solid waste, without energy- and material-intensive leaching. Link to the paper Cover Art

March 8, 2023: Celebrating the 2023 International Women’s Day! Our manuscripts has been highlighted as part of the Royal Society of Chemistry's Women in Materials Science Collection

Feburary 27-March 3, 2023: Dennis, Ying, Minkyoung, Mingyang, and Xueyi travelled to Argonne National Laboratory to conduct X-ray scattering experiments at Sector 12ID-B.

February 23, 2023: Prof. Jun served as a panel speaker at the Korean-American Scientists and Engineers Association (KSEA) Mid-Career Development Workshop. If you are interested in participating in the workshop, register here. Link to the workshop flyer.

February 17, 2023: Congratulations! A mega collaboration review paper (300 pages in a word file) was accepted in Chemical Reviews. The title of the paper is "Oxide- and Silicate-Water Interfaces and Their Roles in Technology and the Environment" This paper is written by 23 leading experts in solid-water interfaces and is a celebration of scientific advances in solid-water interfaces since Brown et al. (1999) seminal Chemical Reviews paper. Prof. Jun is a leading corresponding author of this mega paper. link to the paper

February 13, 2023: Congratulations to Ying! Ying successfully defended her doctoral thesis proposal. Good job and now enjoy your research more!

February 4-7, 2023: Prof. Jun co-organized and presented in the 2023 Mesilla Chemistry Workshop on Aqueous Solution/Oxide Interfaces, Mesilla, New Mexico (Invited only workshop).

February 1-2, 2023: Prof. Jun participated in an NSF sponsored event, Engineering Research Visioning Alliance (ERVA) on Engineered Systems for Water Security. Report is available here.

January 27, 2023: Congratulations to Dennis! Dennis has been selected as a winner of the 2023 Graduate Student Award in Environmental Chemistry in the Division of Environmental Chemistry of the American Chemical Society.

January 27, 2023: Welcome aboard. Mr. Bennett Schwartz joined us for his undergraduate research project. Hope you enjoy learning many things in the lab and doing exciting research!

January 24-25, 2023: Prof. Jun participated in the Nano4EARTH Kick-off Workshop organized by the National Nanotechnology Coordination Office (NNCO).

January 10, 2023: New Year Celebration Dinner. The ENCL has a group dinner to celebrate the new year. Be strong together.

January 1, 2023: Happy New Year. The ENCL is celebrating our 15th anniversary since we created on January 1, 2008. Great achievements and great team. Be the change, the ENCL!

December 27, 2022: Congratulations! Our manuscript entitled “Oxidative Roles of Polystyrene-Based Nanoplastics in Inducing Manganese Oxide Formation under Light Illumination” has been published in ACS Nano. Here we show that Polystyrene nanoplastics produced peroxyl and superoxide radicals by photolysis, causing unexpected Mn2+ oxidation and controlling the heterogeneous growth rate and crystalline phases of Mn oxides. Link to the paper
Link to the highlight article in Engineering News

December 22, 2022: Congratulations! Our manuscript entitled “Photobiological production of high-value pigments via compartmentalized co-cultures using Ca-alginate hydrogels” has been published in Scientific Reports. This study demonstrates the production of high-value pigments and chemicals using a hydrogel-enabled phototroph-heterotroph co-culture consortium. Link to the paper

December 20, 2022: Congratulations! Our manuscript entitled “Supercritical Carbon Dioxide/Nitrogen/Air Extraction with Multistage Stripping Enables Selective Recovery of Rare Earth Elements from Coal Fly Ashes” has been accepted in RSC Sustainability. We report the use of supercritical fluids (carbon dioxide, nitrogen, and air) as greener solvents assisting a phosphonate extractant in directly and selectively extracting REEs from solid waste, without energy- and material-intensive leaching. Link to the paper

December 20, 2022: A look back at the news of 2022. McKelvey Engineering recaps 10 of the most read story throughout 2022 Engineering News. Our new clean energy technology grant story is one of them!

December 10-20, 2022: Prof. Jun travelled to Korea to visit the Seoul National University as the McDonnell International Scholars Academy Ambassador. During her visit, she met SNU's faculty and leadership for international educational collaboration and offered McDonnell Academy Open House Events.

December 14, 2022: Welcome back, Zixuan! Zixuan will work with us as a laboratory technician. Happy to work with you!

December 13, 202: Welcome aboard! Ms. Mingyang Song and Ms. Xueyi Liu officially joined us as permanent doctoral students. Happy to work with you both! Let's have a great teamwork together!

