Month: December 2025

Smart Water Sensors Help Preserve Clean Water Supplies

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Three researchers wearing lab coats stand together in a laboratory, examining a small sensor or sample held by the researcher in the center. Laboratory equipment, bottles, and instruments are visible in the background, indicating an active research setting.Sharing exciting new research advancing smart sensor technologies to improve long-term monitoring of water and soil systems!

Prof. Baikun Li from the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering leads this effort, working with Prof. Yu Lei from our department and Dr. Xingyu Wang to develop smart sensors for nitrogen species in municipal wastewater with improved accuracy and stability. By leveraging components and technologies that eliminate the need for tedious calibration, this work targets calibration-free, long-term monitoring in wastewater systems—a significant step forward for reliable water quality management.

In parallel, the team is expanding these sensor technologies to agricultural and soil monitoring applications, including the development of hydrogel-coated soil sensors designed to improve monitoring accuracy while helping minimize fertilizer use and reduce environmental impacts in agriculture.

Read more on UConn Today.

Laurencin Named 2025 Wallace H. Coulter Lecturer at Pittcon

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Dr Laurencin speaks at a podium with a microphone, gazing at a projected presentation displaying diagrams. The setting is professional and well-lit.Celebrating an outstanding achievement by Prof. Sir Cato Laurencin, who served as the 2025 Wallace H. Coulter Lecturer at Pittcon, one of the world’s leading conferences in laboratory science and analytical innovation.

In his Coulter Lecture, “Regenerative Engineering: The Frontier is Here,” Dr. Laurencin highlighted how convergence across materials science, biology, engineering, and clinical translation is enabling transformative advances in tissue and organ regeneration. His work exemplifies how chemical engineering principles and cross-disciplinary collaboration can drive impactful solutions at the intersection of science, medicine, and technology.

Congratulations to Dr. Laurencin on this well-deserved recognition and for continuing to advance the frontiers of regenerative engineering.

Read more on UConn Today.