Feng “Frank” Xiao
Associate Professor, P.E.
Civil and Environmental Engineering
C2647 Lafferre Hall
Phone: 573.882.6408
Email: feng.xiao@missouri.edu
Feng “Frank” Xiao is an associate professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Missouri College of Engineering. He is an editor of the Journal of Hazardous Materials and an associate editor of the ASCE Journal of Environmental Engineering. He received the USEPA STAR Early Career Award in 2019, the National Science Foundation CAREER Award in 2021, and several other grants from the Department of Defense and USGS. His research focuses on water and soil quality engineering, including disinfection byproducts and black carbon. Currently, he is leading an interdisciplinary team with diverse expertise to address open questions in the following research areas:
- the fate and transport of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in aquatic and soil environments;
- new and cost-effective water treatment and soil remediation technologies; and
- transformation mechanisms of polyfluoroalkyl substances
His research, funded by DoD and NSF, has led to several breakthroughs in our understanding of the thermal degradation and mineralization of PFAS. These findings are widely utilized by both academic and industry professionals. For example, his team has demonstrated for the first time the degradation of PFAS such as PFOA, PFNA, and HFPO-DA (or GenX), at low and moderate temperatures (150−200 °C).