December 8-9, 2022: Prof. Jun participated in Energy Insights 2022 conference (invited only), organized by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation and Resources for the Future (RFF) at the National Academy of Sciences in Washington, DC.

November 28-30, 2022: Ying and Dennis traveled to conduct in person experiments using Pair Distribution Function at Sector 11, the Advanced Photon Source, Argonne National Lab.

November 24, 2022: Congratulations! Dr. Yanzhe Zhu (2014-2015 ENCL undergraduate  member) will be a scientific developer at the Emerald Cloud Lab, life science/biotech company in San Francisco. Great venture and exciting big step! We wish all the best, Dr. Zhu!

November 22, 2022 (10 AM CT): Please join us to learn about outstanding student works in RSC Advances. Prof. Jun will moderate the webinar to highlight three 2021 outstanding student paper awardees. Link to the blog.

October 31, 2022: Welcome aboard! Ms. Xueyi Liu joined the group. She is a 1st year Ph.D. students and conducts research rotation with us.

October 31-November 4, 2022: Dennis, Ying, and Minkyoung traveled to conduct in person experiments using Grazing Small Angle X-ray Scattering and Wide Angle X-ray Scattering at Sector 12ID-B, the Advanced Photon Source, Argonne National Lab, IL.

October 22, 2022: Welcome, Future Environmental & Chemical Scientists and Engineers! The ENCL offered a hands-on workshop for middle school students from BrightPath's Young Black Scholars LEAP Program (https://brightpathsteam.org/) BrightPath STEAM Academy helps address critical educational gaps that impact African American youth, their future and our national economy. Link to more pictures

October 15, 2022: Congratulations! Mr. Ping I (Dennis) Chou received the Best Student Presentation Award (the first prize) during the 28th Mid-American Environmental Engineering Conference at Missouri Science & Technology, MO. Dennis made a great representation of our strong ENCL research. Congratulations, Dennis. Keep up the excellent work!

October 14, 2022: Best wishes to Dr. Albern Tan! We celebrated Dr. Tan's success and new journey at Bayer! Congratulations!

October 13, 2022: Congratulations! Our manuscript entitled “Reactive halogen radicals in saline water promote photochemically-assisted formation of manganese oxide nanosheets” was highlighted as a Jounral cover Art of Environmental Science: Nano. Cover art Link to the paper

October 13, 2022: Congratulations! Dr. Yaguang Zhu (2022 ENCL PhD) received the 2022 Mistletoe Research Fellowship to conduct his research on direct CO2 capture from air. Exciting news! Dr. Zhu joined Princeton in June this year. He has already received his own research funding!

October 10-12, 2022: Ying and Minkyoung traveled to conduct in person experiments using Pair Distribution Function at Sector 11, the Advanced Photon Source, Argonne National Lab.

October 6, 2022: Congratulations! Dr. Albern Tan successfully defended his doctoral dissertation entitled "Calcium Bearing Mineral-Hydrogel Composites for Phosphate Removal and Recovery." Wonderful summary of your PhD journey! Dr. Tan is ENCL's 14th Ph.D. Late October, he will start a full time research scientist position at Bayer where he will support sustainable environmental engineering practice of Bayer. Best wishes for your new chapter!

September 30, 2022: Best wishes to Dr. Deoukchen Ghim! We celebrated Dr. Ghim's success and new start at Intel. We will miss you.It says "Deoukchen Ghim, Ph.D."! Remember you are always our proud alumnus!

September 22, 2022: Congratulations! Dr. Deoukchen Ghim successfully defended his doctoral dissertation entitled "Advanced Nanomaterials and Module Designs for Efficient Photothermal Water Treatment." So many excellent achievements and growth during the doctoral program. Dr. Ghim is ENCL's 13th Ph.D. In October, he will start a full time engineer position at Intel where he will lead scientific research, enabling manufacture of innovative device architectures. Best wishes for your future!Virtual handshake, "Congratulations, Dr. Ghim!"

September 13, 2022: Welcome aboard! Mr. Wei Wei (Left, 1st year PhD student) joined the group for conducting research rotation with us. Mr. Andy Kim (right, Sophomore undergraduate student) joined the group for research.

September 12, 2022: Congratulations! Dr. Doyoon Kim (ENCL PhD 2018) will start a full time environment operation engineer position in the Active Ingredient Manufacturing Innovation Team at Bayer. We are making greater impacts on innovation in industry! Congratulations!

September 9, 2022: Welcome aboard! Ms. Mingyang Song (Left) and Mr. Zehua Wang (Right) joined the group. They are 1st year Ph.D. students and will conduct research rotation with us.

