Rate My Professor Mary Kirisits

Kirisits' research specializations encompass biological drinking water treatment processes, application of molecular biology to biological water treatment systems, microbial transformation of inorganic contaminants, biofilms, quorum sensing in Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilms, rainwater harvesting, drinking water biofiltration, opportunistic human pathogens, SARS-CoV-2 surveillance in wastewater, and the impacts of nanomaterials on antimicrobial resistance in bacteria. She leads a multi-institution U.S. EPA-funded project investigating opportunistic pathogens and disinfection by-products in drinking water distribution systems. Her notable awards include the National Science Foundation CAREER Award in 2009 and the Maxine and Jack Zarrow Family K-16 Teaching Innovation Award in 2022, recognizing her contributions to STEM education and outreach programs such as "Guardians of the Gulf." Key publications feature "Pseudomonas aeruginosa Rugose Small-Colony Variants Have Adaptations That Likely Promote Persistence in the Cystic Fibrosis Lung" (2009), "The effect of roofing material on the quality of harvested rainwater" (2011), and "Characterization of Colony Morphology Variants Isolated from Pseudomonas aeruginosa Biofilms" (2005). With thousands of citations, her work has substantially advanced environmental engineering, particularly in water quality and microbial ecology.