Faculty

Devin L. Shaffer
Dr. Devin L. Shaffer, Ph.D., P.E.
Assistant Professor
Office Location: N135 Engineering Building 1, Houston, TX 77204-4003
Email: dshaffer [at] uh [dot] edu

Education: 

Ph.D., Chemical & Environmental Engineering, Yale University, 2016
M.Eng., Environmental Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2003
B.S., Civil Engineering, Oklahoma State University, 2002

Professional Experience: 

2016-2017: Materials Research Engineer, Functional Polymers Group, Materials Science and Engineering Division, National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), Gaithersburg, MD
2011-2016: Graduate Student Researcher, Chemical & Environmental Engineering Department, Yale University, New Haven, CT
2003-2011: Professional Engineer, Carollo Engineers, Inc., Phoenix, AZ

Awards & Honors: 

National Research Council (NRC) Postdoctoral Fellowship to conduct research at the National Institute of Standards and Technology, 2016-2017
Science To Achieve Results (STAR) Graduate Research Fellowship from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 2012-2015

Professional Memberships: 

Civil Engineer, Arizona (Registration #45660)
North American Membrane Society
American Membrane Technology Association
American Chemical Society, Division of Environmental Chemistry

Research Interests: 

Membrane transport characterization — Collaborated with researchers at NIST to apply neutron radiography to the study of water and solute transport through forward osmosis desalination membranes and investigate common film models of forward osmosis permeation.

Anti-fouling and anti-scaling membranes — Studied the effects of membrane surface properties on organic fouling and mineral scaling using atomic force microscopy, quartz crystal microbalance, and flux decline experiments. Developed fouling-resistant membrane surfaces through the attachment of hydrophilic polymers.

Applications of forward osmosis technology — Assessed the energy consumption of forward osmosis desalination compared to other desalination technologies and investigated potential commercial applications of the technology, such as seawater desalination for agriculture and reuse of produced water from oil and gas operations.

Presentations: 

Shaffer D.L., Feldman K.E., Chan E.P., Stafford G.R., Stafford C.M. Studying permselectivity of desalination membranes using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. Oral presentation at the American Chemical Society National Meeting, Washington, DC, August 20-24, 2017.
Shaffer D.L., Stafford C.M., Stafford G.R., Soles C.L., Chan E.P. A geophysical approach to studying porous membrane structure and predicting intrinsic permeability. Poster presentation at the International Congress on Membranes and Membrane Processes, San Francisco, CA, July 29-August 4, 2017.
Shaffer D.L., Tousley M.E., Elimelech M. Influence of polyamide membrane surface chemistry on gypsum scaling. Oral presentation at the American Chemical Society National Meeting, San Diego, CA, March 13-17, 2016.
Shaffer D.L., Chan E.P., Hussey D.S., Elimelech M. Using Neutron Radiography to Verify the Film Model for Permeation through Forward Osmosis Membranes. Oral presentation at the American Chemical Society National Meeting, Boston, MA, August 16-20, 2015.
Shaffer D.L., Tousley M.E., Elimelech M. Influence of polyamide membrane surface chemistry on mineral scaling: a QCM and AFM study. Poster presentation at the Association of Environmental Engineering & Science Professors Conference, New Haven, CT, June 13-16, 2015.
Shaffer D.L., Chan E.P., Hussey D.S., Elimelech M. Neutron Radiography as a Measurement Tool for Studying Water and Solute Transport through Desalination Membranes. Oral presentation at the North American Membrane Society 25th Annual Meeting, Boston, MA, May 30-June 3, 2015.
Shaffer D.L., Jaramillo H., Romero-Vargas Castrillón S., Lu X., and Elimelech M. Forward Osmosis Membranes Modified with Jeffamine Demonstrate Improved Resistance to Organic Fouling. Poster presentation at the Gordon Research Conference Membranes: Materials & Processes, New London, NH, July 6-11, 2014.
Shaffer D.L., Romero-Vargas Castrillón S., Lu X., Jaramillo H., and Elimelech M. Modification of Forward Osmosis Membranes with Jeffamine for Improved Resistance to Organic Fouling. Poster presentation at the North American Membrane Society 24th Annual Meeting, Houston, TX, May 31-June 4, 2014.
Shaffer D.L., Yip N.Y., Gilron J., and Elimelech M. Seawater Desalination for Agriculture by Integrated Forward and Reverse Osmosis: Improved Product Water Quality for Potentially Less Energy. Poster presentation at the Gordon Research Conference Membranes: Materials & Processes, New London, NH, July 29-August 3, 2012.

Selected Publications: 

Shaffer D.L., Tousley M.E., Elimelech M. Influence of polyamide membrane surface chemistry on gypsum scaling behavior. Journal of Membrane Science, 2017, 525, 249-256.

Tousley M.E., Shaffer D.L., Lee J.H., Osuji C.O., Elimelech M. Effect of Final Monomer Deposition Steps on Molecular Layer-by-Layer Polyamide Surface Properties. Langmuir, 2016, 32 (42), 10815-10823.

Shaffer D.L., Jaramillo H., Romero-Vargas Castrillón S., Lu X., and Elimelech M. Postfabrication modification of forward osmosis membranes with a poly(ethylene glycol) block copolymer for improved organic fouling resistance. Journal of Membrane Science, 2015, 490, 209-219.

Shaffer D.L., Werber J.R., Jaramillo H., Lin S., and Elimelech M. Forward osmosis: Where are we now? Desalination, 2015, 356, 271-284.

Romero-Vargas Castrillón S., Lu X., Shaffer D.L., and Elimelech M. Amine enrichment and poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) surface modification of thin-film composite forward osmosis membranes for organic fouling control. Journal of Membrane Science, 2014, 450, 331-339.

Lu X., Romero-Vargas Castrillón S., Shaffer D.L., Ma J., and Elimelech M. In Situ Surface
Chemical Modification of Thin-Film Composite Forward Osmosis Membranes for Enhanced Organic Fouling Resistance. Environmental Science & Technology, 2013, 47 (21), 12219-12228.

Shaffer D.L., Arias Chavez L.H., Ben-Sasson M., Romero-Vargas Castrillón S., Yip N.Y., and Elimelech M. Desalination and Reuse of High-Salinity Shale Gas Produced Water: Drivers, Technologies, and Future Directions. Environmental Science & Technology, 2013, 47 (17), 9569-9583.

Shaffer D.L., Yip N.Y., Gilron J., and Elimelech M. Seawater desalination for agriculture by integrated forward and reverse osmosis: Improved product water quality for potentially less energy. Journal of Membrane Science, 2012, 415-416, 1-8.

Location

Cullen College of Engineering Building 1
Civil and Environmental Engineering
4726 Calhoun Road, Room N107
Houston, TX 77204-4003
Phone: 713-743-4250
Fax: 713-743-4260
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