September 1-6, 2022: Prof. Jun will travel to attend the Royal Society of Chemistry's Editorial Board Meeting in London, England.

August 25, 2022: We received a new award for Chemical and Materials Sciences to Advance Clean Energy Technologies and Low-Carbon Manufacturing that is supported by the U.S. Department of Eenrgy-Basic Energy Sciences. Link to the engineering news

August 22, 2022: Congratulations! Prof. Xuanhao Wu (2020 ENCL Ph.D.) started his first day as an assistant professor in the College of Environmental and Resource Sciences (CERS) at Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China. Best wishes for your great success and development!

August 22, 2022: Congratulations! Our manuscript entitled “Ionic Surface Propensity Controls pH in Nanopores” has been published in Chem. Here we show that pH in nanoproes is lower than that in bulk solution at high salinity and the ion polarization in nanopores plays important roles in controlling nanopore chemistry. Link to the paper;
Read Engineering News that features this article;
Click here to download it for free for the first 50 requests before October 11, 2022

August 19-25, 2022: Prof. Jun, Deoukchen, Albern, Dennis, and Ying will travel to Chicago to attend the American Chemical Society Meeting. Prof. Jun will participate in the Committee on Science Meeting and we will have 8 talks during the meeting. Chect out their schedules and join us. ***ENCLGroup Reunion at Fall 2022 ACS Meeting in Chicago***

August 15, 2022: Congratulations! Albern accepted a full time research scientist position at Bayer. After his doctoral thesis defense in October, Albern will support Bayer's environmentally sound operations. Best wishes for your new journey! You will do great, Albern!

August 10, 2022: Congratulations! Zixuan Xie successfully defended her master thesis entitled "Selective recovery of rare earth elements using a hydroxyapatite-chitosan composite". Excellent presentation! Wish all the best!Virtual handshake, "Congratulations, Zixuan!"

August 8-19, 2022: Dennis, Ying, and Minkyoung attended a two weeks transmission electron microscopy workshop offered by Washinton University's Institute of Materials Science & Engineering.

July 29, 2022: Congratulations! Our manuscript entitled “Reactive halogen radicals in saline water promote photochemically-assisted formation of manganese oxide nanosheets” has been accepted to be published in Environmental Science: Nano. Reactive halogen radicals form from abundant halides in saline surface water and in the highly saline water from energy-water recovery systems. We demonstrate an undiscovered manganese oxidation pathway by reactive halogen radicals. This is the first report of reactive halogen radicals oxidizing transition metal ions and forming oxidized solids under environmentally relevant pH. Link to the paper

July 29, 2022: Congratulations, Jeremy and Bethany, on completing their summer research. They have successfully presented their findings during the undergraduate symposium. Dennis and Minkyoung were their graduarte mentors. Thank you both for the great mentorship!

July 25-29, 2022: Congratulations, Prof. Jun, on receiving the 2022 Marion L. and Chrystie M. Jackson Mid-Career Clay Scientist Award from the Clay Minerals Society. The award ceremony was held at the International Clay Conference in Istanbul, Turkey, and she delivered a plenary lecture. Watch the recording fof the award lecture.

July 22, 2022: Congratulations! Our proud alumna, Dr. Yue Hui successfully defended her doctoral dissertation at Caltech with the guidance of Prof. David Tirrell. She is officially Dr. Hui! Dr. Hui worked with us in 2015-2017 as an undergraduate researcher. Best wishes for her ground breaking research at Moderna!

July 19, 2022: Best wishes to Dr. Zhenwei Gao! We celebrated Dr. Gao's success and new start in the Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering (PME) at the University of Chicago.

July 17, 2022: Congratulations! Our manuscript entitled “Mineral-Hydrogel Composites for Mitigating Harmful Algal Bloom and Supplying Photo-biorefineries” has been accepted to be published in Science of the Total Environment. Mineral-hydrogel composites enable us to achieve phosphorous removal and recovery from P-contaminated water to prevent harmful algal blooms. Then, these composites can be utilized for valauable lipid generation from algal biorefinery. Link to the paper

July 12, 2022: Welcome, future scientists and engineers (currently high school students) from Washington University's Pre-college Programs. Prof. Jun, Deoukchen, Albern, Dennis, and Minkyoung offered hands-on lab activity module sessions and a lecture that discussed environmental chemistry and nanoparticles.

July 9-22, 2022: Through a highly competitive application process, Ms. Ying Wang was chosen to be a participant for the National School on Neutron and X-ray Scattering, fully supported by U.S. Department of Energy, Argonne National Laboratory and Oak Ridge National Laboratory. She travels to both Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Argonne National Laboratory for in person hands-on experience.

