معرفی
Ran Mei is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. His research investigates microbial ecology at the microbiome-environment interface in natural and engineered water systems, developing microbiology-informed engineering strategies for sustainable water systems. The Mei Research Group integrates genomics, evolutionary biology, and engineering design to decode complex microbiomes and develop solutions for wastewater treatment and environmental protection.
Research themes include: 1) Microbial evolution in engineered ecosystems to discover novel metabolic capabilities for pollutant degradation; 2) Microbial biomass degraders for efficient waste decomposition; and 3) Bridging biological and physical dynamics for optimized bioreactor performance. Professor Mei teaches Water Quality Control II (CEE 538) and Water Quality Engineering (CEE 437).
He has received several awards including the DOE JGI CSP New Investigator Award (2023) and AEESP Outstanding Doctoral Dissertation Award (2021). Current research grants include projects on microplastic-degrading algae and novel aeration strategies for wastewater treatment.
