EEES undergraduate and graduate students were well represented at this years’ South Carolina Environmental Conference, held in Myrtle Beach from March 10 to 13, 2024. The conference is sponsored by the South Carolina section of the American Water Works Association (SCAWWA) and the Water Environment Association of South Carolina (WEASC). The first-place graduate award presented by SCAWWA went to PhD candidate Hatice Yildrim for her poster “Sorption Behavior of PFAS Compounds by Virgin and Aged Microplastics; Effects of Different Environmental Conditions.” Hatice’s advisor is Dr. Tanju Karanfil. SCAWWA will sponsor Hatice’s attendance at the American Water Works Association national conference in June 2024.
The first-place graduate award presented by WEASC went to Julia Ann Funk, for her poster entitled “The Effect of pH on Anaerobic Palmitic Acid Degradation.” Julia Ann’s advisor is Dr. Sudeep Popat. WEASC will sponsor Julia Ann’s attendance at the Water Environment Federation national conference (WEFTEC) in October 2024.
Second place went to Alireza Faraji. Alireza’s poster was, “Microwave regeneration of PFAS-laden granular activated carbon.” His advisor is Tanju Karanfil. Alireza won a $500 cash prize.
The first-place award in the undergraduate category went to Carl Michael Espinosa for his poster entitled “Monitoring Nitrate in South Carolina ambient Waters.” Carl’s advisor is Dr. David Ladner. Carl will be starting the MS degree program in EEES in the fall.
Congratulations to Hatice, Julia Ann, Alireza, Carl Michael, and their faculty advisors. More information about the poster session and the conference are in the Summer 2024 edition of the WEASC/SCAWWA Journal.
Hatice 
Julia Ann 
Alireza 
Carl Michael
