(upbeat orchestral music)

- Hello, and thank you

for tuning into
Connections and Directions.

Our University of Michigan
Civil and Environmental

Engineering podcast.

My name is Michelle Santillan,

and I am the CEE Marketing
Communications Specialist

and host of this series.

During our podcasts, we
are featuring members

of our CEE community and how
their work reflects our mission

of engineers in service to society.

We will be highlighting
our strategic directions

and our commitment to
diversity, equity and inclusion.

CEE's five strategic
directions are human habitat,

experience, shaping resource
flows, adaptation, automation,

and smart infrastructure finance.

Professor Joshua Jack
comes to UM's CEE from

the Andlinger Center for
Energy and Environment

and the Civil and Environmental
Engineering Department

at Princeton University,

where he was a post
doctoral research scholar.

His current research focuses
on energy and resource recovery

as part of a sustainable
water energy climate nexus

with a special focus

on process design of bioelectrical
chemical technologies

towards scalable CO2, valorization

and advanced water treatment.

Welcome professor Jack, and thank you

for being with us today.

- [Jack] Thanks. It's great to be here.

- [Santillan] What I'd like to
do first is ask you to share

with our listeners some details

about your research area and goals

and how they align with
CEE's strategic directions

and our mission of engineers
in service to society.

- [Jack] Yeah, so after reviewing
many different departments

I'm absolutely thrilled to be
continuing my academic journey

in the CEE department at
the University of Michigan.

This is not just because

of the amazing faculty and facilities, but

because also my strong
support of the goals outlined

in the CEE strategic
directions and my dedication

to the overall mission of
engineering and service

to society.

Recently has become evident that issues

including global climate change,
increasing large scarcity

and rapid urbanization
and population growth

all pose huge environmental
challenges that we

must work together to
tackle on the next century.

Central to tackling these
issues is understanding

and advancing our water
energy climate nexus

which is really the
cornerstone of my research.

This includes developing transformative

and disruptive technologies
that can decarbonize

our existing water energy
and waste management sectors.

This also includes developing
new resource recovery

tools that can help us reclaim
valuable nutrients, energy

and water from environmental
and chemical processes.

Overall, these initiatives are really

in line with the CEE strategic directions,

that note two important
tools in addressing some

of these impending
environmental challenges

will involve reshaping our
resource flows and adapting

to a changing environment.

With these goals in mind
I've often thought about

what our future would look
like if we didn't have any

pollution or waste and
how amazing that would be

for our society and humankind
as a whole. In the past

I've conducted ancillary
research to develop new CO2

valorization technologies
that can help us directly

leverage renewable electricity
to redirect resource flows

in a new circular economy.

Through this work I've
developed research expertise

in areas such as electrochemistry,

material science,
microbiology, and engineering

especially I've combined knowledge

from each of these areas
to develop multiple

new hybrid electrochemical
biological processes

which is a big word, but
others also call them

microbial electrochemical technologies.

These devices can actually
be used to upgrade waste

like food waste, waste water, sludge

and even CO2 and high
value fuels and chemicals.

While also recovering
important resources like water

and nutrients and energy.
At large, these hybrid

electrochemical biological
processes are really amazing

cause they can take advantage
of both the high rates

of electron transfer that you can achieve

electrochemically, as well

as the highly selective
biosynthesis pathways offered

by bacteria or enzymes.

Overall these devices have
the potential to help us

take materials that were
previously classified as waste

and repurpose them in other
sectors of our economy

they can help us treat
waste waters and enable

new desalination processes
to combat water scarcity.

They can even help us
recover diverse nutrients

like nitrogen and phosphorus
from waste streams

or even help us capture

and convert CO2 in turn
to value added chemicals

which has been the core of
my research in the past.

For example,

while completing my doctoral
degree at CU Boulder

I developed a used two
stage biochemical process

that converted waste CO2 into
sun gas that was then fed

to downstream bacteria and upgraded

into value added organics
like ethanol and 23BDO

which can be used as fuels.

More recently, I actually
built off this initial work

during my postdoc at Princeton
to develop a first of a kind

electro enzymatic process

that uses enzymes to convert waste CO2

into precursors for high
value pharmaceuticals.

So as you can see

these technologies can have
an amazing value proposition

as we're literally taking
waste greenhouse gases

and trying to turn them
into life saving medicines.

As a new assistant
professor, I plan to build

on the success of these projects
to close the current gap

between research at the bench scale

for these electro chemical
biologic processes

and diverse environmental applications.

At large my group will bring
together diverse researchers

from different backgrounds
to study new materials

catalytic mechanisms

and process designs that can
support resource recovery

and decarbonization of the water sector.

This will really involve
integrating new types

of waste streams into these
electrochemical processes

and trying to remove remissions

from our water sector as a whole.

This will include different processes

including wastewater treatment

water use, waste validation,
remediation, desalination

and of course, carbon capture utilization.

