Khan Wins Award at International Environmental Conference

REEM KHAN, a chemistry PhD candidate at Clarkson, is one of three student presentation winners at the 31st International Conference on Soil, Water, Energy and Air hosted by the Association for Environmental Health and Sciences (AEHS) Foundation.

AEHS is a professional organization that provides an international forum for environmental professionals to discuss and develop a common ground for presenting and debating important information related to soil, water and air contamination and advance awareness of environmental issues. The AEHS network spans professional disciplines across the U.S. and abroad, including biology, chemistry, geology, engineering and regulatory science.

AEHS encourages the international community to adopt and maintain environmentally sound and sustainable practices. A panel of judges evaluates presentations based on scientific merit, the value of the project and the student presentation. Three winners are selected yearly to receive a monetary award and attend the award ceremony at the annual AEHS meeting.

Khan’s presentation described developing a low-cost ultrasensitive method for PFAS detection in drinking water. PFAS are a group of synthetic chemicals, which are very persistent in the environment and human body and can lead to adverse health effects. This class of chemicals is difficult to measure due to their low levels, which require detection at the advisory levels of parts per trillion. Improved measurement technologies are needed to achieve greater speed, lower the analysis cost and provide remote real-time capabilities.

Khan is a PhD student in Professor SILVANA ANDREESCU’S lab in the Chemistry and Biomolecular Science Department. “This award is a recognition of our efforts and Reem’s contribution to developing electrochemical methods for PFAS detection,” says Andreescu.

Khan’s work is a portion of a larger project which aims to develop low-cost sensors to more easily monitor environmental contaminants and quantify water pollution.