Lee, Jongho

Research Interests

• Membranes
• Nanoporous Media
• Electrokinetics
• Resource Recovery (energy, biochemicals, metals)
• Desalination
• Water/Wastewater Treatment

Research Projects

• Harvesting Resources from Wastewater: Wastewater is increasingly recognized as a valuable water, nutrient, and energy source.  Effective separation processes are therefore essential to selectively harvest the target resource from the wastes.  We develop membrane technologies to effectively harvest valuable resources from challenging wastewater, including methane, ammonia, and high-value organic chemicals.
• Multi-Functional Membrane Development: Fouling is a major hurdle in membrane-based desalination, water/wastewater treatment processes, and resource recovery from wastewater. Through surface chemistry, polymer chemistry, and nanomaterial-based surface modification, we develop multi-functional membranes that simultaneously control fouling on the surface and fast and selective transport of water or other target chemical species.  Recently, we have developed simultaneously anti-fouling and anti-wetting membranes that can enable the desalination of hyper-saline, extremely challenging industrial wastewater.
• Water Transport Phenomena in Nano-confined Spaces: Water in nano-confined space exhibit intriguing physics including fast transport, which allows for developing high-performance separation processes.  We develop nanoporous media platforms to investigate water behaviors in nano-confined space and apply the findings for effective separation processes.
• Bio-mimetic Water Treatment: Plants in nature possess exotic structures for effective water uptake in harsh environments and the removal of unwanted species.  Inspired by natural plants, we design nanoporous media and implement them for engineering applications including desalination, stormwater removal, and tailings treatment.