Convergence Research Seminar Series: Huichun (Judy) Zhang, PhD (CWRU)

Abstract:

The recent outbreaks of harmful algal blooms in the western Lake Erie Basin have drawn tremendous attention to bloom prediction for better control and management. Many weekly to annual bloom prediction models have been reported, but they only employ small datasets, have limited types of input features, build linear regression or probabilistic models, or require complex process-based computations. To address these limitations, we conducted an extensive literature review and compiled a large dataset encompassing the chlorophyll-a index as the output variable. By employing a novel combination of riverine and meteorological features as inputs, we constructed machine learning models to forecast short-term (10-d) bloom occurrences in Lake Erie. In addition, excess phosphorus (P) serves as a major catalyst for algal blooms in numerous lakes, including Lake Erie. Agricultural runoff, despite typically containing P concentrations lower than 0.5 mg/L, serves as a significant non-point source of P in many watersheds. Currently, there is a critical need for treatment technologies capable of removing low-concentration P from agricultural runoff. The second half of this talk focuses on our recent work investigating the effectiveness of iron shavings, which are low-cost industrial byproducts, for P removal. It also emphasizes their pretreatment and longevity.

Bio:

Dr. Huichun (Judy) Zhang is the Frank H. Neff professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Case Western Reserve University. She earned her Ph.D. from Georgia Institute of Technology and her B.S. and M.S. from Nanjing University. Her research focuses on the fate and transformation of environmental contaminants in natural and engineered aquatic environments and the removal of organic contaminants from contaminated water. Her recent research areas also include predictive modeling for contaminant reactivity and sorption using machine learning tools. Dr. Zhang has published in numerous journals, such as Chemical Reviews, Environmental Science and Technology, and Water Research. She has received seven competitive research grants from the NSF as the PI, and directed research p rojects for many other agencies and industry. She is an Associate Editor for ACS ES&T Water and a member of AEESP Board of Directors. She is a past recipient of Nanova/CAPEES Frontier Research Award, and ES&T Best Paper Award, among others.