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  • Nov
    8

    SPREE Seminar: Dominic Frigon

    McCormick - Civil and Environmental Engineering

    2:00 PM A230, Technological Institute

    EVENT DETAILS

    Microbial Immigration through the Urban Water Cycle: Importance for Process Modeling and System Dynamics Prediction

    Abstract:
    The wastewater industry is under increasing pressure to meet ever more stringent discharge regulations, improve water resource recovery, and expand removal of emerging contaminants. The diverse microbial communities found along the urban water cycle are fundamental for the engineering of biological processes to meet these challenges. However, current practices often neglect immigration between sections of the cycles; for example, from the sewer to the wastewater resource recovery facility. High-throughput amplicon sequencing now allows the detection of low abundance taxa, improving the description of the immigration process. With this approach, we analysed the impact of sewer immigration on the activity of nitrifiers, ordinary heterotrophs, and phosphate-accumulating organisms in full-scale and laboratory-scale activated sludge wastewater bioreactors. For nitrifiers, we demonstrated at full-scale plant the important and ecologically neutral transfer (i.e., without selection) of nitrifying populations between the sewer and the activated sludge system. Considering influent nitrifiers resulted in a 30% reduction of the maximum growth rate used to model the activated sludge, which could correspond to an equivalent reduction in plant size. At laboratory-scale, we confirmed that complete nitrification can be restored by sewer immigration in activated sludge system operated at SRTs below wash out. For heterotrophs, we showed that respirometry assays to assess biomass concentrations in wastewater influent overestimate immigration rates because the assays neglect ecological selection. In addition, immigration appears to impact more the populations consuming readily degradable substrates than slowly degradable substrates, suggesting complex ecological interactions among heterotrophs. These data will contribute to the site-specific optimization of wastewater resource recovery facilities, and to understand the significance of sewer systems in structuring activated sludge microbial communities.

    Biography:
    Dominic Frigon is an Associate Professor of environmental engineering in the Civil Engineering Dept. at McGill University (Montreal, Canada). He holds BSc and MSc degrees in Microbiology from McGill (Montréal) and a Ph.D. in Environmental Engineering from the University of Illinois (Urbana-Champaign). He specializes in biological wastewater treatment, organic resource recovery, and biosolids safety, with emphasis on the characterization of microbial communities with metagenomics and mathematical modeling. He directs a team of several Masters and Ph.D. students currently working on innovative systems for producing biomaterials and energy from waste, for limiting the dispersal of antimicrobial resistance, and for reducing excess biosolids while improving their microbiological qualities. Finally, his work also extends to sewer systems, where his team develops strategies to engineer sewer microbial communities and impact microbial activities inside wastewater resource recovery facilities.

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    TIME Friday, November 8, 2019 at 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM

    LOCATION A230, Technological Institute    map it

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    CONTACT Tierney Acott    tierney-acott@northwestern.edu EMAIL

    CALENDAR McCormick - Civil and Environmental Engineering

  • Apr
    22

    AED/MPM PD Seminar Series- Luke Leung

    McCormick - Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE)

    11:00 AM 1101, Pancoe-NSUHS Life Sciences Pavilion

    EVENT DETAILS

    TIME Monday, April 22, 2024 at 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM

    LOCATION 1101, Pancoe-NSUHS Life Sciences Pavilion    map it

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    CONTACT Andrew Liguori    andrew.liguori@northwestern.edu EMAIL

    CALENDAR McCormick - Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE)

  • Apr
    24

    SPREE Seminar Series - From Dots In Space To Space-Time-Magnitude Connections: Evolution of Energy Release Research As Applied to Damage Mechanics and Induced Seismicity- Jesse Hampton

    McCormick - Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE)

    11:00 AM A236, Technological Institute

    EVENT DETAILS

    TIME Wednesday, April 24, 2024 at 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM

    LOCATION A236, Technological Institute    map it

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    CONTACT Andrew Liguori    andrew.liguori@northwestern.edu EMAIL

