wei383@usc.edu

Ph.D. Student
Hometown: Qiqihar, China

Research interests: Xin Wei was born in Qiqihar, a northeastern city in China. She received her bachelor’s degree in Environmental Engineering at Beijing Normal University. In 2015, she moved to the United States and continued her education at Carnegie Mellon University, as a Master’s student. She joined the Childress group in August 2017 to pursue her Ph.D. at USC. Xin is interested in research topics at the intersection of energy and desalination, and is currently co-advised by Dr. Amy Childress and Dr. Kelly Sanders.

Xin is investigating the potential for reducing the energy consumption of seawater desalination facilities, while increasing the beneficial consumption of impaired water streams, through novel infrastructure couplings and configurations. She is currently developing a model framework to examine scenarios that synergistically utilize seawater RO brine and treated wastewater streams to achieve the highest beneficial use of both streams while minimizing energy consumption and meeting regulatory requirements.

Education:
M.S. Civil and Environmental Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University (Pittsburgh, PA) (August 2015 – December 2016)
B.S. Environmental Engineering,  Beijing Normal University (Beijing, China) (September 2011 – June 2015)

Awards & Fellowships:
2018                   Theodore & Wen-Hui Chen Fellowship (top 0.5%)
2017                   USC Viterbi Graduate School Ph.D. Fellowship
2017                   USC Research and Teaching Assistantship
2015 – 2016       CMU CEE Scholarship (partial tuition)
2015                   Beijing Outstanding Graduate (top 5%)
2015                   Beijing Normal University Outstanding Graduate
2013                   First Class Scholarship of Beijing Normal University (top 5%)

Peer-reviewed journal publications:

Wei, X., Binger, Z.M., Achilli, A., Sanders, K.T., & Childress, A.E., 2019. “A modeling framework to evaluate blending of seawater and treated wastewater streams for synergistic desalination and potable reuse.” Water Research. In press.

Wei, X., Gao, B., Wang, P., Zhou, HD., & Lu, J. 2015. “Pollution Characteristics and Health Risk Assessment of Heavy Metals in Street Dusts from the Different Functional Areas in Beijing, China.” Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety. 112, 186-192. (ESI highly cited paper as of January/February 2016.)

Wei, X., Han, LF., Gao, B., Zhou, HD., Lu, J., & Wan, XH. 2016. “Distribution, bioavailability, and potential risk assessment of the metals in tributary sediments of Three Gorges Reservoir: The impact of water impoundment.” Ecological Indicators. 61, 667-675.

Han, LF., Gao, B., Wei, X., Gao, L., Xu, DY., & Sun, K. 2015. “The characteristic of Pb isotopic compositions in different chemical fractions in sediments from Three Gorges Reservoir, China.” Environmental Pollution. 206, 627-635.

Han, LF., Gao, B., Wei, X., Xu, DY., & Gao, L. 2016. “Spatial distribution, health risk assessment, and isotopic composition of lead contamination of street dusts in different functional areas of Beijing, China.” Environmental Science and Pollution Research. 23(4), 3247-3255.

Gao, L., Gao, B., Wei, X., Zhou, HD., & Xu, DY. 2015. “Assessment of metal toxicity and development of sediment quality guidelines using the equilibrium partitioning model for the Three Gorges Reservoir, China.” Environmental Science and Pollution Research.

Han, LF., Gao, B., Zhou, HD., Xu, DY., Wei, X., & Gao, L. 2015. “The spatial distribution, accumulation and potential source of seldom monitored trace elements in sediments of Three Gorges Reservoir, China.” Scientific Reports. 5, 16170.

Gao, B., Wei, X., Zhou HD., Jin, L., Hao, H., & Wan, XH. 2014. “Pollution Characteristics and Possible Sources of Seldom Monitored Trace Elements in Surface Sediments Collected from Three Gorges Reservoir, China.” The Scientific World Journal. 2014.

Han, LF., Sun, K., Jin, J, Wei, X., Xia, XH., Wu, FC., Gao, B., & Xing, BS. 2014. “Role of Structure and Microporosity in Phenanthrene Sorption by Natural and Engineered Organic Matter.” Environmental Science & Technology. 48(19), 11227-11234.