Institution/Organization: University of Tennessee, Knoxville
Email Address: jzhuang@utk.edu
Committee(s): Project Director
Dr. Jie (Joe) Zhuang is a professor in Department of Biosystems Engineering and Soil Science, director of graduate studies in environmental and soil sciences, and faculty lead of Cluster Hiring Initiative and Community of Scholars of Resilient Agriculture and Forest Systems (RAFS) at the University of Tennessee (UT). He is also an affiliated faculty of UT’s Institute for a Secure and Sustainable Environment. He is a Fellow of American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and has served on many national award committees as well as many review panels of national and international funding agencies. Over the past 25 years, Dr. Zhuang’s research topics range from soil hydrology to crop-water relation, pore-scale carbon-water interaction, food-energy-water nexus, and fate and transport of colloids (viruses, bacteria, nanoparticles) and organic and inorganic contaminants (emerging organic chemicals, heavy metals, dissolved carbon, and nutrients) in soils and engineering porous media under variable flow and chemical conditions. In recent years, he links food-energy-water nexus to environmental and soil sciences by innovating strategies and solutions for soil restoration, safe reclaimed water irrigation, and soil resilience to climatic stresses. He has published over 160 refereed articles and book chapters and over 80 conference abstracts. He has been the editor or editorial board member for 13 journals and served over 60 journals as ad hoc reviewer. Currently, Dr. Zhuang leads projects aiming to develop climate-smart food-energy-water nexus on small farms for transforming them into circular bioeconomy systems. In teaching, he provides undergraduate and graduate students with interdisciplinary training for understanding the impacts of food-energy-water nexus and circular agriculture practices on the resilience and sustainability of environmental and food systems in a changing climate.
Research Focus
(1) Nexus of Food, Energy, and Water Systems;
(2) Circular Bioeconomy of Biowaste in Agriculture;
(3) Biophysical Foundation of Soil Health;
(4) Fate and Transport of Colloids and Contaminants
Research Questions
(1) How does soil pore system influence the characteristics, behaviors, and functions of soil microbial community?(2) What is the role of gas-liquid-solid interfaces in determining the fate and movement of contaminants and nutrients in soils?(3) How can the nexus of food, energy, and water systems improve agricultural resilience and environmental sustainability?