We are pleased to welcome several new team members this fall: Vanessa Pereira, Amir Taqieddin, Kimberly Hetrick, and Wei Zhou. Read on to learn about each of these talented individuals.
Vanessa Pereira
Dr. Vanessa Pereira is a researcher at the Laboratory of Membrane Processes in iBET (Portugal), which focuses on: (i) developing improved water disinfection methods, (ii) the modification of membranes using nanomaterials that can minimize fouling, and (iii) integration of membrane filtration and advanced oxidation processes. She is currently a visiting scholar at the PROTECT center of Northeastern University. Dr. Pereira says of her PROTECT involvement, “It was a wonderful experience to integrate an outstanding, diverse and creative team focused on tackling, using a holistic approach, an extremely important research topic: the influence of contaminant exposure in preterm birth.”
Amir Taqieddin
Amir Taqieddin is a new mechanical engineering graduate student at Northeastern. He completed his bachelor degree in mechanical engineering from Jordan University of Science & Technology in 2014, and after two years of working in engineering, joined the PROTECT center in the Fall 2016 to conduct research, investigation, and modeling in thermo-fluid fields. His research focuses are Multiphase flow – gas evolving & fluid dynamics in electrochemical reactions, thermal effects on electrochemical reactions, and electrochemical oxidization & reduction processes.
Kimberly Hetrick
Kimberly Hetrick is a first year graduate student at Northeastern. She is originally from Pennsylvania, where she received her undergraduate degree from Lehigh University in environmental engineering in 2014. Her past research interests include biofilm growth in natural environments, advanced oxidation technologies for treatment of pesticides, and aquaponic farming in developing countries. After graduation, Kim moved to Boston to work in the civil engineering industry, and is now happy to be starting her graduate education at Northeastern in the PROTECT center.
Wei Zhou
Wei Zhou is a third-year PhD student from School of Energy Science and Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, P. R. China. He will be working at Prof. Alshawabkeh’s Lab as a visiting PhD student for 24 months. In the past two years, his research focus has been on enhanced generation and effective utilization of hydroxyl radicals. At Northeastern, he is excited to do research on TiO2 photoelectro-Fenton and H2O2 electrogeneration. Wei says “I enjoy experiencing different cultures and civilizations. I like reading historical books and playing table tennis. My dream is that one day in the near future, I can use my passion and knowledge to develop technologies and products that can deal with environmental pollutions especially in developing countries.”
Welcome to the team Vanessa, Amir, Kim, and Wei!