In the near term, I hope
to develop some integrated

processes that can
actually treat wastewater

and simultaneously capture and convert CO2

while reclaiming nutrients
from the wastewater itself.

Through these types of projects,

I see some really good
opportunities to work

within the CEE department on topics such

as wastewater treatment,
biotechnology remediation

even data analytics. In the midterm,

I'll be spending some more time looking

at some of the fundamental aspects

of carbon electron transfer that occurs

at the abiotic/biotic interface

which will involve
developing advanced materials

and studying electrochemical
processes, through

which I see some great
opportunities to really work closely

with the chemical engineering
material science departments

at UM, as well as closely
with others involved

with initiatives such as
the Graham Environmental

Sustainability Institute and
the Global CO2 Initiative

there on UM's campus.

And so building off of
some this initial work

I hope to progress these technologies

and end up scaling them.

So like what's the point of
making these technologies if

we don't actually use them, right?

So this will actually
involve doing some technical

economic analyses and
life cycle assessments

to understand the socio
and economic benefits

of our initial designs.

In addition, my group will also be looking

at developing some new immersion tools and

automation tools to effectively
integrate these technologies

with the related water
and energy infrastructure.

So, overall I think the culmination

of my research can really
have a profound effect

on how society views
and utilizes resources.

And as a new professor it is
my goal to use this research

to serve the common good and
improve the human condition

for as many people as possible.

So I guess that's a good overview.

- [Santillan] Could you give an example

in what types of medicines or, you know

what types of diseases might
be able to be controlled

through some of these, some

of these medicines that
you, that you're projecting?

- [Jack] Yeah, really that
study I discussed was a proof

of concept where we first
were trying to use CO2

as the feed stock to produce a class

of lipid lowering medication
used to treat heart disease

which is called statins.

And statins are actually amongst the most

in demand and highest value
class of pharmaceuticals around.

So it's a great chemical
to sort of open the door

to this new idea of using CO2

as a food stock to make a medicine.

And so there's others that
we're starting to explore,

and hopefully as part
of my initial research

we'll be expanding the portfolio

of different pharmaceuticals
we can make out of CO2.

- [Santillan] What are some additional

if you wouldn't mind providing
some additional details

on things like the CO2 valorization

and some other maybe specific examples

of how you can bring those

into to consumer goods or,
or other purposes that, that

in someone in layman's
terms might be able to

might be dealing with on
a, on a regular basis?

- [Jack] Yeah. So as we all
know, I mean, there's ton

of, tons of CO2 off in the
atmosphere, 3,200 gigatons.

And so what we can do is try to use that

as our low cost feed stock,
and actually you extract value

from that waste source
up in the atmosphere.

And we're really starting
to just scratch the surface

of the things that we can make.

We can definitely start to
target consumer products

or precursors for those to make fuels.

We can make pharmaceuticals,
like I mentioned,

we can make various solvents,

one project I worked on was
making isopropyl alcohol

which is in some of the hand
sanitizers and things we use.

So there's a whole range

of different things we're
starting to look at, but a lot

of them are just the
precursors to actually

make chemicals that are the
finished product for society.

So we're working on expanding

the portfolio currently though.

- [Santillan] So how did
you become interested

in your area of study? Was
there a course that you took

or a personal experience
you had that led you to

explore this topic in depth?

- [ Jack] Yeah, I guess
growing up in New York City

I was really fascinated by infrastructure

and it's relationship with
the national environment.

And in college, I wanted do
something that I could, you know

have a direct improvement in
the lives of other people.

And I found with environmental engineering

I could directly improve
the lives of others

delivering them, clean
water, air, soil, and energy.

And so towards the end of college

I was really involved with
the Engineers Without Borders,

which I'm sure a lot of you know of

and through several trips to
places like Kenya and Nepal.

I was able to see firsthand
how environmental engineering

could be really leveraged to
make the world a better place.

And after this, I started thinking deeply

about some of the world's
environmental issues

and found that areas
such as climate change,

water scarcity, and increasing population

and rapid urbanization might present some

of the most challenging
issues that we face today

and solving them could
actually provide a huge benefit

for the most amount of people possible.

And so I started researching ways

that we could alleviate these challenges

by developing new
technologies that can help us

decarbonize various sectors

and others that can upgrade
different waste streams

into value added products,
and even doing both at once.

So related to these initiatives

I became really enthralled by the topic

of environmental catalysis,
as I've started calling it,

which includes electrochemical,
biological, photochemical

and thermochemical
processes that we can use to

directly exploit cheap,
renewable electricity

to redirect resource flows in our society

and perhaps even create a
new circular carbon economy.

And digging deeper into this,
I found a great curiosity

for these processes at a fundamental level

as well as the impact they
could have in our society.

So I'm really excited to
continue my research very soon

as I have tons of scientific
questions to address

and a lot of new technologies
I wanna test out in the lab.