July 6, 2022: Congratulations! Zhenwei Gao successfully defended his doctoral dissertation entitled "Photochemical Formation Mechanisms and Applications of Mn Oxide Nanomaterials". Excellent work and many exciting findings! Dr. Gao is ENCL's 12th Ph.D. In August, he will start a postdoc position in the Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering (PME) at the University of Chicago.Virtual handshake, "Congratulations, Dr. Gao!"

July 5, 2022: Congratulations! Deoukchen accepted a full time engineer position at Intel. After his doctoral thesis defense in September, Deoukchen will lead scientific research at Intel, enabling manufacture of innovative device architectures. Best wishes for your exciting new journey! We are very proud of you!

July 5, 2022: Congratulations! Our manuscript entitled “Photochemical reactions of dissolved organic matter and bromide ions facilitate abiotic formation of manganese oxide solids” has been accepted to be published in Water Research. Dissolved organic matter has been considered as a promoter of reductive dissolution of Mn oxide solids. Here we show that photolysis of dissolved organic matter (DOM) can faciliate the formation of Mn(IV) oxide formation from aqueous Mn2+. Link to the paper

June 29, 2022: Congratulations! Yue Hui accepted a full time scientist position at Moderna where she will develop lipid nanoparticle formulation discovery. Yue did undergraduate research with ENCL (2015-2017) and conducted her doctoral research with Dr. David Tirrell at Caltech. We knew you will do great things for the world! Best wishes!

June 28-30, 2022: The 2022 Association of Environmental Engineering & Science Professors (AEESP) conference was held at Washington University in St. Louis. Prof. Jun served as the Workshop Chair of the Conference and the Conference Organizing Committee. More than 840 environmental engineers and scientists joined us. Check out 20 Workshops and Program at the 2022 AEESP Conference!The 2022 AEESP Conference Organizing Committee

Professor Jun received a 2022 AEESP Distinguished Service Award

ENCL reunion during the AEESP conference. Thank you, Prof. Ning Dai at the University at Buffalo, for the best picture that you took for the ENCL!

June 23-25, 2022: Albern, Ying, and Minkyoung will travel to conduct in person experiments with Ultra Small Angle X-ray Scattering and Wide Angle X-ray Scattering at Sector 9, the Advanced Photon Source, Argonne National Lab.

June 16-20, 2022: Deoukchen, Zhenwei, Dennis, Ying and Minkyoung will travel to conduct in person experiments with in situ Grazing Incidence Small Angle X-ray Scattering and Grazing Incidence Wide Angle X-ray Scattering at Sector 12, the Advanced Photon Source, Argonne National Lab.

June 7-9, 2022: Prof. Jun visited the Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering (PME) at University of Chicago and give an invited talk for the PME distinguished colloquium.

June 03, 2022: Congratulations! Minkyoung Jung passed her doctoral qualification exam. Now you can enjoy your doctoral research! The first important milestone has been accomplished! Keep up the good work!

May 31, 2022: Welcome aboard! Ms. Bethany Jackson and Mr. Jeremy Acheampong joined the group for their 10 week summer research! Both of them received Washington University Summer Engineering Fellowship (WUSEF). WUSEF is given to exceptional undergraduate students from backgrounds underrepresented in STEM.

May 27, 2022: Congratulations! Charlie Skurie accepted a Research Engineer position at Saint-Gobain where he will conduct Life Cycle Assessment. Charlie did undergraduate research with ENCL (2019-2020). Sustainability of engineered processes is critical for every life in the modern society. We wish you a great success, Charlie. Best wishes!

May 20, 2022: Best wishes, Dr. Zhu! He departed from the ENCL and will start his postdoctoral position at Princeton University. Best wishes to Yaguang for his successful career development!

May 19, 2022: Congratulations! Yaguang Zhu, Deoukchen Ghim, and Zhenwei Gao celebrated their commencement day. They were hooded by Prof. Jun. Best wishes!

May 17, 2022: Congratulations to Zhenwei! Zhenwei has accepted a postdoc position in the Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering (PME) at the University of Chicago. Best wishes to Zhenwei for his future career development!

May 14, 2022: Congratulations to Deoukchen! Deoukchen was chosen to receive a 2022 ACS Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Division Graduate Student Award! Deoukchen will present his research during ACS meeting in August in Chicago.

