Having lived in Hong Kong, a densely populated area in southern China, for almost 20 years, I’ve developed a very strong interest in tackling environmental problems. After completing my B.S. and M.S., I am continuing at Stanford University to pursue my Ph.D.degree in civil and environmental engineering. My research interests include bioremediation, development of membrane bioreactors (MBR) for wastewater treatment, modeling of activated sludge process, inhibition studies, and microbial community analysis. While my undergraduate research was directed at the transformation of carbon tetrachloride by Pseudomonas stutzeriKC and Shewanella oneidensis MR-1, my current research is focused on understanding the dynamics of the microbial community in the Palo Alto Regional Water Quality Control Plant (PARWQCP) and developing inhibition assays for diagnosing nitrification instability in wastewater treatment plants.

My thesis research will apply chemical and community structure analyses to investigate the functional stability and adaptation of nitrifying communities upon perturbations by different types of inhibitors. Since stable performance  of nitrification is crucial for removing ammonia from wastewater and thereby protecting the receiving water from eutrophication, nitrification is the model process for this project. Results from this study will offer a new approach for diagnosing instability of treatment systems, assist in devising strategies for accelerating resilience of function, and broaden our knowledge of maintaining stability of engineered microbial communities.

Before beginning research at Stanford, I worked in the Institute for Natural Resources and Waste Management at Hong Kong Baptist University as a research assistant, and CH2M HILL (China) Limited as a summer intern. Of course, I enjoy taking advantage of the California sunshine and jogging, hiking, and playing basketball and badminton are my favorite activities. Other than sweating all the time, I also play Erhu (a Chinese string instrument which sounds like the violin), read, and enjoy good food. That is why I am a member of the lunch club in the EES lab!

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Chok Hang (Joanne) Yeung
Terman Engineering Center, Room B21
380 Panama Mall
Stanford, CA 94305-4020
chyeung@stanford.edu