(6jn) Biomimetic and Polymeric Membranes for Enhanced Selectivity in Desalination and Ionic Separations

Biomimetic and Polymeric Membranes for Enhanced Selectivity
in Desalination and Ionic Separations

Jay R. Werber

Postdoc: University
of Minnesota, Ph.D: Yale
University

Google
Scholar Profile       jwerber@umn.edu

Research Interests: separations,
membrane separations, polymer materials, biomimetic membranes, water treatment,
hydrometallurgy and extractive separations, metal recycling

Teaching Interests:
transport phenomena, separations, bioprocessing, biochemical engineering,
polymer science

Short bio:

Jay is an environmentally-focused
chemical engineer, dedicated to addressing global issues of water and resource
scarcity. In particular, Jay’s research work is on the design and characterization
of membranes for highly selective molecular separations. Following his B.S.
degree (Ch.E., Washington U., 2009), Jay worked for four years in process
development at the biopharmaceutical company Genentech, engaged in protein
separations using membranes and chromatography. Jay then pursued a Ph.D. at
Yale in Chemical and Environmental Engineering under Prof. Menachem Elimelech.
Jay’s dissertation was centered on understanding the performance of biomimetic
desalination membranes (depicted below), that is, membranes designed to mimic the
structure and selectivity of biological cell membranes. Jay also worked on the characterization
of polymeric membranes, modeling of industrial-scale membrane processes, and interactions
between nanomaterials and lipid bilayers. In order to gain skills in polymer
synthesis and processing, Jay is a postdoctoral associate in the polymer
chemistry lab of Prof. Marc Hillmyer at the University of Minnesota. Jay seeks
a faculty position in Chemical Engineering at a major research university,
where he plans to continue research on membrane separations and transport in
polymers.

Career highlights:

·      
Mentor
to three Ph.D. students, two undergraduates, and one high school student

·      
NSF
Graduate Research Fellowship

·      
Abel
Wolman Fellowship from the American Water Works Association

·      
Best
Graduate Student Paper from the ACS Division of Environmental Chemistry

·      
Primary
author of two successful NSF proposals (CBET 1701658, CBET 1437630) with total
funding of $670,000

·      
Co-valedictorian
of Washington U. School of Engineering

Selected publications (H-index: 11, Total
citations: 1245, as of 4/2019):

1.     Werber, J.R.; Porter, C.J.; Elimelech, M. A
Path to Ultra-Selectivity: Support Layer Properties to Maximize Performance of
Biomimetic Desalination Membranes. Environ.
Sci. Technol. 2018, 52,
10737-10747. DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.8b03426

2.     Werber, J.R; Elimelech, M. Permeability and
Selectivity Limits of Biomimetic Desalination Membranes. Science Advances 2018, 4,
eaar8266. DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.aar8266

3.     Lu, X.; Feng, X.; Werber,
J.R.; Chu, C.; Zucker, I.; Kim, J.H.; Osuji, C.O.; Elimelech, M. Enhanced
Antimicrobial Activity through the Controlled Alignment of Graphene Nanosheets.
Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 2017, 201710996. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1710996114

4.     Werber, J.R.; Bull, S.K.; Elimelech, M.
Acyl-Chloride Quenching Following Interfacial Polymerization to Modulate
Permeability and Surface Charge of Desalination Membranes. Journal of Membrane Science 2017, 535, 357-364. DOI: 10.1016/j.memsci.2017.04.041

5.     Chen, D.*; Werber, J.R.*;
Zhao, X.; Elimelech, M. A Facile Method to Quantify the Carboxyl Group Areal
Density in the Active Layer of Polyamide Thin-Film Composite Membranes. Journal of Membrane Science 2017, 534, 100-108. DOI: 10.1016/j.memsci.2017.04.001

6.     Werber, J.R.*; Deshmukh, A.*; Elimelech, M. Can
batch or semi-batch processes save energy in reverse-osmosis desalination? Desalination 2017, 402, 109-122. DOI: 10.1016/j.desal.2016.09.028

7.     Werber, J.R.; Deshmukh, A.; Elimelech, M. The
Critical Need for Increased Selectivity, Not Increased Water Permeability, for
Desalination Membranes. Environ. Sci.
Technol. Lett. 2016, 3, 112-120. DOI: 10.1021/acs.estlett.6b00050

8.     Werber, J.R.; Osuji, C.O.; Elimelech, M.
Materials for next-generation desalination and water purification membranes. Nature Reviews Materials 2016, 1, 16018. DOI: 10.1038/natrevmats.2016.18

* equal contribution