Orlando Coronell, PhD, is a Professor and Associate Chair for Academics in the Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's Gillings School of Global Public Health. He holds an adjunct appointment in the Department of Applied Physical Sciences. His research focuses on membrane technologies for clean water and energy applications, including desalination, PFAS remediation, and energy storage systems. He has authored numerous influential papers and received awards such as the Duke Energy Faculty Fellowship (2017) and recognition as a 2019 Influential Researcher by ACS. Education: PhD (2010), MS (2004) in Civil and Environmental Engineering from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; BS (2001) in Civil Engineering from Universidad del Norte, Colombia. Affiliations: Editorial Board Member of npj Clean Water (2016–Present), North Carolina Water Treatment Facility Operator Certification Board (2019–Present). Research Interests: Coronell’s work spans membrane design, fouling mitigation, and novel sorbent development. He studies ion exchange, reverse osmosis, and nanofiltration membranes, emphasizing their role in addressing global water and energy challenges. Recent projects include scalable anti-biofouling membranes and hydrolytically stable ionic fluorogels for PFAS removal. Awards and Recognition: His achievements include NSF grants, the Sigma Xi Research Grant, and collaborations on projects funded by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) and the Environmental Research and Education Foundation (EREF). Teaching: Coronell teaches courses such as Physical/Chemical Processes for Water Treatment (ENVR 756) and Science and Technology of Membranes for Water Purification (ENVR 890-002). He advises a dynamic research group with ongoing projects in membrane innovation and environmental engineering.







