Education:

The University of Texas at Austin
PhD Chemical Engineering, December 2016
Thesis: “Ion sorption and transport in ion exchange membranes: Importance of counter-ion condensation”
Thesis Directors: Benny D. Freeman and Donald R. Paul

MSE Chemical Engineering, May 2016

Stony Brook University, New York
BSE Chemical and Molecular Engineering/Applied Math and Statistics, May 2012
Magna Cum Laude

Research Interests: ^top

Securing adequate, sustainable supplies of energy and water at affordable costs is an enormous challenge facing humanity. Due to the interconnected relationship between these two critical resources, often termed the Water-Energy Nexus, a shortcoming in one could negatively impact the availability of the other. Technologies based on polymeric materials (e.g., membranes and sorbents) will play a key role in addressing our water and energy needs due to their efficiency, simplicity, and small footprint. The success of such technologies hinges on developing new materials with improved functionality. However, despite a longstanding academic and industrial interest in this area, significant fundamental and practical challenges remain.

The Kamcev research group aims to develop next-generation polymeric materials (e.g., membranes and sorbents) for water treatment and energy generation/storage applications. We will implement an integrative approach based on materials synthesis, advanced characterization, and modeling to design new polymeric materials that overcome the limitations of existing materials. We will synthesize polymers with precisely controlled structures, characterize their properties, evaluate their performance in real systems, and, when appropriate, use models to infer rational connections between molecular structure and performance. The fundamental knowledge generated by this approach will guide subsequent design of materials with enhanced functionality. Emphasis will be placed on improving the fundamental understanding of solute transport in polymers in aqueous and non-aqueous systems and developing structure/property guidelines for the rational design of high-performance polymeric materials with properties specifically tailored for a given application to achieve desired separation goals with minimal energy usage.

Biography: ^top

Professional Experience

University of Michigan
Chemical Engineering Department
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Assistant Professor, 2019-

Department of Chemistry, University of California, Berkeley

Postdoctoral Scholar, 2017 – 2019
Research directed by: Jeffrey R. Long

McKetta Department of Chemical Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin

Postdoctoral Fellow, November 2016 – May 2017
Research directed by: Benny D. Freeman, Donald R. Paul

NSF Graduate Research Fellow, August 2012 – November 2016

Awards: ^top

Henkel Award for Outstanding Graduate Research in Polymer Science and Engineering, 2019

ACS PMSE Future Faculty Scholar, 2018

ACS I&EC Graduate Student Award Symposium – First Place, 2016

AIChE Separations Division Graduate Student Research Award, 2016

NSF CLiPS Outstanding Graduate Student Award, 2016

North American Membrane Society Graduate Student Fellowship Award, 2016

McKetta Department of Chemical Engineering Paper of the Year Award, 2016

NSF Graduate Research Fellowship, 2012-2014

Publications: ^top

Selected Journal Articles

Also see Google Scholar

1. J. Kamcev, M. K. Taylor, D.M. Shin, N. N. Jarenwattananon, K. A. Colwell, J. R. Long,“Functionalized porous aromatic frameworks as high-performance adsorbents for the rapid removal of boric acid from water”, Advanced Materials, 1808027 (2019)

2. J. Kamcev, D. R. Paul, G. S. Manning, B. D. Freeman, “Ion diffusion coefficients in ion exchange membranes: significance of counter-ion condensation”, Macromolecules, 51, 5519 (2018)

3. H. B. Park, J. Kamcev, L. M Robeson, M. Elimelech, B. D. Freeman, “Maximizing the right stuff: the tradeoff between membrane permeability and selectivity”, Science, 356, 1137 (2017)

4. J. Kamcev, D. R. Paul, B. D. Freeman, “Effect of fixed charge group concentration on equilibrium ion sorption in ion exchange membranes”, Journal of Materials Chemistry A, 5, 4638 (2017)

5. J. Kamcev, M. Galizia, F. Benedetti, E. S. Jang, D. R. Paul, B. D. Freeman, G. S. Manning,“Partitioning of mobile ions between ion exchange polymers and aqueous salt solutions: importance of counter-ion condensation”, Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics, 18, 6021 (2016)