    CALENDAR McCormick - Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE)

  • Apr
    26

    EES Seminar Series- Kaize Ding

    McCormick - Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE)

    2:00 PM A236, Technological Institute

    EVENT DETAILS

    TIME Friday, April 26, 2024 at 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM

    LOCATION A236, Technological Institute    map it

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    CONTACT Andrew Liguori    andrew.liguori@northwestern.edu EMAIL

    CALENDAR McCormick - Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE)

  • May
    1

    SPREE Seminar Series- Roman Makhenko

    McCormick - Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE)

    11:00 AM A236, Technological Institute

    EVENT DETAILS

    TIME Wednesday, May 1, 2024 at 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM

    LOCATION A236, Technological Institute    map it

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    CONTACT Andrew Liguori    andrew.liguori@northwestern.edu EMAIL

    CALENDAR McCormick - Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE)

  • May
    3

    EES Seminar Series- X-ray fluorescence microscopy for life and environmental studies at the Advanced Photon Source- Si Chen

    McCormick - Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE)

    2:00 PM A236, Technological Institute

    EVENT DETAILS

    TIME Friday, May 3, 2024 at 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM

    LOCATION A236, Technological Institute    map it

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    CONTACT Andrew Liguori    andrew.liguori@northwestern.edu EMAIL

    CALENDAR McCormick - Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE)

  • May
    6

    AED/MPM PD Seminar Series- Steve Nargang

    McCormick - Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE)

    11:00 AM 1101, Pancoe-NSUHS Life Sciences Pavilion

    EVENT DETAILS

    TIME Monday, May 6, 2024 at 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM

    LOCATION 1101, Pancoe-NSUHS Life Sciences Pavilion    map it

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    CONTACT Andrew Liguori    andrew.liguori@northwestern.edu EMAIL

    CALENDAR McCormick - Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE)

  • May
    8

    SPREE Seminar Series- Investigating Single & Multi-Component Polymer Grafted Nanoparticles using Molecular Modelling- Subhadeep Pal

    McCormick - Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE)

    11:00 AM A236, Technological Institute

    EVENT DETAILS

    TIME Wednesday, May 8, 2024 at 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM

    LOCATION A236, Technological Institute    map it

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    CONTACT Andrew Liguori    andrew.liguori@northwestern.edu EMAIL

    CALENDAR McCormick - Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE)

  • May
    8

    Extending Care: A Conversation about Conservation and Futurity

    Block Museum of Art

    6:00 PM Block Museum of Art, Mary and Leigh

    EVENT DETAILSmore info

    TIME Wednesday, May 8, 2024 at 6:00 PM - 7:30 PM

    LOCATION Block Museum of Art, Mary and Leigh    map it

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    CONTACT Block Museum of Art    block-museum@northwestern.edu EMAIL

    CALENDAR Block Museum of Art

  • May
    10

    EES Seminar Series- Phosphorous Recycling- Jade Basinski

    McCormick - Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE)

    2:00 PM A236, Technological Institute

    EVENT DETAILS

    TIME Friday, May 10, 2024 at 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM

    LOCATION A236, Technological Institute    map it

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    CONTACT Andrew Liguori    andrew.liguori@northwestern.edu EMAIL

    CALENDAR McCormick - Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE)

  • May
    13

    AED/MPM PD Seminar Series- Albert Mena & Maya Stuhlbarg

    McCormick - Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE)

    11:00 AM 1101, Pancoe-NSUHS Life Sciences Pavilion

    EVENT DETAILS

    TIME Monday, May 13, 2024 at 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM

    LOCATION 1101, Pancoe-NSUHS Life Sciences Pavilion    map it

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    CONTACT Andrew Liguori    andrew.liguori@northwestern.edu EMAIL

    CALENDAR McCormick - Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE)

  • May
    15

    SPREE Seminar Series- Understanding Heat Transport at Grain Boundaries Through High Resolution Imaging- Elenora Isotta

