SPEAKERS

Prof. Paige Novak
Prof. Paige Novak
University of Minnesota

Novak’s area of interest is the biological transformation of hazardous substances in sediment, groundwater, and wastewater, resource recovery, and particularly how engineers can influence these processes.

Paige Novak is a professor and the Joseph T. and Rose S. Ling Chair in Environmental Engineering in the Department of Civil, Environmental, and Geo- Engineering at the University of Minnesota. She also co-directs Minnesota’s Discovery, Research and InnoVation Economy (MnDRIVE) Initiative: Advancing Industry, Conserving our Environment. Novak’s area of interest is the biological transformation of hazardous substances in sediment, groundwater, and wastewater, resource recovery, and particularly how engineers can influence these processes. She received her B.S. in Chemical Engineering from The University of Virginia and her M.S. and Ph.D. in Environmental Engineering from The University of Iowa. Novak was an Aldo Leopold Leadership Program Fellow in 2009 and has been the recipient of several awards, including the Sara Evans Woman Scholar/Leader Award (UMN, 2013), the Bill Boyle Educator of the Year Award (Central States Water Environment Association, 2013), the Samuel Arnold Greeley Award (American Society of Civil Engineers, 2011), and the Paul L. Busch Award (The Water Environment Research Foundation, 2007). She was named Fellow of the Water Environment Federation in 2016 and of the Association of Environmental Engineering and Science Professors in 2019. From 2013 to 2019 Novak served on the National Research Council’s Standing Committee on Chemical Demilitarization. She is currently the Editor in Chief of the Royal Society of Chemistry’s journal Environmental Science: Water Research and Technology. 

Title of the speech: "Encapsulated microorganisms for enhanced wastewater treatment"