Faculty

Education:
Professional Experience:
Classes:
Students Supervised:
Sheyda Shakiba, Ph.D. student (Dec. 2016 – present)
Abdul Moiz Sohail, Ph.D. student (Jun. 2019 – present)
Riya Ann Mathew, Ph.D. student (Aug. 2019 – present)
Tchemongo "Kissa" Berté, M.S. student (Jun. 2019 – present)
Prospective Student Opportunities
Ph.D. research assistant positions are available. Students with interest in the environmental impacts or applications of colloids or nanomaterials, environmental surface chemistry, organic geochemistry, and environmental analytical chemistry are encouraged to apply. Dr. Louie’s projects lie at the interface of these research areas. Please contact Dr. Louie with your CV, including GPA and GRE scores (and TOEFL scores, if applicable). Visiting scholars and undergraduate and graduate students are also encouraged to contact Dr. Louie regarding research opportunities.
Awards & Honors:
Research Interests:
Our group’s research contributes to the fields of environmental nanotechnology and environmental fate and transport of nanoparticles, colloids, and emerging contaminants. We are evaluating and improving nanotechnologies for advanced wastewater treatment applications. We are also assessing the environmental health and safety implications of nanomaterials, including the inherent risks of the nanomaterial itself and the role of nanomaterials as delivery technologies to either alleviate or exacerbate the risks of other emerging contaminants.
Our research is especially focused on surface interactions of particles and the degradation of polymeric coatings or particles in environmental systems, such as wastewater treatment plants or natural waters. Specific research topics include adsorption of natural organic matter and biomolecules onto particle surfaces, experimental approaches to characterize and predict the properties of these adsorbed layers, the effects of surface coatings on the behavior of the particles, and the extent and rate of polymer degradation.
Sponsored Research / Research Grant:
Presentations:
Invited Presentations / Lectures:
Louie, S.M.; Shakiba, S. "Formation and effects of heterogeneous protein-humic surface coatings on nanoparticles." American Chemical Society (ACS) Fall National Meeting, Royal Society of Chemistry Emerging Investigators Symposium, Boston, MA, Aug 2018.
Louie, S.M. "Nanoparticle interactions with macromolecules and small organic molecules." Sloan Foundation Workshop on NanoChemistry of Indoor Environments, New York City, NY, Jul 2018.
Louie, S.M.; Shakiba, S. "Formation of heterogeneous protein-humic surface coatings on metal oxide nanoparticles." 1st Pan American Congress of Nanotechnology – Fundamental and Applications to Shape the Future, Guarujá, São Paulo, Brazil, Nov 2017.
Louie, S.M; McGivney, E.A.; Gregory, K.B.; Hackley, V.A. "Photo-induced transformations of polymeric coatings on gold nanoparticles." ACS Fall National Meeting, Boston, MA, Aug 2015.
Selected Publications:
Li, Z.; Shakiba, S.; Deng, N.; Chen, J.; Louie, S.M.; Hu, Y. Natural organic matter (NOM) imparts molecular-weight-dependent steric stabilization or electrostatic destabilization to ferrihydrite nanoparticles. Environmental Science & Technology , 2020, 54, 6761–6770.
Shakiba, S.; Astete, C.E.; Paudel, S.; Sabliov, C.M.; Rodrigues, D.F.; Louie, S.M. Emerging investigator series: Polymeric nanocarriers for agricultural applications: synthesis, characterization, and environmental and biological interactions. Environmental Science: Nano, 2020, 7, 37-67.
Shakiba, S.; Hakimian, A.; Barco L.R.; Louie, S.M. Dynamic intermolecular interactions control adsorption from mixtures of natural organic matter and protein onto titanium dioxide nanoparticles. Environmental Science & Technology, 2018, 52, 14158–14168.
Peer-Reviewed Journal Articles:
Peña-Bahamonde, J.; Wu, C.; Fanourakis, S.K.; Louie, S.M.; Bao, J.; Rodrigues D.F. Oxidation state of Mo affects dissolution and visible-light photocatalytic activity of MoO3 nanostructures. Journal of Catalysis, 2020, 382, 508-519.
Hung, A.M.; Pahlavan, F.; Shakiba, S.; Chang, S.L.Y.; Louie, S.M.; Fini, E.H. Preventing assembly and crystallization of alkane acids at the silica–bitumen interface to enhance interfacial resistance to moisture damage. Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research, 2019, 58, 21542-21552.