    McCormick - Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE)

    11:00 AM A236, Technological Institute

    EVENT DETAILS

    TIME Wednesday, May 15, 2024 at 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM

    LOCATION A236, Technological Institute    map it

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    CONTACT Andrew Liguori    andrew.liguori@northwestern.edu EMAIL

    CALENDAR McCormick - Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE)

  • May
    17

    EES Seminar Series- Dave Lampert

    McCormick - Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE)

    2:00 PM A236, Technological Institute

    EVENT DETAILS

    TIME Friday, May 17, 2024 at 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM

    LOCATION A236, Technological Institute    map it

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    CONTACT Andrew Liguori    andrew.liguori@northwestern.edu EMAIL

    CALENDAR McCormick - Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE)

  • May
    20

    AED/MPM PD Seminar Series- Andres Marulanda Escobar

    McCormick - Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE)

    11:00 AM 1101, Pancoe-NSUHS Life Sciences Pavilion

    EVENT DETAILS

    TIME Monday, May 20, 2024 at 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM

    LOCATION 1101, Pancoe-NSUHS Life Sciences Pavilion    map it

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    CONTACT Andrew Liguori    andrew.liguori@northwestern.edu EMAIL

    CALENDAR McCormick - Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE)

  • May
    22

    SPREE Seminar Series- Mechanism-Based Multi-Scale Models for Damage and Failure in Heterogeneous Materials- Kedar Kirane

    McCormick - Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE)

    11:00 AM A236, Technological Institute

    EVENT DETAILS

    TIME Wednesday, May 22, 2024 at 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM

    LOCATION A236, Technological Institute    map it

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    CONTACT Andrew Liguori    andrew.liguori@northwestern.edu EMAIL

    CALENDAR McCormick - Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE)

  • May
    24

    EES Seminar Series- PFAS Characterization- Gordon Getzinger

    McCormick - Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE)

    2:00 PM A236, Technological Institute

    EVENT DETAILS

    TIME Friday, May 24, 2024 at 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM

    LOCATION A236, Technological Institute    map it

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    CONTACT Andrew Liguori    andrew.liguori@northwestern.edu EMAIL

    CALENDAR McCormick - Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE)

  • Jun
    6

    CEE Department Graduation Recognition and Ceremony

    McCormick - Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE)

    4:00 PM 1702 Chicago Ave

    EVENT DETAILS

    TIME Thursday, June 6, 2024 at 4:00 PM - 8:00 PM

    LOCATION 1702 Chicago Ave   

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    CONTACT Andrew Liguori    andrew.liguori@northwestern.edu EMAIL

    CALENDAR McCormick - Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE)

  • Jun
    7

    CEE Graduating Undergraduate Celebrating

    McCormick - Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE)

    6:00 PM 623 W Howard St

    EVENT DETAILS

    TIME Friday, June 7, 2024 at 6:00 PM - 9:00 PM

    LOCATION 623 W Howard St   

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    CONTACT Andrew Liguori    andrew.liguori@northwestern.edu EMAIL

    CALENDAR McCormick - Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE)

  • Jun
    10

    Northwestern Engineering PhD Hooding and Master's Degree Recognition Ceremony

    McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science

    9:00 AM Welsh-Ryan Arena

    EVENT DETAILSmore info

    TIME Monday, June 10, 2024 at 9:00 AM - 11:00 AM

    LOCATION Welsh-Ryan Arena   

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    CONTACT Amy Pokrass    amy.pokrass@northwestern.edu EMAIL

    CALENDAR McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science

  • Jun
    10

    Northwestern Engineering Undergraduate Convocation

    McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science

    2:00 PM Welsh-Ryan Arena

    EVENT DETAILSmore info

    TIME Monday, June 10, 2024 at 2:00 PM - 4:00 PM

    LOCATION Welsh-Ryan Arena   

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    CONTACT Amy Pokrass    amy.pokrass@northwestern.edu EMAIL

    CALENDAR McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science