- [Santillan] What
classes do you anticipate

teaching initially? And do you have ideas

for additional courses
that you would like to

bring online down the road?

- [Jack] Yeah, so per
some internal discussion

I plan to initially teach classes

like CEE592 on biological
process engineering

and CEE482 and 582 on
environmental microbiology.

Overall environmental biotechnology
has been a common thread

in my research.

So these courses are really perfect

for me to actually start off with.

In the near future I'd like
to build off my expertise

through research and actually
offer a new graduate course

on environmental electrochemistry

which we're still talking about.

But in this course I could envision

us covering fundamental
electrochemical topics

and then expanding on
that to actually see how

electrochemically or,
electrochemistry, rather, can be used

in renewable energy storage

carbon validation, chemical synthesis

and other related
environmental applications.

In addition,

I could envision this course
covering topics related

to microbial electrochemical technologies

which can be used in diverse areas, such

as wastewater treatment, water
reuse, desalination, carbon

caption utilization, and even remediation.

And so a little further down the road

it would be great to
teach a separate class

even on a carbon capture

and maybe call it
environmental decarbonization

where we could look at the advances

in carbon capture utilization
and sequestration technologies

as this space continues to evolve.

And I think that would really
give our students a broad kind

of perspective on
environmental engineering

and allow them to think
interdisciplinarily to

solve these emergent
challenges and even really

start to think about
how we can leverage some

of these great advances
in renewable energy

technologies to treat
different waste streams

and be integrating different
environmental processes.

So overall, it's really one

of my goals to prepare our
students to solve challenges

that we don't know exists
yet and hopefully turn them

into independent and
science-literate thinkers.

So I'm really excited to start
teaching my first class soon

at University of Michigan.

- [Santillan] And how do you
incorporate diversity, equity,

and inclusion in your
research and your courses?

- [Jack] Yeah, actually coming

from an underrepresented
minority group in STEM

this is certainly a topic
that hits home for me.

Overall, I'm really
dedicated to understanding

and removing barriers that
prevent underrepresented groups

from reaching their full potential

in science and engineering.

In the past, I've been
involved in advancing DEI

to participation in
groups and programs such

as the NSF teaching fellowship
that I had during my time

at Colorado, that aimed
to improve participation

from diverse groups in STEM.

Another involvement I had was

through the Colorado Diversity Initiative.

They had a smart program, they called it,

where they provided mentors
for undergraduate researchers

from marginalized groups and
tried to get them started in

university level research.

And then I've also been
in clubs such as SHIP

the Black Student Union
and Latinos Princetonians

here at Princeton, and so overall

through this experiments or
experiences, rather, I found

that the major pillars
to create and sustain DEI

in engineering include outreach,
advancement, and community.

And so while a UM t I hope
to continue to be involved

in advancing DEI on campus
by engaging in events

through the Center for
Engineering diversity

and outreach. With programs
like OnRamp, Next Prof, SHIP,

as well as being involved with
the CEE diversity committee.

In addition to involvement
with these groups, I plan

on discussing case studies
related to environmental justice

surrounding climate change and
equitable resource management

in both my research and courses.

And I've already been doing
some research in this area.

Overall, you know, I
hope to use my time at UM

to continue to expand my
skills and knowledge around DEI

and work with other faculty
to greatly advance DEI

and engineering community

because I think it's a
very important topic.

- [Santillan] And is
there a general message

that you would like to convey
to our UM CEE audience?

Is there anything you'd
like to add that perhaps

I did not ask or address
during our conversation?

- [Jack] Yeah, I guess so
the vision of the College

of Engineering at the
University of Michigan is to

be the world's preeminent
college serving the common good

which is a great goal
that I really support.

Through the research done in my group,

I see immense opportunities
to work together

at the forefront of innovation
to reshape our resource flows

decarbonize various sectors

and mitigate the impending
impacts of climate change,

which can really help
our society as a whole.

So while at UM I hope to
demonstrate leadership

in these emergent spaces
and use my research

and teaching to make the
world a better place.

As such, I'd like to
invite anybody listening to

and who's interested in
my work to please follow

up with me via email,
check out my publications.

I'm actually looking
to hire a few postdocs

and PhD students very soon.

So if you're interested,
feel free you to reach out.

You can also follow me on
Twitter @jjack.engineer.

So you can find me there
and connect with me there.

I'll also have a personal website coming

out relatively soon, as well

as an academic web page to
give you some more information

on my research and teaching.

And so I encourage you
all to check those out.

- [Santillan] Well, thank you. We will.

And we appreciate you spending time

with us today in conversation

and we look forward to
seeing you on campus.

(upbeat orchestral music)

Thank you for listening to
our podcast conversation.

For more information about CEE at Michigan

please visit our website at

cee.umich.edu.

You can also reach our YouTube channel

and Facebook, Twitter, Instagram

and LinkedIn pages from our website.