Mark R. Wiesner

James B. Duke Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering

Wiesner's research interests include membrane processes, nanostructured materials, transport and fate of nanomaterials in the environment, colloidal and interfacial processes, and environmental systems analysis.

Appointments and Affiliations

• James B. Duke Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering
• Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering
• Chair of the Department of Civil & Environmental Engi
• Professor of Environmental Science and Policy
• Faculty Network Member of The Energy Initiative
• Associate of the Duke Initiative for Science & Society

Contact Information

• Office Location: 120 Hudson Hall, Durham, NC 27708-0287
• Office Phone: (919) 660-5292
• Email Address: wiesner@duke.edu
• Websites:
  • http://ceint.duke.edu/
  • http://wiesner.cee.duke.edu

Education

• Ph.D. Johns Hopkins University, 1985
• M.S. University of Iowa, 1980
• B.A. Coe College, 1978

Research Interests

Membrane processes, nanostructured materials, transport and fate of nanomaterials in the environment, colloidal and interfacial processes, and environmental systems analysis

Awards, Honors, and Distinctions

• Fellow. Association of Environmental Engineering and Science Professors. 2015
• Member of the National Academy of Engineering. National Academy of Engineering. 2015
• Clarke Water Prize. National Water Research Institute. 2011
• Fellow. International Water Association. 2011
• AAAS Fellows. American Association for the Advancement of Science, The. 2009
• Fellow. American Society of Civil Engineers,. 2009
• Stansell Family Distinguished Research Award. Duke University. 2009
• Honorary Professor. Nankai University, Tianjin, China. 2007
• Frontiers in Research Award. Association of Environmental Engineering and Science Professors. 2004
• Pierre de Fermat Lauréat and Chair of Excellence. L’Institut National Polytechnique, Toulouse, France. 2004
• Charles Duncan Award for Scholarship and Teaching. Rice University. 1998
• Rudolph Hering Medal. American Society of Civil Engineers. 1995
• Rudolph Hering Medal. Environmental Engineering Division, ASCE. 1995
• J.J. Barr Award. National Association of Water Companies. 1985
• Member. Phi Beta Kappa. 1978
• Undergraduate Investigator. National Science Foundation. 1978

Courses Taught

• CEE 560: Environmental Transport Phenomena
• CEE 564: Physical Chemical Processes in Environmental Engineering
• ENVIRON 899: Master's Project
• MENG 550: Master of Engineering Internship/Project
• MENG 551: Master of Engineering Internship/Project Assessment

In the News

• Duke Faculty Plentiful On ‘Highly Cited’ List (Nov 27, 2018)
• Ten Years In, What Has CEINT Taught Us? (Oct 31, 2018 | Pratt School of Engineering)
• All That Is Gold Is Not Biochemically Stable (Aug 28, 2018 | Pratt School of Engineering)
• Energy Initiative Awards Seven New Seed Grants (Apr 28, 2017)
• Investigating the Impact of Nanomaterials on Living Things (Jan 11, 2017)
• When Art Tackles the Invisibly Small (Dec 12, 2016 | Duke Research Blog)
• Four Pratt Faculty Listed Among Most Highly Cited (Jan 26, 2016)
• Duke Days in China Features Research Presentations by Faculty (Oct 21, 2015)
• A Digital Poetry of Gold Nanoparticles (Oct 6, 2015)
• Two New Studies Set Ground Rules for Nanotechnology Research (Aug 19, 2015)
• Wiesner Named Chair Of Duke CEE (Mar 30, 2015)
• Wiesner and Daubechies Named National Academy of Engineering Members (Feb 6, 2015)
• Mark Wiesner comments: Silver too small to see, but everywhere you look (May 28, 2014 | The New York Times)
• CEINT’s French Connection Provides Students with International Ties (Apr 13, 2014)
• Duke goes small to make big breakthroughs with $15M grant (Nov 13, 2013 | Triangle Business Journal)
• Duke goes small to make big breakthroughs with $15M grant (Nov 13, 2013 | Triangle Business Journal)

