Menachem Elimelech

Menachem Elimelech

Website:

Research Group
Sterling Professor of Chemical and Environmental Engineering
Room / Office: Room 501
Office Address:
17 Hillhouse Avenue
New Haven, CT 06511
Mailing Address:
P.O. Box 208263
New Haven, CT 06520
Phone: (203) 432-2789
Email: menachem.elimelech@yale.edu
Degrees:
  • Ph.D., The Johns Hopkins University
  • B.S., M.S., The Hebrew University, Jerusalem

Interests:

Membrane-based processes for energy-efficient desalination and wastewater reuse; sustainable production of water and energy generation with engineered osmosis; environmental applications and implications of nanomaterials; water and sanitation in developing countries.

Selected Awards & Honors:

  • Eni Prize for 'Protection of the Environment' (2015)
  • Thomson Reuters Highly Cited Researcher in the Category: Chemistry (2015)
  • Chinese Academy of Sciences Distinguished Scholar (formerly known as "Einstein Professorship") (2015)
  • Thomson Reuters Highly Cited Researcher in the Category: Environment/Ecology (2014)
  • The Charles R. O'Melia Distinguished Educator Award, Association of Environmental Engineering and Science Professors (2014)
  • Association of Environmental Engineering and Science Professors (AEESP) Outstanding Paper Award (2012)
  • Super Reviewer Award, Environmental Science & Technology (2012)
  • Yale University Postdoctoral Mentoring Prize (2012)
  • The Simon W. Freese Environmental Engineering Award and Lecture, American Society of Civil Engineers, ASCE (2011) 
  • Liza Cariaga-Lo Faculty Award for Diversity in Scholarship and Service, Yale University (2011)
  • The American Institute of Chemical Engineers Lawrence K. Cecil Award (2008)
  • Election to the Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering (2007)
  • Association of Environmental Engineering and Science Professors (AEESP) Frontier Award in Research (2006)
  • AWWA First Place Best Doctoral Dissertation Award (Doctoral Student Natalie Tufenkji)  (2006)
  • Elected to the National Academy of Engineering  (2006)
  • The Athalie Richardson Irvine Clarke Prize  (2005)
  • Trendsetter, Public Works Magazine  (2005)
  • Excellence in Review Award, Environmental Science & Technology  (2004)
  • Yale University, Graduate Mentor Award  (2004)
  • Association of Environmental Engineering and Science Professors (AEESP) Doctoral Dissertation Award (Doctoral Student Eric M.V.Hoek)  (2002)
  • Association of Environmental Engineering and Science Professors (AEESP) Outstanding Paper Award  (2002)
  • American Society of Civil Engineers, Walter L. Huber Civil Engineering Research Prize  (1996)
  • W.M. Keck Foundation, Engineering Teaching Excellence Award  (1994)
  • National Science Foundation, Research Initiation Award  (1990)
  • Environmental Engineering and Chemistry Student Award, American Chemical Society  (1989)

Selected Publications:

For complete list click here

  • Materials for Next-Generation Desalination and Water Purification Membranes. Nature Reviews Materials, 2016.
  • Harvesting Low-Grade Heat Energy using Thermo-Osmotic Vapor Transport through Nanoporous Membranes. Nature Energy, 2016.
  • The Critical Need for Increased Selectivity, Not Increased Water Permeability, for Desalination Membranes. Environmental Science & Technology Letters, 2016.
  • Membrane-based Processes for Wastewater Nutrient Recovery: Technology, Challenges, and Future Direction, Water Research, 89, 2016, 210-221.
  • Pressure-Retarded Osmosis for Power Generation from Salinity Gradients: Is it Viable?" Energy & Environmental Science, 9, 2016, 31-48.
  • Antimicrobial Properties of Graphene Oxide Nanosheets: Why Size Matters, Perreault, F., Fonseca de Faria, A., Nejati, S., & Elimelech, M., ACS Nano, 9, 2015, 7226-7236.
  • Controlled Architecture of Dual-functional Block Copolymer Brushes on Thin-Film Composite Membranes for Integrated 'Defending' and 'Attacking' Strategies against Biofouling, Ye, G., Lee, J., Perreault, F., & Elimelech, M., ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, 7, 2015, 23069-23079.
  • Mitigating biofouling on thin-film composite polyamide membranes using a controlled-release platform, Zodrow, K.R., Tousley, M.E., and Elimelech, M., Journal of Membrane Science, 453, 2014, 84–91.
  • Desalination and Reuse of High-Salinity Shale Gas Produced Water: Drivers, Technologies, and Future Directions, Shaffer, D.L., Arias Chavez, L.H., Ben-Sasson, M., Romero-Vargas Castrillon, S., Yip, N.Y., and Elimelech, M., Environmental Science & Technology, 47, 2013, 9569–9583.
  • Membrane-Based Processes for Sustainable Power Generation using Water and Wastewater, Logan, B.E. and Elimelech, M., Nature, 488, 2012, 313-319.
  • The Future of Seawater Desalination: Energy, Technology, and the Environment, Elimelech, M. and Phillip, W.A., Science, 333, 2011, 712-717.
  • Thin-Film Composite Pressure Retarded Osmosis Membranes for Sustainable Power Generation from Salinity Gradients, Yip, N.Y., Tiraferri, A., Phillip, W.A., Schiffman, J.D., Hoover, L.A., Kim, Y.C., and Elimelech, M., Environmental Science & Technology, 45, 2011, 4360–4369.
  • Electronic Structure Dependent Bacterial Cytotoxicity of Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes", Vecitis, C.D., Zodrow, K.R., Kang, S., Elimelech, M., ACS Nano, 4, 2010, 5471-5479.
  • Science and Technology for Water Purification in the Coming Decades, Shannon, M.A., Bohn, P.W., Elimelech, M., Georgiadis, J.G., Mariñas, B.J. and Mayes, A.M., Nature, 452, 2008, 301-310.

Additional Websites

Biographical Data