KU Engineering Professor Wins NSF CAREER Award for Water-Contaminant Research

An assistant professor at the University of Kansas School of Engineering is the winner of a five-year, $560,000 grant from the National Science Foundation for his research into microbes that can break up chemicals in soil and groundwater.

Justin Hutchison, an assistant professor in the Department of Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering, is recipient of an NSF Early Career Development (CAREER) award for his pursuit of thermal proteome profiling applications for in-situ bioreporting of contaminant degradation in soils.

His research focuses on microorganisms that can break down  emerging contaminants. While current research methods rely on culturing microorganisms — and only 5% of such microorganisms in a soil sample can even be cultured — Hutchison is working to broaden the field by examining the proteins of all such microorganisms directly, in the soil itself.

The issue is immense. According to the American Water Works Association, threats to drinking water posed by emerging contaminants could prompt $370 billion in system upgrades — all to treat pollutants that include some so toxic that the EPA issues health advisories for concentrations as low as 0.004 parts per trillion.

Hutchison wants to address this growing threat. By using the same approach used to advance disease-targeting abilities of pharmaceuticals, he aims to identify particularly enzymes that can degrade such chemical pollutants into harmless byproducts.

“This grant is an acknowledgment that biological processes play a vital role in protecting our drinking water supply and that alternatives to our current research methods are needed to advance research in this area,” Hutchison said. “It will play an important role in training the next generation of undergraduate and graduate students to advance sustainable solutions to protect and treat our drinking water.”

CAREER awards are considered among the NSF’s most prestigious, given to about 500 early-career faculty each year with the potential to serve as academic role models in both research and education. NSF expects recipients’ activities to build a firm foundation for a lifetime of leadership in integrating education and research.

Hutchison, who joined the KU faculty in 2018, leads a team working out of the school’s Environmental Biocatalytics Lab. He also serves as an environmental consultant for Kansas’ water systems. He is a member of the American Chemical Society, American Society of Civil Engineers, Water Environment Federation, International Water Association, American Water Works Association and American Society of Microbiology.