4th Distinguished Water Seminar
Dr. Gregory V. Lowry - Enanotechnology in Water Science and Engineering: Sustainably Harnessing the power of Nanotechnology
The annual 4th Distinguished Water Seminar sponsored by the Institute was held on February 19, 2015. The featured speaker was Dr. Gregory V. Lowry, Walter J. Blenko, Sr. Professor of Civil & Environmental Engineering Deputy Director of Center for Environmental Implications of Nanotechnology (CEINT) Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA
Dr. Lowry is a Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Carnegie Mellon University. He teaches courses in Environmental Engineering, Environmental Fate and Transport of Organic Compounds in Aquatic Systems, Environmental Nanotechnology, Water Quality Engineering, and Environmental Sampling and Sample Characterization.
His research interests broadly include Environmental Nanotechnology, Energy and Environment, and Environmental Remediation. Specific research areas include nanoparticle characterization, reactivity, and transformations, macromoleculenanoparticle interactions, and contaminant fate in the subsurface. He is an experimentalist working on a variety of fundamental and application-oriented research projects including developing nano-enabled environmental technologies, assessing environmental fate of engineered and natural nanomaterials and organics, and understanding the impacts of CO2 on deep subsurface biogeochemistry. (Please visit Dr. Lowry’s website for more details: http://faculty.ce.cmu.edu/lowry/).
Abstract:
Nanotechnologies have tremendous potential for helping to achieve the Millennium Goals for sustainable development. However, the introduction of new technologies and materials must be done sustainably to achieve those benefits. The Environmental Nanotechnology field has evolved over the past decade, moving from unrealistic expectations of the benefits of nanotechnology and overblown fears about negative impacts, to realizing some of those benefits and gaining a better understanding of the potential for negative impacts of nanomaterials along their lifecycle. Dr. Lowry will present an overview of the history of the Environmental Nanotechnology field, and recent advances in applications and implications of engineered nanomaterials.