Skip to Main Content

Ensuring a World where the Water Flows

One concern that’s made headlines in recent years is the presence of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) — so-called “forever chemicals” — in the water supply. These chemicals, which are widely used in everything from manufacturing to firefighting to cosmetics, don’t break down in the environment and tend to accumulate in the human body. They’re potentially connected to a range of health effects, including altered metabolism, reduced fertility, diminished immune system and an increase in certain cancers.

Linda Lee, distinguished professor of agronomy and environmental and ecological engineering, head of the Ecological Sciences and Engineering interdisciplinary graduate program, and assistant dean in the Office of Agricultural Research and Graduate Education, had PFAS on her mind long before the headlines. She noticed the presence of PFAS in seafood in native Alaskan villages over two decades ago, and has been studying them in earnest since 2005. She’s developed methods for measuring and remediating PFAS and has studied the chemicals effects on amphibians and other animals as part of a team led by Professors Maria Sepúlveda and Jason Hoverman in Forestry and Natural Resources.

Read more about everyone else contributing to the research of water in the full article from the latest issue of Envision.

Full Story

Featured Stories

a tractor spreads gypsum across a field and a soil probe has a sample of six inches of a dark brown soil in the metal tube
How Purdue researchers and the USDA are finding ways to bury carbon beneath our feet

Soils are a rare win-win when it comes to burying the carbon released from burning fossil fuels....

Read More
a girl posing for a selfie
Alumni Spotlight: Olivia Schoentrup

Olivia Schoentrup is an alumna of Purdue Animal Sciences who travels the country to visit small...

Read More
Bryan Pijanoski with sound equipment
The sound of the world

It’s summer, but Bryan Pijanowski is as busy as ever. He’s working on several grant...

Read More
ag econ
Trey Malone named as Boehlje Chair in Managerial Economics for Agribusiness

“A business newspaper published an interview with me a few years ago titled, ‘Ag...

Read More
Purdue College of Agriculture.
Virtual Tour Brings Forest Management for the Birds to Life

How does forest management affect wildlife, specifically birds? Which birds prefer which types of...

Read More
Students on the Sweden study abroad trip stand in front of a church
FNR Field Reports: Lucas Cacula Offers Week 2 Update from Sweden Study Abroad Program

Throughout the 2024 Sustainable Natural Resources study abroad course in Sweden, FNR...

Read More
To Top