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HomeStudent SpotlightsXiumei Jian Receives 2025 ACS Graduate Student Award

Xiumei Jian Receives 2025 ACS Graduate Student Award

We are thrilled to announce that Xiumei Jian, a PhD candidate in Dr. Xinwei Mao’s laboratory, has been selected as a 2025 Graduate Student Awardee in Environmental Chemistry by the American Chemical Society (ACS) Division of Environmental Chemistry.

About the Award

This prestigious and highly competitive honor is reserved for graduate students who demonstrate:

  • Outstanding achievement in environmental research.
  • Strong research potential and exceptional promise in the early stages of their careers.
  • A record of academic excellence and meaningful contributions to the field of environmental chemistry and engineering.

As part of the recognition, Xiumei will receive a monetary reward and a one-year membership in the ACS Environmental Division.

Innovative Research Xiumei Jian in a white lab coat, work boots, and purple gloves stands on a step stool in a water research facility, smiling as she rests her hand on a rack of tall, clear filtration columns. The laboratory environment is filled with industrial piping, red-handled valves, and various collection buckets and drums, suggesting an active experiment in water treatment or environmental engineering.

Xiumei’s research addresses critical challenges in sustainable wastewater treatment. Supported by the New York State Center for Clean Water Technology (CCWT), her work focuses on:

  • Engineering Biowaste:Developing a systematic approach to convert biowaste into calcium-rich granular biochar.
  • Nutrient Recovery: Using this biochar for the removal and recovery of phosphate from wastewater, which helps mitigate eutrophication.
  • Real-World Application: She has successfully implemented this patent-pending technology in a pilot-scale polishing unit at the Wastewater Research and Innovation Facility (WRIF), treating real domestic wastewater.

This diagram illustrates a process for removing phosphorus from wastewater using bio-based filters. On the left, biomass waste-based granules undergo thermo-conversion in a tube furnace to become engineered granular biochar. This biochar is then loaded into a Polishing Column within the WRIF Pilot System. Wastewater from a tank with an influent phosphorus concentration of $P > 5$ mg/L is pumped through the column, resulting in treated effluent with $P < 1$ mg/L, which supports Water Protection. The phosphorus-saturated biochar is subsequently recovered as P-Enriched Biochar for Nutrient Recycling in agriculture and processed in a P Reuse Unit to create Sustainable Fertilizer.

"Xiumei’s selection reflects her dedication, innovation, and impact in environmental chemistry and engineering." — The ACS Division of Environmental Chemistry

Please join us in congratulating Xiumei Jian on this well-deserved recognition. We look forward to her continued success in advancing sustainable water treatment technologies.