Our guest tonight is Dr. Michael S. Wong, a professor in the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at Rice University. He is also professor in the Departments of Chemistry, Civil and Environmental Engineering, and Materials Science and NanoEngineering. He was educated and trained at Caltech, MIT, and UCSB before arriving at Rice in 2001. His research program broadly addresses chemical engineering problems using the tools of materials chemistry, with a particular interest in energy and environmental applications ("catalysis for clean water"). He has received numerous honors, including the MIT TR35 Young Innovator Award, the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) Nanoscale Science and Engineering Young Investigator Award, Smithsonian Magazine Young Innovator Award, and the North American Catalysis Society/Southwest Catalysis Society Excellence in Applied Catalysis Award. He is research thrust leader on multifunctional nanomaterials in the NSF-funded NEWT (Nanotechnology Enabled Water Treatment) Engineering Research Center. He is chair of the ACS Division of Catalysis Science and Technology (CATL), and serves on the Applied Catalysis B: Environmental editorial board. Previous experiences include chairmanship of the AIChE Nanoscale Science and Engineering Forum and Chemistry of Materials editorial board membership.
The focus of this podcast is recent work led by Dr. Youngkun Chung, one of Dr. Wong's postdoctoral research associates, which describes a new approach to filtering PFAS from water at 1,000 times the efficiency of methods such as activated carbon. Better still, the captured PFAS can be removed from this new filter medium in a process that renders it safe, and the medium ready for reuse.
Topics covered include:

• Description of PFAS chemicals are
• How they get into the environment
• Limitations of existing filtration approaches
• Details of the new technology
• How Dr. Wong's team at Rice University collaborate to develop technlogies that use chemical engineering to make our environment cleaner.

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Our guest tonight is Bernadette Del Chiaro, Senior Vice President at the Environmental Working Group, a non-profit working to empower people with breakthrough research to make informed choices and live a healthy life in a healthy environment.

Bernadette leads EWG’s California operations, building the organization at the state level to continue its groundbreaking work on advancing critical environmental and public health priorities, through innovative policies, enhanced transparency and improved accountability of government agencies.

Del Chiaro has 30 years of experience building non-profit organizations focused on the goals of  clean energy and a healthier environment. Most recently, she served as the executive director of the California Solar and Storage Association. Under her leadership, it became the nation’s largest clean energy business association focused on consumer-facing solar energy solutions.

Prior to that, she worked for nearly two decades for environmental non-profit organizations, including Environment California, where she championed the Million Solar Roofs Initiative, and the Toxics Action Center, where she helped neighborhood groups fight for their right to a clean environment.

Del Chiaro has authored several reports on a variety of energy topics and has been widely quoted in many national, international and local media outlets.

In tonight's episode we discuss the following:

• Despite the known negative health effects of "forever chemicals" known as PFAS, they are still legally used as pesticides on food grown throughout the United States, with a few exceptions, such as in Maine.
• In a March 2026 EWG study involving 930 samples of non-organic California-grown produce, 37% were found to be contaminated with PFAS-based pesticides.
• EWG is supporting legislation such as AB 1603, which would ban the use of PFAS-based pesticides in California by 2035.
• In the meantime, EWG recommends continuing to consume produce, favoring organic produce when feasible, and using proper washing techniques.
• Risks associated with PFAS exposure can be further reduced by favoring produce on EWG's "Clean Fifteen" list, and avoiding the "Dirty Dozen".

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