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Mohan Qin

Mohan Qin

Assistant Professor
gscholar website
lab website

Mohan Qin is an assistant professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. She received her B.S. from Shandong University and M.S. from Peking University, both in Environmental Engineering, and a Ph.D. from Virginia Tech in Civil Engineering. Prior to joining the UW faculty, Mohan completed her postdoctoral training in Environmental Engineering at Yale University. Her research group focuses on the development of novel approaches for resource recovery from waste streams and the concentration and detection of microplastics in the Great Lakes. She has received the 2024 IWA Membrane Technology Specialist Group (MTSG) Rising Star Award. She serves as an associate editor for Desalination and Water Treatment and is a member of the early career editorial board of ACS ES&T Engineering. Her research has been featured in various media, including Aquatic Sciences Chronicle, C&EN, Science News, and on Wisconsin Public Radio.

Department

Civil & Environmental Engineering

Contact

Engineering Hall
1415 Engineering Dr
Madison, WI

  • PhD 2017, Virginia Tech
  • MS 2013, Peking University
  • BS 2010, Shandong University

  • Bioelectrochemical system for resource recovery from wastewater
  • Environmental biotechnology for sustainable wastewater treatment
  • Electrochemical processes for desalination and water treatment
  • Membrane-based technology for selective ion removal

  • 2024 University of Wisconsin-Madison, Hilldale Undergraduate/Faculty Research Fellowships
  • 2024 International Water Association (IWA) Membrane Technology Specialist Group (MTSG), Rising Star Award
  • 2023 University of Wisconsin-Madison, Media Fellow
  • 2023 University of Wisconsin-Madison, Sustainability Fellow
  • 2022 University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison Teaching and Learning Excellence (MTLE) Fellow
  • 2017 Virginia Tech, VA AWWA Graduate Student Scholarship
  • 2017 Virginia Tech, Via Teaching Fellow
  • 2016 Water JAM, 1st Place for Wastewater Presentation
  • 2016 Virginia Tech, Graduate Student Assembly Travel Fund
  • 2015 International Society for Microbial Electrochemistry and Technology (ISMET), Innovation Award for Best Technological Advancement
  • 2015 Ocean Exchange and South Georgia University, Finalist in BIG Pitch competition (Nominated)

  • Wang, R., Moeller, A., Tang, H., Cobra, P. F., Qin, M., & Jin, S. (2024). Spontaneous Oxidation of Organic Matter and Ammonium Uptake from Manure Wastewater by Redox-Active Materials. ACS Energy Letters, 9(9), 4673-4681 https://doi.org/10.1021/acsenergylett.4c01896
  • Wu, Z., Janssen, S. E., Tate, M. T., Wei, H., & Qin, M. (2024). Adaptable Plasmonic Membrane Sensors for Fast and Reliable Detection of Trace Low-Micrometer Microplastics in Lake Water. Environmental Science & Technology, 58(45), 20172--20180.
  • Burns, M., Tang, H., Larson, R. A., & Qin, M. (2024). Bioelectrochemically-assisted ammonia recovery from dairy manure. Water Research, 252, 121243.
  • Tang, H., Burns, M., & Qin, M. (2024). Effects of chloride transport on the bioelectrochemical remediation of nitrate-contaminated groundwater. Environmental Science: Water Research & Technology, 10(11), 2776--2786.
  • Wang, R., Yang, K., Wong, C., Aguirre-Villegas, H., Larson, R., Brushett, F., Qin, M., & Jin, S. (2024). Electrochemical ammonia recovery and co-production of chemicals from manure wastewater. Nature Sustainability, 7(2), 179--190.
  • Yang, K., & Qin, M. (2024). Enhancing selective ammonium transport in membrane electrochemical systems. Water Research, 257, 121668.
  • Yang, K., & Qin, M. (2024). Understanding Ammonia and Water Transport in Direct Contact Membrane Distillation toward Selective Ammonia Recovery. ACS ES&T Engineering, 4(6), 1321--1330.
  • Burns, M., & Qin, M. (2023). Ammonia recovery from organic nitrogen in synthetic dairy manure with a microbial fuel cell. Chemosphere, 325, 138388.
  • Wu, Z., Qin, M., & Wei, H. (2023). Improved Reliability of Raman Spectroscopic Imaging of Low-Micrometer Microplastic Mixtures in Lake Water by Fractionated Membrane Filtration. ACS ES&T Water, 3(8), 2616--2626.
  • Yang, K., Du, H., & Qin, M. (2023). Solar enhanced membrane distillation for ammonia recovery. Journal of Membrane Science Letters, 3(1), 100043.

  • CIV ENGR 325 - Environmental Engineering Materials (Spring 2025)
  • CIV ENGR 699 - Independent Study (Spring 2025)
  • CIV ENGR 890 - Pre-Dissertator's Research (Spring 2025)
  • CIV ENGR 990 - Thesis (Spring 2025)
  • CIV ENGR 320 - Environmental Engineering (Fall 2024)
  • CIV ENGR 699 - Independent Study (Fall 2024)
  • CIV ENGR 890 - Pre-Dissertator's Research (Fall 2024)
  • CIV ENGR 990 - Thesis (Fall 2024)
  • CIV ENGR 699 - Independent Study (Summer 2024)
  • CIV ENGR 890 - Pre-Dissertator's Research (Summer 2024)
  • CIV ENGR 990 - Thesis (Summer 2024)
  • CHEM 699 - Directed Study (Spring 2024)
  • CIV ENGR 325 - Environmental Engineering Materials (Spring 2024)
  • CIV ENGR 699 - Independent Study (Spring 2024)
  • CIV ENGR 890 - Pre-Dissertator's Research (Spring 2024)
  • CIV ENGR 990 - Thesis (Spring 2024)
  • CHEM 699 - Directed Study (Fall 2023)
  • CIV ENGR 629 - Special Topics in Environmental Engineering (Fall 2023)
  • CIV ENGR 699 - Independent Study (Fall 2023)
  • CIV ENGR 890 - Pre-Dissertator's Research (Fall 2023)
  • CIV ENGR 990 - Thesis (Fall 2023)
  • CHEM 699 - Directed Study (Summer 2023)
  • CIV ENGR 890 - Pre-Dissertator's Research (Summer 2023)
  • CIV ENGR 990 - Thesis (Summer 2023)