We are thrilled to welcome two Ph.D. students, Sowmya Atukuri and Yining Zhang, to our Environmental Engineering Ph.D. program at NJIT!
Sowmya, originally from India, had a Bachelor’s in Horticulture from Dr. Y.S.R. Horticultural University. She recently obtained her master’s degree in environmental science from the Department of Chemistry and Environmental Science at NJIT. During her master’s program study, she also followed Dr. Wen Zhang to work on nanobubble technology and finished a master’s thesis that was defended in May 2025. Now, Sowmya is continuing to pursue her Ph.D. in Dr. Zhang’s group and will work on research in electric-field-driven oil-water separation with funding support from the American Chemical Society Petroleum Research Fund, which will integrate microfluidics, QCM, and other techniques for sustainable nanobubble-based oil removal processes from impaired water removal.
Yining, originally from China, had a bachelor’s in pharmacy from Beijing University of Chinese Medicine. He obtained his master’s in biotechnology management and entrepreneurship from Yeshiva University this May. He has over three years of laboratory experience, including biocompatibility testing, mammalian cell culture, and analytical methods. This 2025 summer, he worked as an intern in Dr. Zhang’s group and contributed to projects on nanobubble technology and plant growth assessment. More excitingly, he will lead his Ph.D. research in fundamental sciences and applications of nanobubbles and hydrogels for sustainable agriculture under funding support from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA, Award #: 2024-67021-42716), focusing on improving irrigation efficiency, nutrient delivery, and plant-water interactions.
Welcome Lunch with New Students