Hossain Azam

Professional Interests: Water and Wastewater Treatment, Solid Waste Management and Groundwater Remediation, Resources Recovery, Energy and the Environment, Water-Energy-Food Nexus with Specific Focus on Chemical and Biological Principles. 
Personal Interests: Sports, Travel, News, History (Special Goal to Visit All US National Parks!!!!!!!!!)

Education

Ph.D. in Civil Engineering (Environmental Engineering), 2012, University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign
M.Sc. in Civil Engineering (Environmental & Water Resources Engineering), 2007, North Carolina State University
B.Sc. in Civil Engineering, 2003, Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET)

Courses Taught

ENGS 115 Introduction to Engineering
ENGS 116 Introduction to Engineering Computation
CEEN 305 Energy and the Environment
ENVG 508 Environmental Chemistry
ENVG 706 Water Chemistry
ENVG 708 Environmental Biotechnology
  • Research
    Sustainable water and wastewater treatment; Microbial ecology in engineered systems, Microbiology of anaerobic processes (wastewater treatment, groundwater remediation and solid waste management), Novel applications and characteristics of materials in water and wastewater systems, Treatment of emerging contaminants, Chemical/biological principles of environmental processes (e.g. phosphorus removal/recovery from wastewater, algae for wastewater treatment, membrane processes, photo catalysis, solar energy utilization), Water-Energy-Food Nexus, IR and Raman spectroscopy for environmental engineering applications
  • Publications and Scholarly Activities
    Theses and Dissertations
    Azam, H., "Iron Reduction Mediated Increases in Carbon Oxidation and Phosphorus Precipitation in On-site Wastewater Systems" Ph.D. Dissertation, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign, Urbana, IL, USA, 2012
    Azam, H., "Oxidation of Methane in Landfill Covers: A Strategy to Maximize Energy Revenue" M.Sc. thesis, Department of Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering , North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA, 2007
    Journal Papers
    Azam, H and Finneran, K (2014) Fe(III) Reduction-Mediated Phosphate Removal as Vivianite (Fe3(PO4)2.8H2O) in Septic System Wastewater, Chemosphere,  Vol.  97, 1-9
    Azam, H and Finneran, K (2013) Ferric Iron Amendment Increases Fe(III)-Reducing Microbial Diversity and Carbon Oxidation in On-Site Wastewater Systems, Chemosphere, Vol.  90, Issue 4, 1435-1443
    Schumerich, M; Gelber, M; Azam, H;  McKinney, J; Thompson, D;, Harrison, S; Kull, L and Bhargava, R (2013) Amino Acid quantification in bulk soybeans by transmission Raman spectroscopy, Analytical Chemistry, 85, 11376-11381
    Barlaz, M; Bareither, C; Azam, H; Saquing, J; Mezzari, I; Benson, C; Tolaymat, T; and Yazdani, R (2010) Performance of North American Bioreactor Landfills.II: Chemical and Biological Characteristics, J of Environmental Engineering, ASCE, August 10, Vol. 136, No. 8, pp 839 – 853.
    Azam H and Amanat, K (2005) Effect of Infill as a Structural Component on the Column Design of Multi-Storied Building, UAP Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Vol1, No1, March 05, ISSN 1813-1093.
    Conference Papers
    Azam, H and Finneran, K (2012) Iron Reduction Mediated Increases in Carbon Oxidation and Phosphorus Removal in On-Site Wastewater Systems, WEFTEC, 2012, New Orleans, LA
    Anam, I and Azam, H (2006) Seismic Behaviour of Non-Linear RC Frames with Masonry Infills, 10th East Asian Structural Engineering Conference, August 06, Bangkok, Thailand
    Ferdousi, S; Azam, H; Abdullah, K and Hossain, M (2005) Institutional Development and People’s Participation of the Catchment Area of Baggar Dona River. International River symposium 05, Australia
    Presentations and Posters
    Poster on “Precipitation, inhibition and dissolution characteristics of important phosphate minerals (struvite and vivianite) in water and wastewater systems” by Conor Brennan, Juliana Behrens, Adanfa He, Thomas Bolen and Hossain Azam, 3rd place in NY American Water Works Association (AWWA) annual poster competition, 2015 
    Platform Presentation on 'Iron Reduction Mediated Increases in Carbon Oxidation and Phosphorus Removal in On-Site Wastewater Systems', WEFTEC, 2012, New Orleans, LA
    Webinar on Chemical analysis and imaging of seeds, grains, and plant tissue, Center for Agricultural, Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Nanotechnology (CABPN), University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign, October, 2012
    Platform Presentation on 'Retrofit of wastewater treatment plant for biological nitrogen removal', Student Competition, WEFTEC, 2008, Chicago, IL with 4 of the UIUC team members.
    Platform Presentation on 'Oxidation of Methane in Landfill Covers: A Strategy to Maximize Energy Revenue', Annual Spring Tech. Conference, SWANA NC Chapter, 2007, Wrightsville Beach, NC
    Poster Presentation on 'Ferric Iron Amendment Increases Carbon Oxidation and Limits Methane Production in Onsite Wastewater (Septic Systems)', WEFTEC, 2010, New Orleans, LA
    Research and Design Report
    Final Research Project Report on 'Pilot Study of SDS Toxin(s) using Mid-IR Imaging', North Central Soybean Board, 2013
    Final Research Project Report on 'Compositional analysis of whole soybean grain by transmission Raman spectroscopy: A pilot study', United Soybean Board, USB Project #9282, 2012
    Design Report with 4 of the UIUC team members on 'Retrofit of wastewater treatment plant for biological nitrogen removal', Student Competition, WEFTEC, 2008, Chicago, IL
    Final Research Project Report on Oxidation of Methane in Landfill Covers: A Strategy to Maximize Energy Revenue, Yolo County Landfill, Sacramento, CA, 2007

