Current Research

Our research is as diverse and innovative as our outstanding faculty, with projects ranging from urban-regional modeling to robotic technologies tailored to support crop production.

NICCS Research that is Federally Funded

• Functional Consequences of Species Gains and Losses on Prairie Restoration
  • Holly Jones, Ph.D., NIU professor of Biology; Funded by the National Science Foundation
• Scalable Integration of CO₂ Capture and Electrocatalytic Conversion to Organic Liquids
  • Tao Xu, Ph.D., NIU professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry; Funded by the US Department of Energy
• Elucidating Solvation Structures for Rational Design of Solvent-in-Salt Electrolytes for High Voltage Batteries Alkali-Metal Batteries
  • Tao Li, Ph.D., NIU professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry; Funded by the National Science Foundation and the US Department of Energy

NICCS Research Funded by the Illinois Innovation Network

• A Pilot Study on the Prevalence and Rise of Antibiotic-Resistant Genes in Urban and Rural Illinois
  • Pallavi Singh, NIU assistant professor of biological sciences
• Engineering Sustainable Composite Membranes for Water Filtration and Remediation
  • Robert Sinko, NIU assistant professor of mechanical engineering
• Building a Sustainable Geo-STEM Learning Ecosystem for Illinois Teachers
  • Nicole LaDue, Ph.D., NIU associate professor of Earth, Atmosphere, and Environment
• Development and Application of a Novel Cancer-Mortality Index in Illinois: Discovering Opportunities for Public Health Intervention
  • Courtney Hughes, Ph.D., NIU professor of Public Health
  • Mahdi Vaezi, Ph.D., NIU associate professor of Engineering Technology
• Development of Robotic Technologies Tailored to Support Specialty Crop Production in the State of Illinois
  • Farzin Ferdowsi, Ph.D., NIU assistant professor of Electrical Engineering
• Establishing a Caregiver Stakeholder Registry for Collaboration for Health Equity, Engaging Technology for Aging in the Home CARE for CHEETAH
  • Jennifer Gray, Ph.D., NIU professor of Public Health
• Forever Chemicals: PFAS Detection, Fate and Transport in Illinois
  • Melissa Lenczewski, Ph.D., NIU professor of Earth, Atmosphere, and Environment
  • Megan Brown, Ph.D., NIU assistant professor of Earth, Atmosphere and Environment
• Integrated Logistical, Techno-economic and Socio-environmental Assessment Framework for Sustained Municipal Solid Waste Conversion Facilities
  • Mahdi Vaezi, Ph.D., NIU associate professor of Engineering Technology
• Laboratory-scale Biomass Containers to Achieve Transportation Density and Lignin Pre-treatment Processes
  • Nicholas A. Pohlman, Ph.D., NIU professor of mechanical engineering
• Modification of Basil Flavor via Adjustment of Light Environment
  • Kevin Martin, Ph.D.,NIU research professor of Engineering Technology
• Sustainable Urban-Regional Modeling Network SURe Modeling
  • John T. Murphy, Ph.D., NIU research associate professor of Anthropology and Computational Engineer at Argonne National Laboratory
• Sustainable Water Supply System in Illinois Using Innovative Electrochemical Treatment Technology
  • Tomoyuki Shibata, Ph.D., NIU professor of Public Health
  • Kyu Taek Cho, Ph.D., NIU associate professor of Mechanical Engineering
• Sustaining Illinois through Collaborative Governance: A Pilot Study of Water Systems Governance in Northeast and North Central Illinois
  • Thomas Skuzinski, J.D., Ph.D., NIU associate professor of public administration and director of the NIU Institute for the Study of Environment, Sustainability and Energy

Other NICCS Research

• Impact of Prairie Restoration on Water Quality
  • Melissa Lenczewski, Ph.D., NIU professor of Earth, Atmosphere and Environment and assistant director of the NIU Center for Southeast Asian Studies