Education and Professional Development

• Ph.D., Environmental Engineering, University of Houston
• M.Eng, Environmental Engineering, National University of Singapore
• B.S., Civil Engineering (specialization in Water and Wastewater Engineering), Hefei University of Technology
• Related graduate-level course include physicochemical treatment processes, water engineering, wastewater engineering, municipal drinking water treatment, environmental chemistry, biological processes for wastewater treatment, environmental microbiology, environmental remediation technology, and solid and hazardous waste treatment processes

Registrations and Professional Affiliations

• Texas Professional Environmental Engineer
• American Water Works Association

Summary of Professional Experience

Dr. Lin has 7 years of research and professional experience in water, wastewater, and environmental engineering. She specializes in water and wastewater treatment, ground water fate and transport modeling, water quality monitoring, and eutrophication studies. Dr. Lin's expertise also includes the development of combined ion-exchange and biological treatment systems for perchlorate and nitrate removal from ground water. Dr. Lin has submitted and published peer-reviewed journal articles and presented papers at technical conferences and seminars. Her specialties include:

• Water and wastewater treatment
• Ground water fate and transport modeling and light nonaqueous phase liquid modeling
• Ground water and soil remediation
• Water quality monitoring
• Eutrophication studies

Representative Experience

• Dr. Lin reviewed full and pre-proposals and work plans related to the development of perchlorate and nitrate treatment technology in support of the Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program and Environmental Security Technology Certification Program.
• Dr. Lin performed laboratory research for treatment of perchlorate and nitrate from contaminated soil and ground water. She conducted column studies to evaluate the combined biological/ion-exchange method for in-situ removal of perchlorate and nitrate from ground water and soil. She designed and operated a laboratory sequencing batch reactor for removing perchlorate and nitrate from process spent brine. She also determined the required conditions to stabilize the rapid perchlorate-reducing culture in process spent brine.
• Dr. Lin performed routine water quality analysis and helped the management of daily operation of a drinking water treatment plant in China. The drinking water treatment plant consists of conventional water treatment processes such as pre-sedimentation, coagulation, flocculation, sedimentation, filtration, and disinfection. She completed design and cost estimation of water distribution systems for small communities. She acted as an Assistant Site Supervisor for construction and equipment installation of a drinking water treatment plant extension project.
• Dr. Lin designed a municipal wastewater treatment plant. The treatment process consists of bar screening, grit removal, activated sludge treatment, sedimentation, disinfection, and sludge digestion and dewatering.
• Dr. Lin designed a biological process for wastewater treatment. The treatment process consists of screening and grit removal, activated sludge treatment, filtration, and disinfection.
• Dr. Lin was a key contributor in the eutrophication studies of Singapore 's coastal waters. She designed and implemented field sampling protocols for 30 sampling stations at regular time intervals. She performed water quality analysis including nutrients and size-fractionated chlorophyll in order to assess the water quality of Singapore 's coastal waters. She used a flow cytometer for phytoplankton detection and enumeration.
• Dr. Lin calibrated a regional ground water flow model for a California region where methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE) is the concern. The regional model is a MODFLOW model with more than 550,000 nodes and 11 layers spanning a total depth of less than 600 feet. The model covers an area of 25 square miles and includes fault systems in its domain. The calibrated model was used for contaminant transport analysis. Predictions were made in support of litigation.
• Dr. Lin calibrated a three-dimensional numerical model to simulate ground water flow and contaminant transport at a major terminal site in Virginia. MODFLOW-SURFACT code was selected to simulate transport of benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylenes (BTEX) in both saturated and unsaturated zones. The model has three layers and more than 130,000 active cells. Predictive simulations were performed to support site remediation decisions.
• Dr. Lin calibrated a three-dimensional MODFLOW model that has three layers and a total of 58,000 grid nodes. The calibrated model was used to conduct a detailed analysis of the containment system to ensure capture of the contamination. Transport analyses will be conducted to evaluate the capture and attenuation of dissolved chlorinated constituents across the site.
• Dr. Lin calibrated a three-dimensional MODFLOW-SURFACT model at a remediation site. In particular, the site model covers approximately 1700 acres and consists of over 11,000 nodes with variable spacing ranging from 50 to 600 feet. The modeling effort involved updating the existing ground water flow and transport model with new site data, calibrating the model to new fluid level and water quality measurements, and evaluating the relationship between potential source and downgradient concentrations at the property boundary.

Publications and Presentations