Hosseinnezhad, S.; Shakiba, S.; Mousavi, M.; Louie, S.M.; Karnati, S.R.; Fini, E.H. Multiscale evaluation of moisture susceptibility of biomodified bitumen. ACS Applied Bio Materials, 2019, 2, 5779-5789.
Paudel, S.; Cerbu, C.; Astete, C.E.; Louie, S.M.; Sabliov, C.; Rodrigues, D.F. Enrofloxacin-impregnated PLGA nanocarriers for efficient therapeutics and diminished generation of reactive oxygen species. ACS Applied Nano Materials, 2019, 2, 5035-5043.
Liu, J.; Louie, S.M.; Pham, C.; Dai, C.; Liang, D.; Hu, Y. Aggregation of ferrihydrite nanoparticles: Effects of pH, electrolytes, and organics. Environmental Research, 2019, 172, 552-560.
Fan, J.; Louie, S.M.; Rodrigues, D.F. The influence of salinity, pH, temperature and particles on produced water oil quantification precision and accuracy with confocal laser fluorescence microscopy. Energy & Fuels, 2018, 32, 6978-6989.
El Hadri, H.; Louie, S.M.; Hackley V.A. Assessing the interactions of metal nanoparticles in soil and sediment matrices – a quantitative analytical multi-technique approach. Environmental Science: Nano, 2018, 5, 203-214.
Louie, S.M.; Gorham, J.M.; Tan, J.; Hackley V.A. Ultraviolet photo-oxidation of polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) coatings on gold nanoparticles. Environmental Science: Nano, 2017, 4, 1866-1875.
Louie, S.M.; Gorham, J.M.; McGivney, E.A.; Liu, J.; Gregory, K.B.; Hackley V.A. Photochemical transformations of thiolated polyethylene glycol coatings on gold nanoparticles. Environmental Science: Nano, 2016, 3, 1090-1102.
Louie, S.M.; Tilton, R.D.; Lowry, G.V. Critical Review: Impacts of macromolecular coatings on critical physicochemical processes controlling environmental fate of nanomaterials. Environmental Science: Nano, 2016, 3, 283-310.
Louie, S.M.; Spielman-Sun, E.; Small, M.J.; Tilton, R.D.; Lowry, G.V. Correlation of the physicochemical properties of natural organic matter samples from different sources to their effects on gold nanoparticle aggregation in monovalent electrolyte. Environmental Science & Technology, 2015, 49, 2188-2198.
Hotze, E.M.; Louie, S.M.; Lin, S.; Wiesner, M.R.; Lowry, G.V. Nanoparticle core properties affect attachment of macromolecule-coated nanoparticles to silica surfaces. Environmental Chemistry, 2014, 11, 257-267.
Louie, S.M.; Tilton, R.D.; Lowry, G.V. Effects of molecular weight distribution and chemical properties of natural organic matter on gold nanoparticle aggregation. Environmental Science and Technology, 2013, 47, 4245-4254.
Louie, S.M.; Phenrat, T.; Small, M.J.; Tilton, R.D.; Lowry, G.V. Parameter identifiability in application of soft particle electrokinetic theory to determine polymer and polyelectrolyte coating thicknesses on colloids. Langmuir, 2012, 28, 10334.
Golas, P.L.; Louie, S.M.; Lowry, G.V.; Matyjaszewski, K.; Tilton, R.D. Comparative study of polymeric stabilizers for magnetite nanoparticles using ATRP. Langmuir, 2010, 26, 16890.
Books / Book Chapters:
SPECIAL PUBLICATIONS
- Pettibone, J.M.; Louie, S.M. Research highlights: Improved understanding of ecological impacts resulting from nanomaterial-based in situ remediation. Environmental Science: Nano, 2016, 3, 236.
- Louie, S.M.; Pettibone, J.M. Research highlights: Engineering nanomaterial-based water treatment systems for environmental applications. Environmental Science: Nano, 2016, 3, 11.
- Pettibone, J.M.; Louie, S.M. Research highlights: Towards further understanding nanoparticle-cellular membrane interactions. Environmental Science: Nano, 2015, 2, 664.
- Louie, S.M.; Pettibone, J.M. Research highlights: Probing adsorbed organic coatings on nanoparticle surfaces. Environmental Science: Nano, 2015, 2, 417.
- Pettibone, J.M.; Louie, S.M. Research highlights: Detecting, characterizing and quantifying the presence and impact of carbon nanomaterials in environmental systems. Environmental Science: Nano, 2015, 2, 308.
- Louie, S.M.; Pettibone, J.M. Research highlights: Elucidating the role of complex interactions affecting nanoparticle deposition. Environmental Science: Nano, 2015, 2, 222.