UCF environmental engineering students recently participated in the Florida Section of the American Water Works Association’s 2020 Annual Conference that was originally scheduled to be held at Champions Gate, Florida between November 30 and December 2 but then changed to a virtual format due to COVID-19.
Doctoral candidate Jessica Cormier received the conference’s 2020 “Best Paper Award” for her presentation “Identification of Microbial Communities Colonizing a Granular Activated Carbon Biofilter Treating Upper Floridan Groundwater.” Doctoral student Paula Campesino also presented the paper “Ultraviolet Irradiation Combined with Chlorine Dioxide Pre-Oxidation for Disinfection By-Product Control” at the conference where Dr. Duranceau also served as a moderator for the session Water Treatment.
Doctoral student Courtney Powell receive the 2020 conference’s “Best Poster Award” for her research entitled “Investigating the Source of Particulate Fouling in a Nanofiltration Membrane Process.”
Two UCF graduate research students were recognized for being awarded the highly competitive Roy Likins Scholarship: Paula Campesino and Zachary Protas. Paula is a doctoral student studying lead and copper corrosion rates for the City of Sarasota’s water system to enhance treatment that will further lower regulated heavy metal content further protecting consumers at their tap. Zachary is a master’s student evaluating aeration as a method to remove regulated total trihalomethanes (suspected carcinogenic disinfection by-products) for Polk County Utilities located in central Florida.