Representative Publications

• Li, L; Tian, Y; Zhang, J; Sun, L; Zuo, W; Li, H; Huang, D; Zhan, W; Wiesner, MR, Enhanced denitrifying phosphorus removal and mass balance in a worm reactor, Chemosphere, vol 226 (2019), pp. 883-890 [10.1016/j.chemosphere.2019.04.021] [abs].
• Wan, Y; Xie, P; Wang, Z; Ding, J; Wang, J; Wang, S; Wiesner, MR, Comparative study on the pretreatment of algae-laden water by UV/persulfate, UV/chlorine, and UV/H2O2: Variation of characteristics and alleviation of ultrafiltration membrane fouling., Water Research, vol 158 (2019), pp. 213-226 [10.1016/j.watres.2019.04.034] [abs].
• Farner Budarz, J; Cooper, EM; Gardner, C; Hodzic, E; Ferguson, PL; Gunsch, CK; Wiesner, MR, Chlorpyrifos degradation via photoreactive TiO2 nanoparticles: Assessing the impact of a multi-component degradation scenario., Journal of Hazardous Materials, vol 372 (2019), pp. 61-68 [10.1016/j.jhazmat.2017.12.028] [abs].
• Li, L; Zhang, J; Tian, Y; Sun, L; Zuo, W; Li, H; Li, A; Wiesner, MR, A novel approach for fouling mitigation in anaerobic-anoxic-oxic membrane bioreactor (A2O-MBR) by integrating worm predation., Environment International, vol 127 (2019), pp. 615-624 [10.1016/j.envint.2019.02.041] [abs].
• Smith, RC; Taggart, RK; Hower, JC; Wiesner, MR; Hsu-Kim, H, Selective Recovery of Rare Earth Elements from Coal Fly Ash Leachates Using Liquid Membrane Processes., Environmental Science & Technology, vol 53 no. 8 (2019), pp. 4490-4499 [10.1021/acs.est.9b00539] [abs].

Additional Information

Honors and Awards

• Phi Beta Kappa, 1978.
• National Science Foundation Undergraduate Investigator, 1978.
• J.J. Barr Award of the National Association of Water Companies, 1985.
• National Science Foundation Research Initiation Award, 1989-1991.
• Association of Environmental Engineering Professors AWWA invited lecturer, 1993.
• Rudolph Hering Medal, Environmental Engineering Division, ASCE, 1995.
• Charles Duncan Award for Scholarship and Teaching, Rice University, 1998.
• North American Membrane Society, Student Research Award (Vladimir Tarabara), 2003.
• AIChE Graduate Research Award for Membrane-Based Separations (Vladimir Tarabara), 2003.
• Pierre de Fermat Laureate and Chair of Excellence, French National Polytechnic Institute, Toulouse, 2004
• AEESP Frontiers in Research Award, 2004

Professional Societies

• American Chemical Society
• Association of Environmental Engineering and Science Professors
• American Institute of Chemical Engineers
• American Water Works Association
• International Water Association
• North American Membrane Society

Professional and Service Activities

• Associate Editor, Environmental Engineering Sciences
• Associate Editor, Journal of Environmental Engineering, American Society of Civil Engineers, 1993-1999.
• Gubernatorial Appointee, Texas Council on Environmental Technology, 2000 – 2004.
• Scientific Advisory Board Member, European Center for Geosciences and Environment, Aix-en-Provence, France, 2003-present
• Foresight Advisory Board, Suez-Environnement, Paris, France, 2004-present.
• Rapporteur, French Ministry of Research and Education, 2002.
• Consultant, USEPA Science Advisory Board, 1999.
• Scientific Advisory Board Member, International Center for Water, Nancy, France, 1996-present.
• Advisory Committee member, Universidad Nacional de Litoral, Santa Fe, Argentina, 1998.
• Chair, Technical Review Panel of Life Support Systems for Station and Exploration, NASA, 1998.
• Panel member, U.S.E.P.A. Blue Ribbon Panel on evaluating costs of Federal environmental regulations, 1996.
• Committee member, Environmental Engineering Education Task Group, International Association on Water Quality 1994- 1998.
• Founding Chair, American Water Works Association, Research Committee on Membrane Technology, 1988-1992.
• Chair, American Water Work Association, Publications Award Committee, 1995-1997.
• Panel member, Science panel of the Houston Environmental Foresight Committee, 1995.