Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are nearly ubiquitous emerging contaminants in the environment. Due to the extremely strong C-F bonds, PFAS are resistant to degradation by physical, chemcial and biological approaches. For PFAS in vast volume of drinking water, surface water, stormwater and groundwater, sorption followed by destruction has been recognized as a feasible treatment train. Regarding soil contaminated by PFAS, stabilization through adding an immobilizing agent has been proven to be effective. In this talk, Dr. Liang will present and discuss innovative materials synthesized in her lab for remediating water and soil contaminated by PFAS.
Yanna Liang has been a full Professor and founding Chair of Department of Environmental & Sustainable Engineering since 2017 at College of Nanotechnology, Science, and Engineering, University at Albany, SUNY. Before joining UAlbany, Dr. Liang worked as an assistant, associate and then full professor at Southern Illinois University Carbondale from 2007-2017. Before starting her academic career, she had a short stint at Idaho Department of Environmental Quality as an Air Quality Analyst III. She received her Ph.D. degree from Utah State University in 2006 after working as an Environmental Engineer in China for eight years. Dr. Liang’s current research focuses on developing innovative solutions for cleaning up sites contaminated by emerging contaminants and addressing critical issues related to the food, energy and water nexus. She has secured and participated in more than $15 M external research funding from federal and state agencies, industry and foundation. Dr. Liang has published over 116 peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters and presented her research at numerous conferences. Dr. Liang is an ABET program evaluator, a regular panelist for NSF and a proposal reviewer for national and international organizations. In addition, Dr. Liang is a licensed Professional Engineer and a Board-Certified Environmental Engineer.