News & EventsDepartment Events
Events
-
Apr24
EVENT DETAILS
lessAbstract: Transarterial embolization (TAE) is a minimally invasive procedure that selectively delivers embolic agents into arteries to occlude diseased or injured vasculature for therapeutic purposes - including the treatment of hemorrhage, aneurysms, vascular malformations, and hypervascular tumors. Clinically available agents such as metallic coils, microspheres, and liquid embolics are widely used, but they face key limitations such as imprecise deployment, risk of migration, and catheter occlusion. In this talk, we will share our efforts to develop gel-based embolic agents as a novel alternative. These materials transition from a high-viscosity gel to a fluid under shear stress, allowing smooth catheter delivery, then rapidly re-solidify in situ to achieve stable vascular occlusion. We will highlight our integrated experimental and modeling approaches that validate transcatheter injectability, offering improved predictability and physician control. Finally, we will explore the multifunctional potential of these gel embolic agents - including therapeutic delivery, imaging compatibility, and photothermal therapy - as a platform for next-generation vascular devices.
Bio: Jingjie Hu is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at North Carolina State University. Her work explores the mechanical behavior of biomedical and biological materials, bridging engineering and medicine to advance applications in cancer detection and vascular embolization. She focuses on the design, fabrication, and characterization of bio-related structures through integrated mechanics, materials, and bioengineering approaches. Hu is a recipient of the NIH Trailblazer Award, the ORAU Ralph E. Powe Junior Faculty Enhancement Award, and the ASME Haythornthwaite Foundation Research Initiation Award. She received her Ph.D. from Princeton University and her B.S.E. from the University of Michigan, both in mechanical engineering. Prior to joining NC State, she completed her postdoctoral training in translational bioengineering at the Mayo Clinic.
TIME Thursday, April 24, 2025 at 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM
LOCATION A230, Technological Institute map it
CONTACT Andrew Liguori andrew.liguori@northwestern.edu EMAIL
CALENDAR McCormick - Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE)
-
Apr25
EVENT DETAILS
lessTBA
TIME Friday, April 25, 2025 at 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM
LOCATION A230, Technological Institute map it
CONTACT Andrew Liguori andrew.liguori@northwestern.edu EMAIL
CALENDAR McCormick - Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE)
-
Apr28
EVENT DETAILS
lessTBA
TIME Monday, April 28, 2025 at 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM
LOCATION A230, Technological Institute map it
CONTACT Andrew Liguori andrew.liguori@northwestern.edu EMAIL
CALENDAR McCormick - Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE)
-
Apr28
EVENT DETAILS
lessTBA
TIME Monday, April 28, 2025 at 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM
LOCATION A230, Technological Institute map it
CONTACT Andrew Liguori andrew.liguori@northwestern.edu EMAIL
CALENDAR McCormick - Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE)
-
Apr28
EVENT DETAILS
lessTBA
TIME Monday, April 28, 2025 at 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM
LOCATION A230, Technological Institute map it
CONTACT Andrew Liguori andrew.liguori@northwestern.edu EMAIL
CALENDAR McCormick - Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE)
-
Apr30
EVENT DETAILS
lessTBA
TIME Wednesday, April 30, 2025 at 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM
LOCATION A230, Technological Institute map it
CONTACT Andrew Liguori andrew.liguori@northwestern.edu EMAIL
CALENDAR McCormick - Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE)
-
May2
EVENT DETAILS
lessTBA
TIME Friday, May 2, 2025 at 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM
LOCATION A230, Technological Institute map it
CONTACT Andrew Liguori andrew.liguori@northwestern.edu EMAIL
CALENDAR McCormick - Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE)
-
May7
EVENT DETAILS
lessTBA
TIME Wednesday, May 7, 2025 at 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM
LOCATION A230, Technological Institute map it
CONTACT Andrew Liguori andrew.liguori@northwestern.edu EMAIL
