People
Current
Mr. Hao Luo joined Dr. Wang’s team as a Ph.D. student in Spring 2019. He received his B.S. in Environmental Science from Kunming University of Science & Technology in 2014 and his M.S. in Science & Technology from Southeastern Louisiana University in 2017. Hao is developing advanced technologies for carbon diversion in municipal wastewater treatment.
Email: haol@vt.edu
Mr. Jiefu Wang joined Dr. Wang’s team as a Ph.D. student in fall 2019. He received his B.E. in Environmental Engineering from Beijing University of Chemical Technology in 2016 and M.S. in Water, Waste & Environmental Engineering from University College Dublin in 2018. His research focuses on partial denitrification anammox for low carbon nitrogen removal.
Email: jiefuwang@vt.edu
Mr. Alexander Panaccione began his M.S. in Civil Engineering with a concentration in Environmental and Water Resources in fall 2020. He is being co-advised by Dr. Zhiwu Wang and Dr. Christopher Wilson. He received his B.S. in Civil Engineering from West Virginia University in spring 2017. His research focuses on dewatering of anaerobically digested sludge.
Email: alexpanac@vt.edu
Ms. Xueyao Zhang started her Ph.D. study under Dr. Wang’s advisory in Spring 2021. She received her B.S. from Beijing University of Civil Engineering and Architecture in 2018 and M.S. from University of Southern California in 2020. Her research focuses on the production and recovery of bioplastics, volatile fatty acids, and water from wasted organic materials.
Email: xueyao@vt.edu
Mr. Yitao Li joined Dr. Wang’s team as a Ph.D. student in Fall 2022. He received his B.S. in Sustainable Urban Environments and M.S. in Environmental Engineering from New York University in 2021. He was an environmental remediation engineer at Wood E&IS (now part of WSP Global) before starting his Ph.D. study at Virginia Tech. Yitao’s research focuses on the intensification of biological processes during wastewater sludge treatment. He tackles research problems involving CAMBI thermal hydrolysis pretreatment, anaerobic digestion, dewatering, thermal drying, and side-stream nutrient control.
Email: yitao.li@vt.edu ; LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/yitaoli
Mr. Pranta Roy joined Dr. Wang’s team as a M.S. student in Spring 2023. He received his B.S. in Civil Engineering from Khulna University of Engineering and Technology in 2018. Pranta is researching how to improve the activated sludge settleability for intensifying secondary wastewater treatment system.
Email: prantar22@vt.edu
Mr. Md Sazzadul Haque joined Dr. Wang’s research team as a Ph.D. student in Summer 2023. He obtained his B.Sc. in Civil and Environmental Engineering from North South University (Bangladesh) in 2020. Prior to joining the Ph.D. program at Virginia Tech, Mr. Haque worked as a Graduate Research Assistant at North South University for two funded research projects and as a Project Engineer (Environmental Specialist) for a consulting firm. His research focuses on developing biodegradable plastic materials from food waste products.
Email: mdsazzadul@vt.edu
Mr. Collins O. Ugwu joined Dr. Wang’s research team as a PhD student in Summer 2023. He acquired his B.Eng and M.Eng in Mechanical Engineering, University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN). During his master’s program, he carried out research projects on Solid Waste Management. Prior to joining this team at Virginia Tech, he was a teaching/research assistant (lecturer) at UNN. His research involves the identification of critical material attributes of municipal solid wastes for biofuels production through thermal and biological conversion technologies.
Email: collinsou@vt.edu
Ms. Meghna Rajbhandari received her B.E. in Environmental Engineering from Kathmandu University, Nepal in June 2022. She joined VT for her M.S. in Biological Systems Engineering in fall 2023. She is being advised by Dr. Zhiwu Wang and her research involves demonstration of a modular bioprocess system for manufacturing consumer bioplastic products from food waste.
Email: meghnar7182@vt.edu
Ms. Zhangtong Liao will begin her Ph.D. study in Dr. Wang’s team in spring 2024. Before that, she received her M.S. in Environmental Engineering from National University of Singapore in 2023 and B.E. in Water Science and Engineering from Chongqing University in 2022.
Alumni
Ms. Parita Shah graduated with a M.S. degree in Environmental Engineering in fall 2018. Her Thesis is titled “Evaluation of digital PCR (dPCR) for the quantification of soil nitrogen turnover bacteria in wetland mesocosms in response to seasonal, fertilization, and plant species richness level effects“.
Dr. Yewei Sun graduated with a Ph.D. degree in Civil Engineering in Spring 2020. His dissertation is titled “Advanced Biofilm and Aerobic Granulation Technologies for Water and Wastewater Treatment“
Dr. Zhaohui An graduated with a Ph.D. degree in Civil Engineering in Spring 2022. His dissertation is titled: “Mechanistic understanding of biogranulation for continuous flow wastewater treatment and organic waste valorization“.
Mr. Tim Kent graduated from Dr. Wang’s team with a M.S. degree in Civil Engineering in fall 2018. His thesis is titled “Mechanistic Understanding of the NOB Suppression by Free Ammonia Inhibition in Continuous Flow Aerobic Granulation Bioreactors“.
Dr. Dian Zhang graduated with a Ph.D. degree in Civil Engineering in Spring 2020. His dissertation is titled “Effects of process intensification techniques on biosolids management“
Ms. Jie Lin graduated from Dr. Wang’s team with a M.S. degree in Environmental Engneering in Spring 2018. Her thesis is titled “Statistical evaluation of the factors causing microbial growth in point-of-use filters“.
Mr. Kyle Malin graduated with a M.S. degree in Civil Engineering in fall 2021. His thesis is titled “Development of Kinetic Parameterization Methods for Nitrifying Bacteria using Respirometry“
Mr. Tyler Houston Kisling graduated with a M.S. degree in Environmental Engineering in fall 2022. His thesis is titled “Characterizing Kinetic Shifts in Nitrifying, Denitrifying, and Phosphorus Removing Biomass Adapting to Low DO“