Academic experience
Year
Position
Research topics
Postdoctoral Fellow
Northwestern University, IL
Civil and Environmental Engineering
Advisor: Dr. George Wells
– Deammonification bioprocess for treatment of mainstream
wastewater
– N2O emissions from integrated shortcut nitrogen and
biological phosphorus removal systems
– Use of molecular tools to track PAOs population in sidestream
EBPR systems
– Biofilm mechanical properties in wastewater processes
Director of Research & Development
NUVODA, Blacksburg, VA
– Alternative and sustainable biofilm processes for wastewater
treatment: Mobile Organic Biofilm (MOB) process
Graduate Research Assistant
University of Notre Dame, IN
Civil and Environmental Engineering and Earth Sciences
Advisor: Dr. Robert Nerenberg
– Quantifying fugitive greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from
biofilm systems
– Use of sulfite as an electron donor for wastewater
denitrification
– Sulfur-dioxide-based MBfR for wastewater denitrification
– Use of methane as an electron donor in MBfR for wastewater
denitrification
– 1D modeling of biological nitrogen removal processes in
biofilm reactors
Graduate Research Assistant
University “La Sapienza”, Rome, Italy
University of Minnesota, MN
Civil, Environmental, and Geo-Engineering
Advisor: Dr. Roberto Samperi
Co-advisor: Dr. Paige Novak
– Phytoestrogens and their environmental impact: genistein and
daidzein variability in wastewater treatment systems
Thesis: “Industrial variability of phytoestrogens and their
estrogenicity in waste streams”
Undergraduate Research Assistant
University of Bari, Italy
Department of Chemistry
Advisor: Dr. Roberto Gristina
Co-advisor: Dr. Pietro Favia
– Polymeric substrates surface modification and in vitro
biocompatibility test with Hep G2 and 3T3 cell lines
Thesis: “Growth and adhesion of cell lines on plasma modified
polystyrene”
