Galym-Galam: Associate Professor Stavros G. Poulopoulos NU SEDS
Our new guest of ‘Galym-Galam’ rubric is Stavros Poulopoulos, Associate Professor and Acting Head of the Chemical and Materials Engineering Department. Dr. Poulopoulos started his scientific career in Athens, Greece, worked as an International Plant Protection Convention expert in the Slovak Republic. Now he is working in NU SEDS on the development of cost-effective and highly active materials to purify water from organic pollutants and toxic heavy metals.
Can you please tell us about your educational and professional background?
I studied Chemical Engineering and obtained an MSc degree in Process Analysis and Plant Design as well as the second one in Environment & Development from the National Technical University of Athens (NTUA). I got a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering in 2004 studying the Catalytic Oxidation of Oxygenated Organic Compounds in Exhaust Emissions. My postdoc topic was the development of biological and chemical processes for treating highly toxic wastewaters. Besides my educational and research work at NTUA, I was involved in the implementation of the Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control Directive in the Slovak Republic as an International Plant Protection Convention expert for 2 years. During 2007-2013, I represented the Hellenic Ministry of Infrastructure, Transport, and Networks in many European Agencies and bodies as a scientific advisor. I firstly worked in Kazakhstan as Associate Professor at Kazakh-British Technical University (KBTU) before joining NU in 2016.
Can you please tell us about your current research project?
Water is a cross-cutting issue that is central to all development efforts and Kazakhstan is one of the most water-scarce countries on the Eurasian continent. My research group aims at developing cost-effective and highly active materials for the removal of organic pollutants and toxic heavy metals of emerging concern in water. My research is based on two Faculty Development Competitive Research Grants. Another field that I am currently working in is the study and development of indicators for the decoupling of energy consumption from economic growth in the context of sustainable development. In my opinion, the fact that many students from all levels are involved in my research expanding the knowledge in the field is of equal importance.
What are your key research findings?
The technologies we developed have been efficiently applied to purify municipal wastewater from Nur-Sultan, leachates from the municipal solid waste landfill, and wastewater coming from a local poultry slaughterhouse facility as well. Recently, we developed novel Ti2O3/TiO2 photocatalysts that can be activated by solar light. This work could lead to a breakthrough in the field. Naturally, I could not stay unaffected by the current situation: Together with colleagues, we published a paper conducting clustering analysis of countries using the COVID-19 cases dataset, which has already received 50 citations in one year.
Why did you choose to join NU?
Having a very positive opinion for the country from my service in Almaty, I made a central decision in my life to continue working for NU, as I was impressed by the clear vision behind its establishment: a leading university to act as a role model for higher education in Kazakhstan that would provide society with its next leaders, and become a top research institute in Central Asia and – why not – globally. The effort made in such a short time, the people working towards a common goal, the huge investment in research capacity and infrastructure, made it obvious to me from the beginning that this was the ideal place for me to be!
What are your future plans?
My plan is to continue working hard towards the goals of NU from all of my posts: As an instructor, to continue providing student-centered teaching; as a researcher to make NU a research hub in the field of environmental engineering, and as Head of Department to substantially support the effort to achieve ABET accreditation for our programs.