Jovan Kamcev

• PhD, The University of Texas at Austin (December 2016), Chemical Engineering
  • Thesis: “Ion sorption and transport in ion exchange membranes: Importance of counter-ion condensation”
  • Thesis Directors: Benny D. Freeman and Donald R. Paul
• MSE, The University of Texas at Austin (May 2016), Chemical Engineering
• BSE, Stony Brook University, New York (May 2012), Chemical and Molecular Engineering/Applied Math and Statistics
  • Magna Cum Laude

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

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. Examples include electrodialysis, electrolysis (water, CO2, nitrate, etc.), and batteries. 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 develops next-generation polymeric materials (e.g., membranes and sorbents) for water treatment and energy generation/storage applications. We 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 synthesize polymers with precisely controlled structures, characterize their properties, evaluate their performance in real systems, and, when appropriate, use models and molecular simulations to establish connections between molecular structure and performance. The fundamental knowledge generated by this approach will guide subsequent design of materials with enhanced functionality. We place emphasis 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.

• University of Michigan ChE Department Outstanding Faculty Award, 2025
• Rackham PACE Fellowship, 2024
• ACS PMSE Young Investigator Award, 2024
• AIChE 35 Under 35 Award (Chemicals and Materials Category), 2023
• NSF CAREER Award, 2023
• DOE Early Career Research Award, 2021
• North American Membrane Society Young Membrane Scientist Award, 2021
• 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

Selected Journal Articles

Also see Google Scholar

1. D. Kitto, J. C. Díaz, C. Espinoza, J. Zamora, J. Kamcev^*, “Fast and selective ion transport in ultrahigh charge density ion-exchange membranes”, Nature Chemical Engineering, 2, 252 (2025)
2. W. Pan, D. Roy, B. Uralcan, S. K. Patel, A. Iddya, E. Ahn, A. Haji-Akbari, J. Kamcev^*, M. Elimelech^*, “A highly selective and energy efficient approach to boron removal overcomes the Achilles heel of seawater desalination”, Nature Water, 3, 99 (2025)
3. G. Reimonn, J. Kamcev^*, “Techno-economic perspective on the limitations and prospects of ion-exchange membrane technologies”, Current Opinion in Chemical Engineering, 47, 101077 (2025)
4. J. C. Díaz, C. E. Uhlenbrock, N. Singh^*, J. Kamcev^*, “Coordination, hydration, and diffusion of vanadyl cations in negatively charged polymer membranes”, Chemical Engineering Journal, 499, 155942 (2024)
5. C. Espinoza, J. C. Díaz, D. Kitto, H. K. Kim, J. Kamcev^*, “Bound water enhances the ion selectivity of highly charged polymer membranes”, ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces, 16 (34), 45433 (2024)
6. D. Kitto, J. Kamcev^*, “Predicting the conductivity/selectivity trade-off and upper bound in ion-exchange membranes”, ACS Energy Letters, 9, 1346 (2024)
7. J. C. Díaz, J. Park, A. Shapiro, H. Patel, L. Santiago-Pagán, D. Kitto, J. Kamcev^*, “Understanding monovalent cation diffusion in negatively charged membranes and the role of membrane water content”, Macromolecules, 57 (5), 2468 (2024)
8. C. Espinoza, D. Kitto, J. Kamcev^*, “Counter-ion conductivity and selectivity tradeoff for commercial ion-exchange membranes at high salinities”, ACS Applied Polymer Materials, 5, 10324 (2023)
9. D. Kitto, J. Kamcev^*, “The need for ion exchange membranes with high charge densities”, Journal of Membrane Science, 677, 121608 (2023)
10. J. C. Díaz, D. Kitto, J. Kamcev^*,”Accurately measuring the ionic conductivity of membranes via the direct contact method”, Journal of Membrane Science, 669, 121304 (2023)
11. C. Carey, J. C. Díaz, D. Kitto, C. Espinoza, E. Ahn, J. Kamcev^*,”Interfacial interactions between polymers and selective adsorbents influence ion transport properties of boron scavenging ion-exchange membranes”, Journal of Membrane Science, 669, 121301 (2023)
12. D. Kitto, J. Kamcev^*, “Manning condensation in ion-exchange membranes: A review on ion partitioning and diffusion models”, Journal of Polymer Science, 60, 2929 (2022) Polymer Membranes for Desalination Issue (Invited)
13. J. Kamcev^*, “Reformulating the permselectivity-conductivity tradeoff relation in ion-exchange membranes”, Journal of Polymer Science, 59, 2510 (2021) Young Investigator Issue (Invited)
14. J. C. Díaz, J. Kamcev^*, “Ionic conductivity of ion-exchange membranes: Measurement techniques and salt concentration dependence”, Journal of Membrane Science, 618, 118718 (2021) Editor’s Choice Article