The lab is thrilled to celebrate the successful Master’s thesis defenses of Faye Kuszewski and Alanna Mahar, both of whom earned their MS in Environmental Engineering from UMass Amherst this spring.
Faye, who completed her BS in Civil Engineering at UMass Amherst, focused her graduate research on the electrochemical degradation of textile dyes, exploring a range of electrode materials to better understand both dye degradation and the formation of reactive chlorine species. Her thesis, “Disinfection Byproduct Formation by Electro-Oxidation of Textile Dye Wastewater: Occurrence and Mitigation”, represents one of the first comprehensive studies highlighting the significant production of toxic disinfection byproducts (DBPs) during electrochemical dye treatment, as well as strategies to mitigate them.
Alanna, who transitioned into environmental engineering after earning her BS in Chemistry at UMass Amherst, collaborated with Dr. James Siegenthaler (Fraunhofer USA & Michigan State University) to develop a novel electrochemical lead sensor for point-of-sampling applications in drinking water. Her thesis, “Development of a Point-of-Sampling Lead Electrochemical Sensor for Drinking Water Applications”, demonstrated impressive sensitivity, achieving detection limits below 5 ppb—well within regulatory standards.
Also graduating with his MS in Environmental Engineering was Josh Fiorentino, who worked with the WWET Lab in Fall 2024. Josh’s work focused on the electrochemical degradation of non-aqueous hydrofluoroether (HFE).
Faye, Alanna and Josh are heading into careers in industry this summer, where we are confident they will continue to make meaningful contributions to environmental engineering and water quality protection.
Congratulations, Faye, Alanna and Josh! We’re proud of all you’ve accomplished and can’t wait to see what’s next.