Professional Memberships:
• Association of Environmental Engineering & Science Professors (AEESP)• American Chemical Society (ACS)
• Sustainable Nanotechnology Organization (SNO)
Associate Professor (Courtesy), Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
Associate Professor (Courtesy), Nebraska Center for Materials and Nanoscience
Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute Faculty Fellow
Academic Degrees
- PhD in Civil Engineering (Environmental), University of Texas at Austin, 2015
- MS in Civil Engineering (Environmental), University of South Carolina, 2012
- BSc in Chemical Engineering, Bangladesh University of Engineering & Technology, 2009
Certifications
- PhD
Appointment
- 50% Teaching, 45% Research, 5% Service
Curriculum Vitae (CV):
Areas of Research and Professional Interest
The overarching goal of my research is to protecting public health through water quality engineering and physical-chemical treatment of drinking water and wastewater. Especially, my research focuses on the mitigation of emerging water pollution (e.g., per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances or PFASs) and resource recovery through the safer and intelligent design and development of advanced materials, membranes, and manufacturing. In pursuing this, I leverage my expertise in environmental engineering, chemical engineering, and materials sciences and develop in-department and interdisciplinary collaborations with other engineering disciplines, chemistry, data science, and environmental health sciences. Topics of interest include:
(i) Advanced (nano)materials and processes for PFAS remediation and water treatment/reuse,
(ii) Additive manufacturing or 3D printing for water treatment,
(iii) Sustainable design of nanocomposite membranes for water treatment and resource recovery,
(iv) Data driven (nano)material discovery for environmental remediation and separations,
(v) Global health inequity due to air, soil, and water pollution from electronic and plastic waste recycling (micro/nanoplastic pollution).
Research Profiles:
In the News: Powered by the 
Honors and Awards
Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute (DWFI) Faculty Fellow, University of Nebraska, 2024-2025.
2022-2023 Research Excellence Award, College of Engineering, University of Nebraska – Lincoln
Distinguished Service Award, Association of Environmental Engineering & Science Professors (AEESP), 2023
American Academy of Environmental Engineers and Scientists (AAEES) 40 Under 40 Recognition, 2022
National Science Foundation (NSF) CAREER Award, 2022
Best Paper of 2021, Environmental Science: Nano (IF: 9.473), Royal Society of Chemistry, 2022.
Sustainable Nanotechnology Organization (SNO) Emerging Investigator Award, 2019
Outstanding Reviewer, Journal of Hazardous Materials, 2017.
National Research Council Research Associateship Award (NRC RAP) for Postdoctoral Research, National Academy of Sciences, 2015.
Funding
My research is supported by external funding of total >$4.1M with my share of >$1.5M from the National Science Foundation (NSF), National Institute of Health (NIH), United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), US Department of Defense/Strategic Environmental Restoration and Development Program (DoD/SERDP), US Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA), US Geological Survey (USGS), and Nebraska Department of Transportation (NDOT).
Selected Publications
- Ali, M.A., Thapa, U., Antle, J., Tanim, E.U.H, Aguilar, J.M., Bradley, I., Aga, D., Aich, N.,* Influence of Water Chemistry and Operating Parameters on PFAS Degradation using rGO-nZVI Nanohybrid, Journal of Hazardous Materials, 2024, (Accepted). Journal Impact Factor: 13.6. (UNL)
- Ali, M.A., Chambers, C., Reza, M.T., Aich, N.,* Application of Corn Stover Derived Pyrolyzed Hydrochars for Efficient Phosphorus Removal from Water: Influence of Pyrolysis Temperature, Chemical Engineering Journal Advances, 2024, (Accepted). (UNL)
- Parvez, S.M., Jahan, F., Abedin, J., Rahman, M., Hasan, S.S., Islam, N., Aich, N., Moniruzzaman, M., Islam, Z., Fujimura, M., Raqib, R., Knibbs, L.D., Sly, P.D., Blood lead, cadmium and hair mercury concentrations and association with soil, dust and occupational factors in e-waste recycling workers in Bangladesh, International Journal of Hygiene and Environmental Health, 2024, (Accepted). Journal Impact Factor: 6. (UNL)
