People

Principle Investigator

Boya Xiong, Ph.D.

She/her
Assistant Professor
McKnight Land Grant Professor

Department of Civil, Environmental, and Geo-Engineering
[email protected]

Education

Ph.D., Civil and Environmental Engineering, Pennsylvania State University, 2018
M.Sc., Agricultural and Biological Engineering, Pennsylvania State University, 2014
B.Sc., Biotechnology, East China University of Science and Technology, 2011

Awards

NSF CAREER award (2025)
McKnight Land-Grant Professorship (2025)
Honorary Member of Tau Chi Alpha, Environmental Engineering Honor Society (2024)
40 Under 40, American Academy of Environmental Engineers and Scientists (2024)
Young Engineer of the Year, ASCE MN chapter and MFESTS (2023)
MIT CEE Postdoctoral Scholar Mentoring, Teaching, and Excellence Award (2020)
National Science Foundation ACADEME fellow (2018)

Google Scholar Profile
Departmental page

Boya is passionate about the science and engineering that enables environmental sustainability of polymer chemicals and materials. Her long-term research goal is to enable sustainable design, use, and management of polymer chemicals, materials, and wastes. She was a recent NSF CAREER awardee and a McKnight Land-Grant Professor at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities. Before joining UMN in the 2020 fall, Boya was a Postdoctoral Associate in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at MIT. In her free time, Boya enjoys competitive powerlifting, singing, and cooking.

Ph.D. student
Alexa Chesley (co-advised with Sebastian Behrens)
[email protected]
Education
B.A., Chemistry, St Thomas University, 2025

M.S. student
Jacob Hubbard (co-advised with Sebastian Behrens)
[email protected]
Education
B.A., Physics, North Dakota State University, 2024

I am interested in evaluating the extent of microplastic contamination in Minnesota's wastewater treatment plants and how different treatment processes may influence microplastic removal efficiencies. I am also interested in how wastewater treatment processes may alter the microplastics and what environmental consequences these changes could have.

Ph.D. student
Ehsanur Rahman
[email protected]
Education
B.Sc., Chemical Engineering, Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET), 2020

Awards

1^st place in the 3 min thesis competition at the department level, 2023
Sustainable Nanotechnology Organization Student Award, poster award, 2^nd NanoPitch competition, 2024

Ph.D. student
Sarah Ziemann
[email protected]
Education
B.Sc., Mechanical Engineering, St Thomas University, 2022

ziemann_resume_2025.pdf

Awards

NSF GRFP honorable mention
NRT circularity fellowship
2025 ACS Graduate Student and Postdoctoral Scholars Recognition Program
1^st place in the 3 min thesis competition at the department and the college level, 2023

Ph.D. student
Ji Qin
[email protected]
Education
B.E., Agricultural Water Conservancy Engineering, Sichuan Agricultural University, China, 2019

M.Sc. Desalination and Water Treatment, Zuckerberg Institute for Water Research, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel, 2021

Awards

CEGE fellowship
Advanced Degree Scholarship on behalf of the Minnesota Section of the American Water Works Association
Hsiao Shaw-Lundquist Fellowship

Ph.D. student
Suprio Kamal
[email protected]
Education
B.Sc., Chemical Engineering, Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET), 2021

Awards

Environmental Research & Education Foundation Scholarship Award
2025 ACS Graduate Student and Postdoctoral Scholars Recognition Program

Alumni

PhD: Phoebe Keyes (de maximis Data Management Solutions)
MS: Tariq Bastawisy (Minnesota Department of Health)
Postdoc: Sara Binahmed-Menzies (Barr Engineering)
MS: Claire Alberg (WSP consulting)

Undergraduate and high school teacher advisee (at UMN)

Finn Yates (2024 fall to current, Sophomore, CEGE, UMN)
Sara Baldvins (2024 summer, MRSEC high school teacher training program)
Ella Hardwick (2024 summer, CSP REU, Albion College)
Alexis Sherman (2024 summer, CSP REU, Cornell university)
Elizabeth Duerr (2024 summer, MRSEC REU, Baylor university)
Juliette Koskela (2023 fall to current, Junior, CEGE, UMN)
Kiersten Carew (2023 summer, CSP REU student, university of
Thompson Ferguson (Augsburg University, Louis Stokes North Star STEM Alliance Scholars)
Bianca Rios Rodriguez (2023 summer, MRSEC REU, University of Puerto Rico)
Luci Anderson (2023 summer, intern, University of New Hampshire)
Jayson Sandeen (2023 AND 2024 summer, NSF NanoCenter, high school teacher training program)
Victoria Smurawa (2022 fall, Sophomore, CEGE, UMN)
Jessica Beaudoin (2022 summer, MRSEC REU, UMN Morris)
Noor Halimah (2022 summer-2023 fall, Junior, Chemistry, UMN)
Won Sup Lee (2022 summer-2023 spring, Junior, CEMS, UMN)
Meili Gong (2020 fall- 2021 fall, Sophomore, BBE, UMN)
Ezra Kone (2021 summer-2022 fall, Junior, CEMS, UMN)
Ethan Cypull, Emily Sheleski, Kristyn Buetow (2021 summer, ESPM)
Stacy Godfreey-Igwe (2021 summer, CSP REU, MIT)

​Principle Investigator

Principle Investigator