Kirin E. Furst
Associate Professor
Kirin E. Furst
Biography
Water treatment and wastewater reuse; disinfection; disinfection byproducts; fate and transport of organic contaminants; contaminants of emerging concern; PFAS (per and poly-fluoroalkyl substances); drinking water distribution systems; environmental analytical chemistry; drinking water policy
Areas of Interest
Kirin Emlet Furst (she/her or they/them) is an Associate Professor at the Occoquan Watershed Monitoring Laboratory, and PI of the Water Systems Chemistry Engineering Lab (Water SyCEL). Their team conducts research across multiple domains of water quality engineering with the primary goal of helping to achieve access to safe drinking water for all. Current areas of focus include the impacts of extreme weather on water and sanitation infrastructure, and affordable treatment systems for simultaneous control of pathogens, DBPs, and PFAS in drinking water and potable reuse systems.
- B.S. in Liberal Arts, Sarah Lawrence College, 2010
- M.S. in Environmental Engineering, Stanford University, 2017
- Ph.D. in Environmental Engineering, Stanford University, 2020
- Virginia Tech, 2024–present, Associate Professor in Civil and Environmental Engineering
- George Mason University, 2020–2024, Assistant Professor in Civil, Environmental and Infrastructure Engineering
- National Science Foundation CAREER Awardee (2024–2029)
- AEESP Spotlight for Weisman, Furst and Ferreira (2023), Variations in Disinfection
- Byproduct Precursors Bromide and Total Organic Carbon among U.S. Watersheds. (https://doi.org/10.1089/ees.2023.0127)
- American Association of University Women Research Publication Award in Engineering, Medicine or Science (2023–2024)
- National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship, Honorable Mention (2017)
- ASCE Student Essay Contest Winner, San Jose Branch, CA (2016)
- Graduate Research Fellowship, Stanford University School of Engineering (2015–2016)
- CAREER: Transformation potential of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in drinking water distribution systems (PI), National Science Foundation, 2024–2029.
- Sanitation infrastructure in vulnerable communities: Current and future risks to water security (PI), United States Geological Survey (104g), 2024–2027.
- Disinfection resiliency and microbial risk in drinking water distribution systems during extreme heat events (PI), National Science Foundation, 2023–2025.
- Furst, K. E.; Graham, K. E.; Weisman, R. J.; Adusei, K. B. It’s Getting Hot in Here: Effects of Heat on Temperature, Disinfection, and Opportunistic Pathogens in Drinking Water Distribution Systems. Water Research 2024, 260, 121913. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.watres.2024.121913.
- Koban, L. A.; King, T.; Huff, T. B.; Furst, K. E.; Nelson, T. R.; Pfluger, A. R.; Kuppa, M. M.; Fowler, A. E. Passive Biomonitoring for Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances Using Invasive Clams. Journal of Hazardous Materials 2024, 472, 134463. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhazmat.2024.134463.
- Weisman, R. J.; Furst, K. E.; Ferreira, C. M. Variations in Disinfection Byproduct Precursors Bromide and Total Organic Carbon among U.S. Watersheds. Environmental Engineering Science 2023, 40 (3). https://doi.org/10.1089/ees.2022.0256.
- Furst, K. E.; Smith, D. W.; Bhatta, L. R.; Islam, M.; Sultana, S.; Rahman, M.; Davis, J.; Mitch, W. A. Effects of Intrusion on Disinfection Byproduct Formation in Intermittent Distribution Systems. ACS EST Water 2022. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsestwater.1c00493.
- Furst, K. E.; Bolorinos, J.; Mitch, W. A. Use of Trihalomethanes as a Surrogate for Haloacetonitrile Exposure Introduces Misclassification Bias. Water Research X 2021, 11, 100089. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wroa.2021.100089.
- Smith, D. W.; Islam, M.; Furst, K. E.; Mustaree, S.; Crider, Y. S.; Akter, N.; Islam, S. A.; Sultana, S.; Mahmud, Z. H.; Rahman, M.; Mitch, W. A.; Davis, J. Chlorine Taste Can Increase Simulated Exposure to Both Fecal Contamination and Disinfection Byproducts in Water Supplies. Water Research 2021, 207, 117806. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.watres.2021.117806.
- Furst, K. E.; Coyte, R. M.; Wood, M.; Vengosh, A.; Mitch, W. A. Disinfection Byproducts in Rajasthan, India: Are Trihalomethanes a Sufficient Indicator of Disinfection Byproduct Exposure in Low-Income Countries? Environmental Science & Technology 2019, 53, 12007–12017. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.9b03484.
- Furst, K. E.; Pecson, B. M.; Webber, B. D.; Mitch, W. A. Distributed Chlorine Injection to Minimize NDMA Formation during Chloramination of Wastewater. Environmental Science and Technology Letters 2018, 5 (7), 462–466. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.estlett.8b00227.
- Furst, K. E.; Pecson, B. M.; Webber, B. D.; Mitch, W. A. Tradeoffs between Pathogen Inactivation and Disinfection Byproduct Formation during Sequential Chlorine and Chloramine Disinfection for Wastewater Reuse. Water Research 2018, 143, 579–588. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.watres.2018.05.050.