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Ph.D Students | |
| Abdullah graduated at the top of his class with a bachelor's degree in Geochemistry from Al-Azhar University (Egypt). After working as an exploration geologist, he decided to follow his passion for research and successfully earned his master’s degree in geophysics with distinction from the University of Padua (Italy). During his academic journey, he participated in several mobility programs across Europe, pursued multiple internships and actively engaged with various student societies which allowed him to broaden his knowledge and enhance his technical and soft skills. Currently, he is a Ph.D. student in Prigiobbe group and he works on the development of an integrated and sustainable process for the mining of energy-relevant elements (EREs) and CO2 mineralization for carbon storage. |
Abdullah Abdelghany
Laboratory Technician | |
| Valentina Brombin graduated in Geology and Technical Geology at the University of Padua (Italy) in 2014. Her thesis focused on the geochemical characterization of magmatic rocks in the Colli Euganei and Monti Berici areas, which are part of the Veneto Volcanic Province inItaly. In 2018, she completed her Ph.D. in Earth Sciences at the University of Ferrara (Italy), extending her research to the geochemical and geochronological characterization of all volcanic centers in the Veneto Volcanic Province. From 2019 to 2024, Valentina was a post-doctoral researcher at the University of Ferrara, specializing in the elemental and isotopic geochemical characterization of rocks, sediments, soils, organic matter, agricultural products,and water. Her expertise includes managing EA-IRMS (Elemental Analyzer coupled to Mass Spectrometer), HA-IRMS (Headspace Analyzer coupled to Mass Spectrometer), and LWA (Liquid Water Analyzer) systems for stable isotope analysis (C, N, S, O, and H). Additionally, she is proficient in using instruments such as IC (Ion Chromatography) and portable UV-Vis spectrometers. Currently, Valentina works as a laboratory technician for the Geochemistry and ICP-MS (Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry) laboratory at the Department of Geosciences at the University of Padova. |
Valentina Brombin
Undergraduate Students | ||
| Denise Celsan is a third-year student of the degree in environmental science and technology. She is interested in research regarding environmental sustainability and natural systems. Currently, she is working in Prigiobbe's group on CO2 mineralization and mining process for CO2 removal and recovery of valuable elements for the renewable energy transition. | |
Denise Celsan | ||
Alberto Marcassa is an undergraduate student in geosciences at the University of Padua. He is interested in structural geology, georesources, and hydrology. In spring 2024, he joined Prigiobbe's group to work on a thesis regarding urban hydrology in coastal areas with the goal to model the coastal urban aquifer in a town along the Adriatic sea named Lignano Sabbiadoro. The objective of his research is the data analysis and the modelling of the water quality of both coastal aquifer and surface water with focus on pathogens. | ||
Alberto Marcassa | ||
| Aurora Maraglino is a student in Natural Science with minor in Geosciences at the University of Padua. Since she was a child she has always been in love with nature and its inhabitants and her dream has been doing something good for the planet and trying to make a difference. She is currently working on a thesis project regarding the transport of nanoplastic in various aquatic systems accounting for interfacial physico-chemical processes. | |
Aurora Maraglino | ||
Sofia Vigolo is a student of the third year of Science and Technology for the Environment at the University of Padua. She graduated at "Liceo Scientifico N. Tron" in Schio, Vicenza, Italy. She worked for two years in the chemical laboratory at "Ambiente Energia" firm in Schio which takes care of waste water purification and the treatment of liquid and muddy waste. She collaborates in the project on CO2 mineralization and mining of critical elements for renewable energy systems in the Geoscience Department at the University of Padua. | ||
Sofia Vigolo |
High-School Student | |
Randi Gill is a senior at Bergen County Technical High School in Teterboro, New Jersey in the Aerospace Engineering program. She is passionate about computer science, engineering, and environmental conservation. |
Randi Gill
Alumni | |
| Brian Caulfield has joined Prigiobbe Group as Ph.D. student in fall 2020. He worked on mineral carbonation for carbon utilization in microalgae harvesting for the production of biofuel and bio-plastic sponsored by the Dipartment of Defense. Brian grew up on Long Island and went to Fordham University to study Engineering Physics. Then, he moved to California to work in Space Operations. Currently Brian is a faculty at the New Jersey City University where he teaches Physics and Chemistry. |
Brian Caulfield | |
Dong Zhang was a Ph.D. student in Environmental Engineering. He joined the Department of Civil, Environmental and Ocean Engineering at Stevens Institute of Technology in October 2016. He earned a B.S. degree in Environmental Science from Donghua University (Shanghai, China) in 2014, and graduated from Georgia Institute of Technology with a M.S. in Environmental Engineering in 2015. His Ph.D. research focused on the measuring and modeling of the transport of viruses and bacteria in porous media under variable salinity conditions. He graduted on June 24, 2021 and then joined a group at the University of Nebraska as a post-doc to work on transport of microorganisms in porous media. Currently Dong Zhang is an Assistant Professor in the College of Resources and Environment, at Fujian University (China) | |
Dong Zhang |
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Qingjian Li was a Ph.D. student in environmental engineering in Prigiobbe Group since Fall 2016 and he graduated on May 10, 2021. He obtianed a Bachelor degree in Petroleum Engineering (2013) and a Master degree in Oil Well Drilling Engineering (2016) from the China University of Petroleum (East China). His research is focused on the fluid flow in porous media and fluid-solid coupling experiments and numerical simulations. His current project is the study of the behavior of nanoparticle-stabilized foam transport in porous media for contaminated site remediation. Currently, he is a research at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and he works on numerical modeling for suburface flow. | |
Qingjian Li |
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Xin Su was a Ph.D. student in civil engineering in Prigiobbe Group since Fall 2016 and she graduated on December 7, 2020. She obtained her bachelor degree from Liaoning Shihua University (China), majoring in water supply and sewerage engineering in 2012. She finished her master study from the University of California Irvine majoring in hydrology and water resource in 2015. Her Ph.D. research was on the interaction between groundwater and infrastruture in urban coastal areas and nuisance flooding due to groundwater emergence. Currently, she is a post-doc at the University of Arkansas working in a groundwater hydrology group. | |
Xin Su | |
Ting Liu was a Ph.D. student in Prigiobbe group. He graduated on December 3, 2019. He worked on reactive transport in porous media and urban hydrology focusing on the modeling of sewer networks. Currently, he has been post-doc at Purdue University and has recently joined the School of Sustainable Engineering and the Built Environment at Arizona State University. | |
Ting Liu | |
Zi Ye was a Ph.D. student in Prigiobbe group. She graduated on August 2, 2019. She worked on reactive transport in porous media and CO2 utilization coupling mineral carbonation with microalgae growth. Currently she is working at Pitingaro & Doetsch Consulting Engineers. | |
Zi Ye |