Dr. Debora Rodrigues, Associate Professor of Civil & Environmental Engineering

College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics , Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences

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• Areas of expertise

  • Water quality and sustainability
  • Aquatic systems and their microbial ecology
  • Effects of nanomaterials on the environment
  • Nanotechnology and biotechnology for aquatic system safety

• Awards

  • Outstanding Reviewer for the Environmental Science & Engineering Journal (2017) 
  • Certificate of Outstanding Reviewer for Environmental Science: Nano Journal (2017)
  • UH Energy Fellow (2016-2017)
  • Civil/Environmental Award honoree for the 28th HENAAC Conference (2016) 
  • U.S. Dept. of Energy C3E Research Award (2016)
  • Sustainable Nanotechnology Organization Emerging Investigator Award (2014) 
  • NSF RET (Research experience for teachers) outreach Program earned the Spot on  the U.S. President's Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll (2014)
  • Recipient of Certificate of Excellence in recognition of extraordinary achievements by the UH Provost (2014)
  • Recipient of the Certificate of Appreciation from the Wolff Center for Entrepreneurship for supporting and mentoring undergraduate students (2014)

  For more awards, see faculty page above, or CV below.

• Publications

  • Carpio, I.E.M.; Ansari, A; Rodrigues, D.F. Relationship of biodiversity with heavy metal tolerance and sorption capacity: A meta-analysis approach.2018.  Env Sci & Tech. DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.7b04131
  • Nguyen, H.N.; Rodrigues, D.F. Chronic toxicity of graphene and graphene oxide in sequencing batch bioreactors: A comparative investigation. 2018. Journal of Hazardous Materials. 343, 200-207.
  • McLay, R.B.; Nguyen, H.N.; Jaimes-Lizcano, Y.A.; Dewangan, N.K.; Alexandrova, S.; Rodrigues, D.F.; Cirino, P.C.; Conrad, J.C. Level of fimbriation alters the adhesion of Escherichia coli bacteria to interfaces. 2017. Langmuir. DOI: 10.1021/acs.langmuir.7b02447v.
  • Tiu, B.D.B.; Nguyen, H.N.; Rodrigues, D.F.; Advincula, R.C. Electrospinning Superhydrophobic and Antibacterial PS/MWNT Nanofibers onto Multilayer Gas Barrier Films. 2017. Macromol Symp. 374 (1). 1600138. doi:10.1002/masy.201600138.
  • Grande, C.D.; Mangadlao, J.; Fan, J.; Leon, A.D.; Delgado‐Ospina, J.;  Rojas, J. G.; Rodrigues, D.F.; Advincula, R.C. Chitosan Cross‐Linked Graphene Oxide Nanocomposite Films with Antimicrobial Activity for Application in Food Industry. 2017. Macromol. Symp., 374: 1, 1600114. doi:10.1002/masy.201600114
  • Fan, J.; Grande, C.D.; Rodrigues, D.F. Biodegradation of graphene oxide-polymer nanocomposite films in wastewater. 2017. Environmental Science: Nano. DOI: 10.1039/C7EN00396J.
  • Nadres, ET; Perez, JVD; Rodrigues, DF. High-capacity hydrogel polymer composite adsorbent for nitrate and phosphate removal from water. 2018. Proceedings of the Water Environment Federation 2017 (3), 438-460.
  • Oliveira, R.C. Davenport, K.W.; Hovde, B.’; Silva, D.; Chain, P.S.G.; Correa, B.; Rodrigues, D. F.; Draft Genome Sequence of Sorghum Grain Mold Fungus Epicoccum sorghinum, a Producer of Tenuazonic Acid. 2017. Genome announcements 5 (4), e01495-16.
  • Nguyen, H.N.; Nadres, E.T.; Almani, B.G.; Rodrigues, D.F.; Designing polymeric adhesives for antimicrobial materials: poly(ethylene imine) polymer, graphene, graphene oxide and molybdenum trioxide – a biomimetic approach. 2017. Journal of Materials Chemistry B. DOI: 10.1039/C7TB00722A
  • Perez, J.V.D.; Nadres, E.T.; Nguyen, H.N.; Dalida, M.L.P.; Rodrigues, D.F.; Response surface methodology as a powerful tool to optimize the synthesis of polymer-based graphene oxide nanocomposites for simultaneous removal of cationic and anionic heavy metal contaminants. 2017. RSC Advances 7 (30), 18480-18490. 

  For more publications, see faculty website above, CV below, or visit google scholar page here.

• Patents

  • None available.

• Grants and Funded Research

  • Texas Hazardous Waste Research Center award recipient 2015: “Multifunctional graphene-oxide nanocomposite beads for removal of water contaminants in packed bed columns”. Award amount: $ 31,000.
  • Research Partnership to Secure Energy for America award recipient 2014: “Subsea Produced Water Sensor Development”. Award amount: $ 4,580,513 (UH sub-award:  $325,884)
  • NSF workshop: “Career development: from senior undergraduates to navigating assistant professorship”. 2014. Award amount: $ 28,936.00.
  • QNRF award recipient 2016: “Development of a novel polymer-modified graphene oxide nanocomposites for controlling CaSO4 scaling and biofouling on reverse osmosis membrane: Mechanistic study.” Award amount: $223,805.
  • Department of Interior 2016. “Microfiltration system for indirect potable reuse water treatment”. Award Amount: $200,159.
  • NSF Workshop: Collaborative Research: Pan American Nanotechnology Conference: Shaping the Future from November 27th to 30th, 2017 at Guaruja, Sao Paulo, Brazil. 2017. Award Amount: $47,999
  • NSF project “Effects of Surface-Adsorbed Biomolecules and Geomolecules on the Photoreactivity of Metal Oxide Nanomaterials”. 2017. Award Amount: $299,676
  • NSF Project: “Collaborative Research: Professional Preparation of Underrepresented Minority PhD's and Post-Docs for a Career in Engineering Academia” 2017. Award Amount: $190,652
  • NASA Project: “Students Improving Ultralight Balloon Technology for Auroral and Stratospheric Studies. 2016. Award Amount: $100,000
  • DOE Project: “ Toward a better understanding of Bacterial: fungal dynamics in the context of soil microbial communities” 2018. UH Award Amount: $508,633.00. 

  For more research information, see CV below.

• Curriculum Vitae

  • Debora Rodrigues CV

• Contact information