PhD Spotlight: Alice Peiying Wang, PhD’19 – Civil Engineering

student in graduation attire sitting outside

Advised by Loretta Fernandez, Associate Professor, Civil and Environmental Engineering, jointly appointed in Marine and Environmental Sciences in the College of Science

While pursuing her PhD in Civil Engineering (CEE) at Northeastern University, Alice Peiying Wang worked closely with researchers at the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers’ Environmental Research and Development Center (USACE ERDC). She learned how various potential remedies for PCB contaminated sediments perform in terms of protecting aquatic species from taking up toxic compounds from their environment, and how those remedies respond to ongoing contamination. Through her research she became an expert in the application of passive sampling methods for analyzing transport of contaminants between environmental media. She and Associate Professor Loretta Fernandez collaborated on various publications of this work including “Bioaccumulation in Functionally Different Species: Ongoing Input of PCBs with Sediment Deposition to Activated Carbon Remediated Bed Sediments,” which was recognized for the 2019 Top 10 Exceptional Papers Award by Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (ET&C) journal, published by the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC). She presented her work at various professional conferences hosted by organizations including SETAC, American Chemical Society (ACS) and International Passive Sampling Workshop (IPSW). She received Northeastern University conference funding awards from the Graduate Student Government (GSG), Graduate Women in Science and Engineering (GWISE) and the PhD Network. She was one of the founding members of the CEE Graduate Student Council, which helps create a community among the graduate student body through social and professional networking events. She joined Geosyntec Consultants after graduation and now applies her expertise in passive sampling and contaminant transport modeling at project sites across the United States and beyond.

Related Faculty: Loretta A. Fernandez

Related Departments:Civil & Environmental Engineering