SPEAKIN’ OUT NEWS
A University of Alabama in Huntsville professor has been awarded a $1.2 million grant from the National Science Foundation to help address the growing environmental and public health threat posed by so-called “forever chemicals.”
Dr. Yu Lei, a professor in UAH’s College of Engineering and chair of the Department of Chemical & Materials Engineering, will lead the university’s role in a multi-state, $6 million collaborative research effort focused on removing and converting per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). The project is scheduled to run through August 2029 and is led by Dr. Dongxia Liu at the University of Delaware, with partners in Alabama, Delaware, and South Carolina.
PFAS are a group of thousands of man-made chemicals widely used in products such as nonstick cookware, waterproof clothing, food packaging, and cosmetics. Known as “forever chemicals,” PFAS are extremely difficult to break down due to their strong carbon–fluorine bonds and have been linked to serious health risks, including cancer, immune system damage, and fertility issues.
“PFAS have become an emerging environmental and public concern,” Lei said. “When NSF announced this program, it was a natural fit for us to collaborate.”
At UAH, researchers will focus on two major challenges: concentrating PFAS from very low levels in water and developing methods to break down or defluorinate the chemicals, converting them into harmless materials. The work is grounded in a circular economy approach, emphasizing sustainability, material recovery, and energy efficiency.
The project integrates laboratory research and advanced computational modeling across seven universities, combining expertise in materials science, electrochemistry, reaction engineering, artificial intelligence, and social science.
Beyond its scientific goals, the initiative places strong emphasis on workforce development, training graduate students, postdoctoral researchers, and early-career faculty through cross-state collaboration.
“The goal is not only to address PFAS contamination,” Lei said, “but to build the next generation of scientists and engineers equipped to solve future environmental challenges.”
