Xiaoqi (Jackie) Zhang is a professor in the department of Civil & Environmental Engineering at UMass Lowell.

Xiaoqi (Jackie) Zhang, Ph.D., P.E.

Department Chair, Professor

Pronouns
she/her
College
Francis College of Engineering
Department
Civil & Environmental Engineering
Phone
978-934-2287
Fax
978-934-3052
Office
Shah Hall 210

Expertise

Wastewater Treatment

Research Interests

Biological wastewater treatment, water quality monitoring, nutrients removal, biofilm structure and properties (e.g., EPS), stormwater management, emerging contaminants (i.e., CNTs) and environmental application of nanotechnology, service-learning.

Education

  • Ph.D. Environmental Engineering, University of Cincinnati
  • M.S. Environmental Engineering, Tsinghua University (Beijing)
  • B.S. Civil and Environmental Engineering, Tongji University (Shanghai)

Biosketch

Xiaoqi (Jackie) Zhang, Ph.D. has led or participated in many research and educational projects through grants from National Science Foundation (NSF), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), United States Geological Survey (USGS), Nanomanufacturing Center of Excellence, New England Transportation Consortium, and Massachusetts Water Resources Research Center. The projects range from generating biogas from algal biomass and septage, evaluating the impact of CNTs on wastewater treatment processes using both a biofilm system and an activated sludge process, introducing nanotechnology to undergraduate curriculum through hands-on laboratory modules, phosphorus removal from septage using iron reducing bacteria, phosphorus removal from confined animal feeding operations by forming struvite, introducing service-learning activities into her classrooms to enhance students’ learning, evaluating the effectiveness of stormwater best management practices, and examining the structure and properties of biofilms through extensive study of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS).

Selected Awards and Honors

  • Department Excellence in Teaching Award, University of Massachusetts Lowell (2018)
  • Department Excellence in Teaching Award, University of Massachusetts Lowell (2014)
  • ASCE Rudolph Hering Medal for a Paper Publication (2007)

Selected Publications

Selected Contracts, Fellowships, Grants and Sponsored Research

  • Senior-personnel. SCC-IRG Track 1: Community Based Approach to Address Contaminants in Drinking Water using Smart Cloud-Connected Electrochemical Sensors. 
    (PI: Pradeep Kurup, NSF), 2022-2026.
  • PI. Implementation of the Statewide Sampling for PFAS Contaminants in Drinking Water
    (Sub-contract for UMass Amherst.  Funded by MassDEP), 2020-2022.
  • co-PI. Increasing Biogas Production from Wastewater Residual Sludge by a Novel, Single-Step Thermal Pretreatment Method
    (PI: Onur Apul, Mass Clean Energy Center and Mass Technology Transfer Center, 2018-2019