CALENDAR McCormick - Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE)
-
May9
EVENT DETAILS
lessTBA
TIME Friday, May 9, 2025 at 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM
LOCATION A230, Technological Institute map it
CONTACT Andrew Liguori andrew.liguori@northwestern.edu EMAIL
CALENDAR McCormick - Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE)
-
May15
EVENT DETAILS
lessTBA
TIME Thursday, May 15, 2025 at 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM
LOCATION A230, Technological Institute map it
CONTACT Andrew Liguori andrew.liguori@northwestern.edu EMAIL
CALENDAR McCormick - Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE)
-
May16
EVENT DETAILS
lessTBA
TIME Friday, May 16, 2025 at 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM
LOCATION A230, Technological Institute map it
CONTACT Andrew Liguori andrew.liguori@northwestern.edu EMAIL
CALENDAR McCormick - Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE)
-
May19
EVENT DETAILS
lessTBA
TIME Monday, May 19, 2025 at 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM
LOCATION A230, Technological Institute map it
CONTACT Andrew Liguori andrew.liguori@northwestern.edu EMAIL
CALENDAR McCormick - Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE)
-
May21
EVENT DETAILS
lessTBA
TIME Wednesday, May 21, 2025 at 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM
LOCATION A230, Technological Institute map it
CONTACT Andrew Liguori andrew.liguori@northwestern.edu EMAIL
CALENDAR McCormick - Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE)
-
May23
EVENT DETAILS
lessAbstract: Anaerobic Membrane Bioreactor (AnMBR) is a promising technology for sustainable domestic wastewater (DWW) treatment, enabling energy, water, and nutrients recovery at low biomass production rates. However, membrane fouling remains a major challenge, increasing costs and limiting long-term performance. While fouling is often attributed to biomass components like extracellular polymeric substances (EPS), the mechanisms linking biomass responses to operational conditions and fouling remain poorly understood. This study presents a mechanistic framework for AnMBR fouling, demonstrating how changes in organic loading rate (OLR) and coagulant addition influence sludge rheology, sludge dewaterability, EPS hydration and viscoelasticity, and ultimately affecting membrane fouling propensity. Parallel investigations at lab- and pilot-scale AnMBR systems treating real DWW provide a unique comparison between controlled and real-world conditions. Our integrated microscale-to-macroscale approach captures the complexity of biomass behavior. On the microscale, EPS hydration and viscoelasticity were analyzed using quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation (QCM-D) and localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR). On the macroscale, dynamic rheometry, sludge volume index (SVI), and capillary suction time (CST) quantified biomass stability and dewaterability, while optical coherence tomography (OCT) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) revealed biomass floc structure and fouling layer formation. Our findings provide an expansive explanation of how OLR and coagulant addition affect biomass destabilization and membrane fouling in AnMBR for DWW treatment, paving the way for improved fouling mitigation strategies and contributing to more stable and cost-effective AnMBR operations.
Bio- Moshe Herzberg is a full professor at the Zuckerberg Institute for Water Research in Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, ISRAEL, appointed as a faculty member, since 2007. Prof. Herzberg did his postdoctoral training in Yale University and received both a PhD in Agricultural Engineering and BSc in Chemical Engineering from the Technion, the Israel Institute of Technology. Prof. Herzberg’s research interests focus on microbial biofilms, biofouling and fouling of membranes, interfacial processes that relate to membrane separation and “anti-fouling” modified-membranes. Prof. Herzberg is an author of 90 scientific publications and more than 140 presentations and seminars. He serves as a co-leader of the CoWERC, the US-Israel Collaborative Water-Energy Research Center. Prof. Herzberg is currently performing an enhanced synergistic collaboration with different scientists and industries around the world, from Jordan, Italy, the united-states, and Israel.
