Dr. Shaily Mahendra explains how we can use bioremediation - the earth's natural process for restoring itself, to heal environmental degradation of the earth caused by humans and industry. Dr. Shaily Mahendra develops novel environmental applications of nanomaterials, monitoring tools, and technologies for bioremediation of water contaminants resulting from industrial, military, agricultural, and energy production activities. Currently a prestigious award-winning Professor in the UCLA Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Shaily teaches courses and conducts research in the areas of environmental engineering and microbiology. She seeks solutions to two of our biggest challenges - clean water and clean energy.
Shaily is also a member of the California NanoSystems Institute, Institute of the Environment and Sustainability, and the Molecular Toxicology Program. She received her Ph.D. from University of California, Berkeley, and post-doctoral training at Rice University. Throughout her career she received the NSF Career Award, DuPont Young Professor Award, Walter Huber Civil Engineering Research Prize, and Paul Busch Award from the Water Research Foundation. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at www.ted.com/tedx