Jia Liu

Jia Liu is an Associate Professor of Environmental Engineering in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Southern Illinois University Carbondale, where she leads an active research program focused on nanomaterials for water treatment, PFAS remediation, and sustainable energy systems.

Education:

• Ph.D. Environmental Engineering, University of Houston, 2014
• M.S. Environmental Engineering, University of Houston, 2010
• M.S. Environmental Engineering, Donghua University, 2006
• B.S. Environmental Engineering, Taiyuan University of Technology, 2003

Research Interests:

Dr. Liu’s work sits at the intersection of nanotechnology and environmental sustainability. She engineers multifunctional nanomaterials—magnetic iron oxides, TiO₂ composites, and bioelectrochemical catalysts—to remove emerging contaminants such as PFAS, 1,4-dioxane, and toxic algal metabolites from water and soil. A second pillar of her research couples these nanomaterials with bioelectrochemical systems (microbial fuel cells) to harvest renewable energy while simultaneously treating hazardous waste streams. Her group also investigates the ecological impacts of aged nanomaterials and develops phytoremediation strategies using sunflowers and other plants to detoxify heavy-metal-laden soils.

Funding & Awards:

• NSF ERASE-PFAS Award (2023)
• EPA P3 Phase II – Harmful Algal Bloom Mitigation (2023)
• EPA P3 Phase II – PFAS Photocatalysis for Water Reuse (2020)
• Illinois Water Resources Center Research Grant
• Illinois Groundwater Association Research Grant
• OSMRE Award – Rare Earth Elements Recovery from Mining Waste (2022)

Student Mentorship & Team:

Dr. Liu’s P3 (Pollution Prevention & Process) research group currently includes multiple PhD and Master’s students, several of whom have garnered university and national awards. Recent graduates include Dr. Chunjie Xia (now a postdoc at Indiana University) and award-winning MS student Sudip Baral. She is currently recruiting two additional PhD students with experience in nanomaterial synthesis, PFAS analysis, and LC/MS/MS.

Labs & Facilities:

Research is conducted in Engineering Building B, Room 116, equipped with wet-chemical nanomaterial synthesis hoods, photocatalytic reactors, potentiostats for microbial fuel cell testing, and LC/MS/MS instrumentation for trace organic analysis.