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Szczuka Lab: 2024
Szczuka Lab: 2024
Szczuka Lab: 2023
Szczuka Lab: 2023

Principal Investigator

Aleksandra (Alex) Szczuka

Dr. Szczuka is an Assistant Professor in the department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Michigan. She completed her B.S.E. in Chemical and Biological Engineering at Princeton University, where she worked in the Trace Metals group in the Geosciences department. Dr. Szczuka earned her M.S. and Ph.D. in Civil and Environmental Engineering at Stanford University, where she investigated how we can use emerging technologies to improve water reuse treatment in the Organic Chemistry at the Nexus (Mitch) lab. Prior to starting as a principal investigator, Dr. Szczuka completed a Presidential Postdoctoral Fellowship in the Wigginton lab at U-M. Szczuka’s CV is available here.

Postdoc

  • Nazmiye Cemre Birben completed her B.S.E. in Environmental Engineering at Yildiz Technical University (Turkey). She obtained her M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from the Institute of Environmental Sciences of Bogazici University (Turkey). Dr. Birben worked as a Postdoctoral Researcher at the Department of Environmental Engineering and Earth Sciences at Clemson University. Her research interests include water treatment by advanced oxidation processes, mainly photolytic and photocatalytic degradation processes, water disinfection, characterization of natural organic matter under oxidative and non-oxidative conditions. Within the scope of her post-doctoral research, her interest was devoted to PFAS removal in drinking water by adsorption, and thermal regeneration of PFAS-laden granular activated carbons by microwave regeneration. Currently, Dr. Birben is working with Professor Szczuka and Professor Raskin at Ann Arbor Pilot Plant Project which examines the feasibility of single stage softening on water treatment processes.

Graduate Students

  • Yuhao is a PhD candidate in Environmental Engineering. He earned his B.S.E in Water Resources and Hydroelectric Engineering from Northwestern Agricultural and Forestry University (China). He then completed his M.S. in Civil and Environmental Engineering from Northeastern University (Boston), where he studied the degradation of PFAS in water. Yuhao is interested in emerging contaminants in water (e.g., disinfection by-products) and advanced water treatment methods. He is working on the measurement of disinfection byproducts and their removal using advanced treatment processes.

  • Tess is a first year PhD pre-candidate in Environmental Engineering. She earned B.S. in Chemical & Soft Material Engineering from the Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering at the University of Chicago, where she worked on a protein-inspired filter to capture phosphate from wastewater. She then worked on new sorbent synthesis and treatment train development for PFAS filtration and destruction in the private sector. She is excited to study disinfection byproducts, a different class of contaminants emerging concern disinfection byproducts, in the Szczuka group. Outside of the lab, you can find her exploring art museums & galleries, out swing dancing, or with her nose in a book

  • Zhenyu is a PhD candidate in Environmental Engineering. He earned his B.S.E in Environmental Sciences in 2021 from East China Normal University, Shanghai, China, where he researched inorganic chemistry in surface water. He earned an M.S. in Civil and Environmental Engineering from Carnegie Mellon University, where he became interested in the formation and degradation of organic contaminants in water. His current research interest is in biomolecules in drinking water systems and their halogenation. In daily life, Zhenyu enjoys hiking, soccer and cooking, and he’s also a fan of Pokemon.

  • Marta is a PhD student in Environmental Engineering. She earned her B.Eng. in Environmental Engineering from the University of Minnesota Twin Cities, where they became interested in environmental chemistry and water treatment. She is currently learning about viral inactivation through water disinfection processes. In their free time, they can be found skateboarding around campus, camped out at a cafe, or watching cartoons.

  • Lila is a first year PhD pre-candidate in Environmental Engineering. She graduated with a BS in Chemistry from the University of Minnesota in 2025, where she worked on the formation of ROS via dark fenton reaction to better understand carbon cycling in the Prairie Pothole Region. Currently she is working to understand how variations in effluent natural organic matter impact its photolysis downstream and how these transformations impact disinfection by product formation and toxicity in drinking water treatment plants. Outside of the lab she enjoys baking, reading and taking care of her plants.

Undergraduate Students

  • Olivia Osborne is a Junior Undergraduate studying Chemical Engineering. She is working with Tess to study disinfection byproducts, with a focus on amino acid quantification via protein acid digestion. Outside of the lab, she is playing volleyball, hiking, or reading.

  • Alexander is an undergraduate Chemical Engineering student. He is excited to be working on the removal of PFAS from water by adsorption. He also enjoys playing recreational ice hockey and going for hikes.

Alumni

  • Dr. Soojung Lee

    PhD ‘26

  • Gauri Jere

    BSE ‘25, MSE ‘26

  • Xiaojun Tang

    MSE ‘26

  • Abigail Atwood

    BSE ‘24 MSE ‘25

  • Brian Yeung

    BSE ‘24, MSE ‘25

  • Kyle Schaff

    BSE TBD

  • Hunter Richards

    MSE ‘24

  • Arnulfo Pelayo

    MSE '24

  • Ilan Reichbart

    BSE TBD

  • Seth Sandoval-Skeet

    MSE '24

  • Tyler Carslgaard

    MSE ‘25

  • Katelyn Brodsky

    BSE TBD

  • Ziheng Liang

    MSE ‘23

  • Natalia Alejo-Garza

    BSE ‘25

  • Jordon Horton

    BSE ‘23