1. Ryan DuChanois is conducting
research on water treatment. He
received a Greater Research
Opportunities Fellowship to support his
work.
University of Arkansas
Arkansas Newswire
Engineering Student Receives Fellowship from the
Environmental Protection Agency
Thursday, November 06, 2014
Ryan DuChanois, a University of
Arkansas Honors College student and
junior majoring in civil engineering, has
received a Greater Research
Opportunities Fellowship from the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency. The
GRO Fellowship will provide DuChanois
with an EPA internship next summer, a
$23,000 stipend for the internship and
undergraduate research during his junior
and senior year, $22,000 for tuition and
a $5,000 expense allowance.
DuChanois is conducting his research
under the supervision of Wen Zhang,
assistant professor of civil engineering at
the University of Arkansas. Zhang is
working with Ranil Wickramasinghe,
professor of chemical engineering and
holder of the Ross E. Martin Endowed
Chair in Emerging Technologies, and
Xianghong Qian, associate professor of
biomedical engineering, on the removal
of endocrine disrupters from wastewater.
People are becoming concerned about
the scarcity of drinking water sources in the United States due to unavailable
groundwater and deceasing volume of surface water. To solve this problem, Zhang,
Wickramasinghe and Qian are looking at water reuse to supplement drinking water.

2. “What about wastewater?” Zhang asked. She explained that treated wastewater is
usually discharged to a nearby stream, lake or river. Instead of being returned to
nature, wastewater can be reused directly as a source of drinking water. The main
roadblock to using wastewater as drinking water is the process of removing micro-
contaminants such as endocrine disrupters, including organic compounds,
pharmaceuticals and pesticides, from the water. In order to effectively and efficiently
remove these compounds, they must know what percentage of the compounds need to
be removed for the water to be safe enough for consumption.
This is where DuChanois’ research comes in. He is researching several assays on the
toxicity assessment of emerging contaminants found in wastewater. DuChanois will
look at five specific compounds and assess their toxicity. His tests will reveal what
kinds of toxicity the compounds are causing, such as ecotoxicity or genotoxicity, and
whether or not it is safe to leave these compounds in the water. DuChanois will use the
results of his research to decide the necessary percentage of removal of each
compound from wastewater.
“I enjoy research, and I’ve done a lot of projects focused on water quality in the past,”
DuChanois said. “I knew I was interested in what the EPA promotes, so I went to
Professor Zhang’s office last semester and talked to her about her research. This
project specifically interested me.”
“Ryan is a great student, so I was excited when he told me he was interested in
environmental research,” Zhang said. “And the EPA Fellowship is very prestigious, so
I’m very happy for him.”
Keywords: Awards & Appointments (http://www.uark.edu/Articles/Archive/?topic=awards-
appointments) Engineering (http://www.uark.edu/Articles/Archive/?topic=engineering) Research &
Innovation (http://www.uark.edu/Articles/Archive/?topic=research-innovation) Sustainability &
Environment (http://www.uark.edu/Articles/Archive/?topic=sustainability-environment)
Contacts:
Kathryn Chevrier, communications intern
College of Engineering
479-575-5697, engrcomm@uark.edu (mailto:engrcomm@uark.edu)
Camilla Shumaker, director of communications
College of Engineering
479-575-5697, camillas@uark.edu (mailto:camillas@uark.edu)