Christy Remucal

Christy Remucal is a Professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Wisconsin–Madison College of Engineering, where she leads the Aquatic Chemistry research group. She holds a PhD in Civil & Environmental Engineering from UC Berkeley (2009) and maintains active research in water quality improvement through fundamental reaction mechanism studies.

• PhD, Civil & Environmental Engineering, UC Berkeley (2009)
• MS, Civil & Environmental Engineering, UC Berkeley (2004)
• BS, Civil & Environmental Engineering, MIT (2003)

Her research focuses on two major areas: (1) transformation of polar organic contaminants including pesticides, pharmaceuticals, and PFAS in aquatic systems, and (2) molecular composition and reactivity of dissolved organic matter (DOM) using optical properties and high-resolution mass spectrometry. Key applications include drinking water treatment optimization and Great Lakes contaminant fate modeling.

The group's publications (2023-2025) reveal trends in PFAS partitioning dynamics, DOM photooxidation pathways, and oxidation mechanisms in aquatic systems. Recent work examines contaminant behavior in unconventional environments like freshwater ice and natural foams.

• NSF CAREER Award (2015)
• Robert L. Johnson Memorial Research Grant recipient (2022)
• EPA STAR Graduate Fellowship (2016)
• UW-Madison Hilldale Award (2014)

As interim director of UW-Madison's Aquatic Sciences Center (2023), she oversees Wisconsin Sea Grant and Water Resources Institute initiatives. Her advising spans 15+ graduate students and postdocs, with grant support totaling $2M+ including NSF and Wisconsin Sea Grant funding. The Water Science & Engineering Laboratory (660 North Park Street) serves as a hub for DOM-manganese oxide reactivity studies and PFAS fingerprint analysis.