About the team

Dr. Lee is an Associate Professor in the Department of Civil, Environmental, and Construction Engineering (CECE) at the University of Central Florida (UCF). He received his Ph.D. in environmental engineering from The University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH in 2009. Before joining UCF, he was an ORISE postdoctoral research fellow at U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA), National Risk Management Research Laboratory (NRMRL), Cincinnati, OH. He obtained his B.S. in Environmental Engineering from Chonnam National University, Gwangju, Korea in 1996 and his M.S. in Environmental Engineering from Korea University, Seoul, Korea in 2001. For five years prior to continuing his education, he acquired practical experience working on various environmental engineering projects including water/wastewater treatment plant design, sanitary sewer distribution system modeling, and development of advanced water/wastewater treatment technologies in GS E&C Co. (Seoul, Korea).

To date, his professional work and research has encompassed development and use of electrochemical microsensors for water quality monitoring, environmental biotechnology, and bioenergy production. Dr. Lee’s research group has developed and applied various electrochemical microsensors for environmental and biomedical research (e.g., biofilm, corrosion, plants, emulsion, and sediments) and for in situ monitoring in aqueous systems (e.g., N & P-cycle, PAHs, heavy metals). His current research interests also include smart water and wastewater management, innovative renewable, environmentally responsible, and cost-effective bioenergy production from wastewater treatment processes, algae-bacterial symbiosis processes, emulsion characterization for bilge water treatment, microbial fuel cell technology (MFC) for oil degradation, ballast water quality monitoring, and nitrification and corrosion in drinking water distribution systems. He is a registered professional engineer (P.E.). He currently serves as a member of the U.S. EPA’s Board of Scientific Counselors (BOSC) Social and Community Science Subcommittee. 

A H M Anwar Sadmani is an associate professor in the Department Civil, Environmental and Construction Engineering at the University of Central Florida. Sadmani received his Ph.D. in civil engineering from the University of Toronto, Canada, followed by a postdoctoral fellowship at the same institute. He received his master’s degree from the UNESCO-IHE Institute for Water Education, Delft, the Netherlands, and his bachelor’s degree from Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology.

The primary area of his research is conventional and nanomaterial-functionalized membranes, and green environmental media-based hybrid processes for water and wastewater treatment and water reuse applications. His current research focuses on remediating a wide range of CECs including the “forever chemicals”, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and algal toxins via hybrid processes including multifunctional membranes and novel green sorption media, as well as the fate and transport of CECs in environmental media.  Sadmani’s research funding sources include federal agencies (USEPA, DoD, and NASA), state agencies (Florida Department of Environmental Protection, Florida Sea Grant, Hinkley Center for Solid and Hazardous Waste Management, Fish and Wildlife Foundation of Florida), and several industrial partners.

Samuel Adjei-Nimoh is a Ph.D. candidate in Environmental Engineering at the University of Central Florida (UCF), where he conducts research in the Microsensor Biofilm Research Laboratory. He brings a uniquely multidisciplinary background, holding two master's degrees from Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) in Ghana — one in Water Supply and Environmental Sanitation (2023) and another in Planning, Monitoring, and Evaluation (2021) — and a B.S. in Civil Engineering from KNUST (2008).

Prior to his doctoral studies, he accumulated over a decade of professional experience in WASH (Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene) consulting with UNICEF Ghana and water supply project engineering with Devtraco Limited, with notable contributions including the declaration of approximately 410 communities as open defecation-free in Ghana's Upper West Region and the construction of 11 small town water supply systems serving more than 5,000 households in Ghana.

At UCF, Samuel’s research focuses on developing biosensors and advanced treatment technologies for emerging water-quality contaminants. Current projects include antibody-based electrochemical biosensors for rapid detection of microcystin-LR (MC-LR) and PFAS; electrochemical oxidation of MC-LR and PFAS using novel anode materials; and photodegradation of MC-LR using Au/Ni-MOF composites. His work directly addresses critical challenges in harmful algal bloom (HAB) monitoring and contaminant treatment in real-world water systems to safeguard the environment and public health.

Lance-Nicolas Rances is a Graduate Researcher pursuing a Master's degree in Environmental Engineering at the University of Central Florida (UCF). Rances received their Bachelor's degree in Environmental Engineering from UCF as a Burnett Honors Scholar,  and in their final year, conducted undergraduate research in the Microsensor Biofilm Research Laboratory (MBRL) with Dr. Woo Hyoung Lee. Rances has continued research in the MBRL, developing a wide variety of electrochemical sensors for the detection of PFAS, taste & odor compounds, algal toxins, and free copper. 

In 2024, Rances became a NASA Florida Space Grant Consortium (FSGC) Master's Fellow, advancing research in microbial peroxide-producing cells (MPPC) using urine to improve resource recovery efforts during manned space missions. Their current research entails the electrochemical detection of geosmin in water sources using molecular imprinted polymer (MIP) technology for sensitive and specific detection of contaminants of emerging concern.

Rances is passionate about their research and is hoping to continue toward a doctorate degree in environmental engineering in Fall 2026. With expertise in both sensor fabrication and community-oriented work, Rances would like to develop a career centered around global clean water accessibility for communities in-need. Their current research efforts contribute to a broader goal of improving detection capabilities for water quality management systems.

Md Touhidul Islam recently earned his doctorate in Environmental Engineering from the University of Central Florida under the guidance of Dr. A.H.M. Anwar Sadmani and Dr. Ni-Bin Chang. His dissertation, “Removal of Long- and Short-Chain Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) from Surface Water Using Green Sorption Media–Nanofiltration Hybrid Processes,” integrated laboratory- and field-scale experiments with low-cost, recyclable green sorption media and advanced computational modeling to develop sustainable solutions for PFAS remediation. 

Dr. Islam’s research spans PFAS adsorption, membrane treatment, and quantum-chemical simulations of contaminant degradation. He has published multiple peer-reviewed articles and presented his work at national and international conferences. His efforts also extend to machine-learning-accelerated materials discovery, molecular dynamics, and density functional theory (DFT) for investigating PFAS–catalyst interactions at the atomic scale. 

With expertise that bridges experimental and computational methods, Dr. Islam is dedicated to advancing innovative technologies for detecting and removing emerging contaminants from complex environmental systems. His current interests include developing cost-effective, scalable solutions that combine nanomaterials and hybrid treatment processes to address PFAS challenges.