Graduating CNMS Scholars ... support women in STEM
Jada Damond, CENG '20 continues with Environmental Eng PhD
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
MAY 18, 2020 11:30 AM
SARAH HANSEN
UMBC has made great strides in increasing its number of women faculty members in STEM through the ADVANCE program. Now, through the CNMS Scholars Program, these women are serving as mentors to the next generation of scientists and engineers committed to the advancement of women in STEM. The CNMS Scholars program is specifically designed to boost the representation of women in STEM fields that haven’t reached gender parity, from physics and bioinformatics to chemical engineering.
This spring, five women will graduate from UMBC as CNMS Scholars, including Olivia Norman ’20, physics, and Jada Damond ’20, chemical engineering. ...
Damond worked with Jennie Leach, an associate professor of chemical, biochemical, and environmental engineering (CBEE), and a member of UMBC’s 4th ADVANCE cohort.
CNMS Scholar Jada Damond is also heading to an exceptional Ph.D. program—UMBC’s program in environmental engineering. This offers her a chance to continue research she is committed to moving forward.
Through the CNMS Scholars program, Damond realized the value of mentorship and a community of support. “I gained a really powerful network, and I learned a lot more about the opportunities the campus has to offer,” she shares. In particular, she’s grateful to her program mentor, Jennie Leach, who has offered her both professional and personal support.
“Dr. Leach facilitated my transition to UMBC’s Ph.D. program by offering advice about the program and sharing her own experiences with getting a Ph.D.,” Damond says.
“It’s been really fun to know Jada first as a sophomore, new to engineering, and now, as a senior entering graduate school,” Leach says. “I am so excited to witness all the great things she will accomplish in her career ahead.”
Damond looks forward to continuing research with Upal Ghosh, professor of CBEE, and collaborators at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center on methods for better measuring mercury levels in water. She’s passionate about the work, she explains, because measuring mercury is a difficult problem and also an important one to solve to protect human health.
She’s also grateful for Ghosh’s ongoing support. At the numerous national and regional conferences Damond has attended with the lab, “Dr. Ghosh always makes sure to introduce his students to other professionals in the field relevant to the specific work that they do, so I have been able to broaden my network,” she says.
On the academic side, Ghosh “is always making sure his students are on track in their studies,” she says. “He was eager to spend time reviewing concepts that were new to me, and would give me resources to point me in the right direction.”
Damond’s goal is to pursue environmental consulting work. She enjoyed tutoring chemical engineering courses and mentoring younger CNMS Scholars so much that she also hopes to find a way to teach throughout her career.
“Tutoring helped to improve my communication skills, as I had to explain concepts in a way that the students would understand, while making sure that they could replicate those explanations,” she says. “It was very rewarding when they left a tutoring session feeling more confident about the subject than they did going in.”
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SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY MAY 18, 2020 11:30 AM SARAH HANSEN Excerpt from "Graduating CNMS Scholars carry on a commitment to support women in STEM" UMBC has made great strides in...
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Mon, 18 May 2020 14:02:13 -0400
Fri, 05 Nov 2021 09:51:18 -0400
Dr. Blaney's first book is published.
Contaminants of Emerging Concern in Water and Wastewater
Dr. Blaney and Dr. Hernández-Maldonado edited Contaminants of Emerging Concern in Water and Wastewater: Advanced Treatment Processes, published by Butterworth-Heinemann 2020. Publication date: 18th October 2019.
"I'm really excited to have published this book with my co-author, Dr. Arturo J. Hernández-Maldonado from the University of Puerto Rico – Mayagüez. Arturo and I first connected when I was a PhD student, presenting at the American Chemical Society meeting. A couple of years later, we started organizing symposia and co-edited a special issue of the Journal of Hazardous Materials. Eventually, we decided to tackle this new challenge. I'm really pleased with the result, which includes a chapter from my lab with two PhD student authors (i.e., Mamatha Hopanna (PhD candidate) and Kiranmayi Mangalgiri (PhD, 2017)) and two BS student co-authors (i.e., Daniel Ocasio (BS, 2017, valedictorian) and Temitope Ibitoye (BS, 2019)). The book focuses on advanced treatment technologies to remove contaminants of emerging concern, such as pharmaceuticals, personal care products, flame retardants, and other specialty chemicals, from drinking water and wastewater. Top-tier researchers from around the world contributed to the book, and we are excited for it to hit the shelves. Ultimately, we hope that this collection of information will help municipalities address ongoing concerns about the presence of contaminants of emerging concern in water resources." - Dr. Lee Blaney
Description
Contaminants of Emerging Concern in Water and Wastewater: Advanced Treatment Processes presents the state-of-the-art in the design and use of adsorbents, membranes, and UV/oxidation processes, along with the challenges that will need to be addressed to close the gap between development and implementation in water/wastewater treatment applications. Chapters cover adsorbent and membrane design and performance, direct comparison of performance data between new (inorganic and metal organic nanoporous materials) and classic adsorbents and membranes, a list of advantages, disadvantages, and challenges related to performance limitations, regenerability, and upscaling.
In addition, users will find sections on the identification of potential site and off-site applications that are listed according to adsorbent and membrane types, transformation of CECs in low- and/or medium-pressure UV irradiation processes used for disinfection, the oxidation of CECs by chlorine and ozone, and a comparison of advanced oxidation processes for the treatment of a variety of CECs in water and wastewater.
Key Features
- Addresses the advantages/disadvantages of select technologies, including energy resource needs and waste management issues of reverse osmosis, amongst other issues
- Presents information on the advancements of technology within the realm of Engineered Treatments of CECs
- Focuses on the inherent science and technology of advanced treatment processes
Readership
Environmental engineers and scientists; Chemical engineers; Researchers, practitioners, and policy makers in the water sector, environmental management, and public health
Learn more