- Marciesky, M., Aga, D., Bradley, I., Aich, N., Ng, C., Mechanisms and opportunities for rational in silico design of enzymes to degrade per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), Journal of Chemical Information and Modeling, 2023, (Accepted). Journal Impact Factor: 5.6. (UNL)
- Zaib, Q., Masoumi, Z., Aich, N., Kyung, D., Deep Eutectic Solvent Functionalized Adsorbents for Water Treatment: A Critical Review of Synthesis and Applications, 2023, Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering. (Accepted). Journal Impact Factor: 7.7. (UNL)
- Ong, M.D., Vasquez, I., Alvarez, B., Cho, D.R., Williams, M.B., Vincent Jr, D., Ali, M.A., Aich, N., Pinto, A.H., Choudhury, M.R., Modification of Cellulose Acetate Microfiltration Membranes using Graphene Oxide-Polyethyleneimine for Enhanced Dye Rejection, 2023, Membranes. (Accepted). Journal Impact Factor: 4.2. (UNL)
- Mehrabi, N., Aich, N.,* Using Deep Eutectic Solvents for the In-Situ Synthesis of Graphene-Metal Nanohybrids and Nanocomposite Membranes for Dye Desalination, 2023, Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering. (Accepted). Journal Impact Factor: 7.7. (UNL)
- Parvez, S.M., Hasan, S.S., Knibbs, L.D., Jahan, F., Rahman, M., Raqib, R., Islam, N., Aich, N., Moniruzzaman, M., Islam, Z., Fujimura, M., Sly, P.D., Ecological burden of e-waste in Bangladesh: participant’s characteristics and methods of cross-sectional assessment to measure the exposure to e-waste and associated health outcomes, 2022, JMIR Research Protocols, (Accepted). DOI: 10.2196/38201. Journal Impact Factor: 1.7. (UB)
- Pushan, Z.A., Rahman, E., Islam, N., Aich, N.,* A Critical Review of the Emerging Research on the Detection and Assessment of Microplastic Pollution in the Coastal, Marine, and Urban Bangladesh, 2022, Frontiers of Environmental Science and Engineering, 16(10), Pages 128. DOI: 10.1007/s11783-022-1563-2. Journal Impact Factor: 6.7. (UB)
- Ghosal, P., Gupta, B., Ambekar, R.S., Aich, N.,* Gupta, A.K., Rahman, M., Tiwary, C.S., 3D printed materials in water treatment applications, 2021, Advanced Sustainable Systems, 6(3), Pages 2100282. DOI: 10.1002/adsu.202100282. Journal Impact Factor: 7.1. (UB) (Cover Article)
- Mowla, M., Rahman, E., Islam, N., Aich, N.,* Assessment of Heavy Metal Contamination and Health Risk from Indoor Dust and Air of Informal E-waste Recycling Shops in Dhaka, Bangladesh, 2021, Journal of Hazardous Materials Advances, 4, Pages 100025. DOI: 10.1016/j.hazadv.2021.100025. Journal Impact Factor: None yet, Journal of Hazardous Materials has an impact factor of 13.6. (UB)
- Alam, M.M., Masud, A., Scharf, B., Bradley, I.M., Aich, N.,* Long-term exposure of rGO-nZVI nanohybrids to biological wastewater treatment: Impacts on nutrient removal, biomass, and microbial communities, 2021, Environmental Science & Technology, 56(1), Pages 512-524. DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.1c02586. Journal Impact Factor: 11.357. (UB)
- Parvez, S.M., Jahan, F., Brune, M-N., Gorman, J., Rahman, M.J., Carpenter, D., Islam, Z., Rahman, M., Aich, N., Knibbs, L.D., Sly, P., Health consequences of exposure to e-waste: an updated systematic review, 2021, Lancet Planetary Health, 5(12), Pages e905-e920. DOI: 10.1016/S2542-5196(21)00263-1. Journal Impact Factor: 28.750. (UB)
- Masud, A., Zhou, C., Aich, N.,* Emerging Investigator Series: 3D printed graphene-biopolymer aerogel for water contaminant removal: A proof of concept, Environmental Science: Nano, 2021, 8(2), 399-414. DOI: 10.1039/D0EN00953A. Journal Impact Factor: 9.473. (UB) (Best Paper of 2021, Cover Article). Featured in Online Media: Around 50 different websites including EurekAlert from American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), Communications of the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM), phys.org, medium.com, azonano.com.
- Mehrabi, N., Lin, H., Aich, N.,* Deep Eutectic Solvent Functionalized Graphene Oxide Nanofiltration Membranes with Superior Water Permeance for Highly Efficient Dye Desalination, 2021, Chemical Engineering Journal, 412, 128577. DOI: 10.1016/j.cej.2021.128577. Journal Impact Factor: 16.744. (UB)
- Masud, A.,$ Guardia, M.G.E.,$ Travis, S.C., Jarin, M., Aga, D., Aich, N.,* Redox-active rGO-nZVI nanohybrid-catalyzed chain shortening of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS), Journal of Hazardous Materials Letters, 2021, 2, 100007. DOI: 10.1016/j.hazl.2020.100007. Journal Impact Factor: None yet, Journal of Hazardous Materials has an impact factor of 14.224. (UB)