Cory Rusinek

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are persistent chemicals contaminating waters at the global level. In Michigan, exposure awareness is at an all-time high with many reports of  PFAS-impacted waters throughout the state. Working at the public infrastructure level, Michigan State University-Fraunhofer USA, Inc. Center for Coatings and Diamond Technologies (MSU-Fraunhofer) is developing a scalable treatment option for PFAS-contaminated wastewater.

The presentation will cover the basic and applied research findings of using electrochemical oxidation (EO) with boron-doped diamond (BDD) electrodes to destroy PFAS in wastewater and other complex samples. Various complimentary treatment technologies for PFAS remediation will also be addressed.

Electrochemist and lead researcher on the project, Dr. Cory Rusinek, will provide a lecture on these latest findings entitled “PFAS remediation at MSU-Fraunhofer: electrochemical destruction in wastewater using boron-doped diamond electrodes.”

The lecture will be held at the Michigan State University Bioeconomy Institute (MSUBI), at 3 p.m. on Wednesday, November 28, 2018. MSUBI is located at 242 Howard Avenue, Holland, MI.

The public is invited to attend and municipalities may have a particular interest in hearing about this upcoming technology.

Cory Rusinek is a Scientist at the Michigan State University-Fraunhofer USA, Inc. Center for Coatings and Diamond Technologies. He received his bachelor’s degree in Chemistry at Case Western Reserve University and completed his PhD in electroanalytical chemistry at the University of Cincinnati under the direction of Prof. William R. Heineman. Since joining the MSU-Fraunhofer Center, Cory has worked on or initiated several projects including remediation of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances in wastewater, wearable sensors for measurements of lead in sweat, and neurotransmitter detection with diamond microfibers.

The MSU-Fraunhofer Center is a non-profit R&D organization committed to bridging the research gap between academia and industry. Over 70 MSU students (graduate and undergraduate) work at the Center executing a variety of basic and applied research across various fields of engineering, materials science, physics, and chemistry. Learn more about how diamond technology cleans up PFAS-contaminated water.

No registration required.