Geosyntec Announces Winners of 2026 Student Paper Competition

The winner of the 2026 competition is Shuai Wang of the Georgia Institute of Technology for the paper, "Locally Enhanced Electric Field Treatment (LEEFT) for Capturing Nanoplastics and Microplastics from Water." Shuai receives an all-expenses-paid trip to the Battelle 2027 Sediments Conference in Austin, Texas, or a cash prize of $2,000 USD.

Congratulations, Shuai!

The two second-place winners received a prize of $1,000 each. Broquell Wong of the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, was chosen for the paper, "PFASylated Lipids as a Diagnostic Target for PFAS Burden and Transformation in Soil and Groundwater," and Liang Cheng of Pennsylvania State University was chosen for the paper, "From Immobilization to Reoxidation: Mineral Controls on the Long-Term Stability of Chromium in Soil and Groundwater."

Congratulations, Broquell and Liang!

The three third-place winners received a prize of $500 each. Lauren Mellinger of the University of Texas at Austin was honored for the paper, "Spatially Controlled Biomineralization for Beneficial Reuse of Groundwater Contaminants." Pariya Amigh of the Colorado School of Mines was chosen for the paper, "Application of Integrated Foam Fractionation and Nanofiltration Systems for Treatment of PFAS from Groundwater." Tong Zhou of the Missouri University of Science and Technology was honored for the paper, "Uptake, Distribution, and Thermal Degradation of PFAS in Poplar for Phytoremediation."

Congratulations, Lauren, Pariya, and Tong!

More Information About the Student Paper Competition

For more information on Geosyntec's Annual Groundwater Student Paper Contest, contact [email protected].