May 13, 2022: Congratulations! Prof. Jun was recognized as one of the winners of the 2021 ACS ES&T Engineering Excellence in Review Awards. ACS ES&T Engineering

May 9, 2022: Congratulations! Prof. Jessica Ray (2015 ENCL Ph.D.) received a 2022 National Science Foundation CAREER Award! Big achievement, Prof. Ray! We are so proud of you. Look forward to hearing many more great news from you and your group at the University of Washington. Link to Prof. Ray website.

May 4, 2022: Congratulations! Yaguang Zhu successfully defended his doctoral dissertation entitled "Nanoscale Interfacial Control of Ion Behaviors and CaCO3 Formation in Environmental Systems". Impressive achievements and excellent presentation, Dr. Zhu! Dr. Zhu is ENCL's 11th Ph.D. In June, he will start a postdoc position in the Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment at Princeton University. Virtual handshake, "Congratulations, Dr. Zhu!"

April 25-27, 2022: Ying and Minkyoung traveled to conduct in person experiments using Ultrasmall angle X-ray scattering at Sector 9, the Advanced Photon Source, Argonne National Lab. First beamtime travel for Minkyoung!

April 22, 2022: Congratulations! Our manuscript entitled "Process-Specific Effects of Sulfate on CaCO3 Formation in Environmentally Relevant Systems" has been accepted to be published in Environmental Science & Technology. Our new findings in the sulfate-controlled heterogeneous nucleation and growth of CaCO3 highlight the critical but underestimated roles of sulfate in CaCO3 formation. Link to the paper

April 2, 2022: Hello, Future Woman Scientists and Engineers! Prof. Jun, Deoukchen, and Albern offered a hands-on program with female high school students as a part of the 2022 Washington University's Women in STEM event and introduced environmental nanochemistry and nanotechnology. click here for a bigger size picture

March 25, 2022: Congratulations! Dr. Xuanhao Wu (2020 ENCL Ph.D.) accepted his new position as an assistant professor in the College of Environmental and Resource Sciences (CERS) at Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China. He received a prestigious One Hundred Talent Professorship. Best wishes for your success in the new journey!

March 22, 2022: Congratulations to Deoukchen! Deoukchen has been selected as a 2022 Graduate Student Research Impact Award from the Department of Energy, Environmental & Chemical Engineering, Washington University. The ceremony will be held on April 6 at 4 PM, Whittaker Hall 100. Please join and celebrate together!

March 19-24, 2022: Prof. Jun, Yaguang, Zhenwei, and Albern presented research progress in the ACS Spring meeting. Prof. Jun also attend the American Chemical Society (ACS) Committee on Science (COMSCI) and provided a Plenary Talk in the symposoim on Advanced (Nano)Materials, Membranes & Manufacturing for Water Treatment and Reuse.

March 8, 2022: Celebrating the International Women's Day! Prof. Jun will serve as a panel for the Virtual Discussion on "Choosing an Academic Career" of the NSF ADVANCE (Organizational Change for Gender Equity in STEM Academic Professions) at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. Link to the flyer

March 3-6, 2022: Albern, Ying, and Yaguang traveled to conduct in person experiments using Pair Distribution Function at Sector 11, the Advanced Photon Source, Argonne National Lab.

March 2-4, 2022: Prof. Jun participated in the U.S. Department of Eenrgy-Basic Energy Sciences (DOE-BES) Roundtable on Foundational Science for Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR) Technologies. Link to the Roundtable Brochure

February 24-28, 2022: Deoukchen and Dennis traveled to conduct in person experiments with in situ Grazing Incidence Small Angle X-ray Scattering and Grazing Incidence Wide Angle X-ray Scattering at Sector 12, the Advanced Photon Source, Argonne National Lab.

February 9, 2022: Congratulations! Yaguang has accepted a postdoc position in the Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment at Princeton University. Yaguang will work with Prof. Kelsey Hatzell for his postodoc research. Best wishes to Yaguang for his successful career development!

February 9, 2022: Welcome aboard! Ms. Shaochen Wu joined the group for her research experience.

January 26, 2022: Welcome aboard! Ms. Hakyung Lee joined the group for her research rotation.

January 14, 2022: Congratulations to Zhenwei! Zhenwei has been selected as a winner of the 2021 Graduate Student Award in Environmental Chemistry in the Division of Environmental Chemistry of the American Chemical Society.

January 1, 2022: Happy New Year to you all. Let's make wonderful things happen in 2022!

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Our research group interests

Environmental Chemistry
Surface/Physical Chemistry
Environmental Engineering
Biogeochemistry
Nanotechnology
Biomineralization & Bio-inspired Materials Chemistry

Our research group (ENCL) information (PDF)

Energy and Environmental Interfacial Chemistry at Nanoscale