TIME Friday, May 23, 2025 at 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM
LOCATION A230, Technological Institute map it
CONTACT Andrew Liguori andrew.liguori@northwestern.edu EMAIL
CALENDAR McCormick - Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE)
-
May28
EVENT DETAILS
lessTBA
TIME Wednesday, May 28, 2025 at 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM
LOCATION A230, Technological Institute map it
CONTACT Andrew Liguori andrew.liguori@northwestern.edu EMAIL
CALENDAR McCormick - Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE)
-
May30
EVENT DETAILS
lessAbstract
The use of nanomaterials has become a rapidly growing approach for advanced water treatment technologies, but the continued emergence of highly oxidation-resistant micropollutants, such as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), calls for transformative strategies that move beyond recent oxidation-based remediation practices. Alternative reduction-based approaches utilizing aqueous electrons (eaq−, Eo = −2.9 V)—one of the most reactive nucleophilic species—are emerging as a promising solution for efficient PFAS breakdown. Herein, we leverage nanoconfinement engineering to enable a new water treatment approach—plasmon-mediated advanced reduction processes (PARPs)—for efficient, chemical-free PFAS destruction at room temperature. We first present novel nanoreactor designs that engineer the ‘nanoconfinement effect’, i.e. unique aggregation-induced interparticle interactions that are inaccessible by typical unconfined, bulk-phase nanomaterials. We demonstrate that the precisely controlled nanoconfinement of plasmonic nanoparticles can generate highly reactive reducing species under UV irradiation, capable of breaking even the strong C–F bonds in PFAS. The nanoreactor we developed achieved 81.5% mineralization of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) after 24 hours of UV irradiation in pure water at room temperature, compared to only 16.6% mineralization by UV photolysis. Further reaction monitoring under various conditions and multimodal NMR-guided investigation were conducted to elucidate PFAS degradation mechanisms and pathways. We further explored the potential of PARPs for the chemical-free remediation of nitrate, a prevalent oxyanion pollutant that is resistant to conventional oxidation-based treatments. Our findings highlight the transformative promise of nanoconfinement engineering to catalyze innovation in environmental nanotechnology and extend the frontier of advanced reduction processes for water treatment.
Bio- Haklae Lee is a PhD student in the Environmental Engineering & Science program and a member of the Gray Lab in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Northwestern University. He holds a B.S. and M.S. in Environmental Engineering from Pusan National University in South Korea. His work focuses on the design and engineering of nano-sized reactors for efficient and more sustainable remediation of emerging contaminants from wastewater. He uses mesoporous silica to spatially confine various metal nanoparticles within multi-layered nanoreactors, enabling unique features such as multifunctional compartments and nanoconfinement effects for previously unexplored environmental applications.
TIME Friday, May 30, 2025 at 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM
LOCATION A230, Technological Institute map it
CONTACT Andrew Liguori andrew.liguori@northwestern.edu EMAIL
CALENDAR McCormick - Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE)
-
Jun4
EVENT DETAILS
lessTBA
TIME Wednesday, June 4, 2025 at 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM
LOCATION A230, Technological Institute map it
CONTACT Andrew Liguori andrew.liguori@northwestern.edu EMAIL
CALENDAR McCormick - Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE)
-
Jun15
TIME Sunday, June 15, 2025
CONTACT Office of the Registrar nu-registrar@northwestern.edu EMAIL
CALENDAR University Academic Calendar
-
Jun16
EVENT DETAILS
lessMcCormick School of Engineering PhD Hooding and Master's Degree Recognition Ceremony. The most up to date information can be found on our graduation webpage.
TIME Monday, June 16, 2025 at 9:00 AM - 11:00 AM
LOCATION 2705 Ashland Ave
CONTACT Northwestern Engineering Events northwestern-engineering-events@northwestern.edu EMAIL
CALENDAR McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science
-
Jun16
EVENT DETAILSmore info
lessMcCormick School of Engineering Undergraduate Convocation. The most up to date information can be found on our graduation webpage.
TIME Monday, June 16, 2025 at 2:00 PM - 4:00 PM
LOCATION 2705 Ashland Ave
CONTACT Northwestern Engineering Events northwestern-engineering-events@northwestern.edu EMAIL
CALENDAR McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science