     

  • Professional Experience and Memberships
    Member: Water Environment Federation (WEF), American Water Works Association (AWWA), American Society for Microbiology (ASM), Association of Environmental Engineering and Science Professors (AEESP), American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE)
    Worked as a Research Associate/Post-Doctoral Scientist of advanced carbon removal team in DC Water. 
    Taught environmental engineering graduate and undergraduate classes in George Washington University as Visiting Assistant Professor/Adjunct Professor.
    Hands on experience on IR and Raman spectroscopy for environmental engineering applications as a Research Assistant and Post-Doctoral Research Associate in University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign.
    Four years lab/field level PhD research on phosphorus and pharmaceuticals removal from wastewater in University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign. 
    Two years lab/field level MSc research on CH4 oxidation in landfill biocover to maximize energy in North Carolina State University. 
    Extensive modeling experience: BIOWIN, AQUASIM, LANDGEM, MODFLOW and MINEQL.
    Strong leadership/teamwork skills: International EWB projects, WEF/CSWEA Design competition, Actively involved with NY Water Environment Association (NYWEA), Water Environment Federation (WEF) and Engineers without Borders (EWB) activities
    Extensive research and report writing skill in bioreactor landfills and groundwater remediation.
     

     

  • Other

    Member, Editorial board of UAP Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering (ISSN 1813-1093) in the Environmental Engineering division (2004/2005) and Assistant Editor, Technical Bulletin of the department, University of Asia Pacific, Bangladesh (2003/2004)

    Chair, Environmental Engineering Advisory Committee, UIUC, Fall 2008-Fall 2009,

    Member, Design Team, Metcalf and Eddy Design Competition on Wastewater, UIUC, Spring, 2008

    Winner, Student Competition on Wastewater, CSWEA conference, 2008, Minneapolis,MN and Design Team Member: Student Design Competition, WEFTEC 2008

    Team Member and Winner (2nd and 3rd): Design of Water Filtration System for Developing and Water Treatment Systems for Developed Countries at UIUC Engineering Open House: 2008/09

    Member: Engineers Without Borders (EWB)-NCSU and Worked in the "Bolivia Water Sanitation Project" and a Team Member of the First Assessment Trip on December 2006