Faculty
Devin L. Shaffer, Ph.D., P.E.
Assistant Professor
Office Location N135 Engineering Building 1, Houston, TX 77204-4003
Phone 713-743-7612 | Fax 713-743-4260
Email dshaffer [at] uh.edu
Education
Ph.D., Chemical & Environmental Engineering, Yale University, 2016
M.Eng., Environmental Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2003
B.S., Civil Engineering, Oklahoma State University, 2002
Professional Experience
2018-present: Assistant Professor of Civil & Environmental Engineering, University of Houston, Houston, TX
2016-2017: Postdoctoral Fellow, Functional Polymers Group, Materials Science and Engineering Division, National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), Gaithersburg, MD
2011-2016: Graduate Student Researcher, Chemical & Environmental Engineering Department, Yale University, New Haven, CT
2003-2011: Professional Engineer, Carollo Engineers, Inc., Phoenix, AZ
Classes
Environmental Engineering (CIVE 3331)
Municipal Drinking Water Treatment (CIVE 6390)
Physicochemical Treatment Processes (CIVE 6387)
Awards & Honors
NSF CAREER Award, Faculty Early Career Development Program, Interfacial Engineering Program, U.S. National Science Foundation, 2021
Teaching Excellence Award, Cullen College of Engineering, University of Houston, 2021
National Research Council (NRC) Postdoctoral Fellowship to conduct materials research at the National Institute of Standards and Technology, 2016-2017
Professional Memberships
Registered Civil Engineer, Arizona
North American Membrane Society
American Chemical Society; Polymeric Materials: Science and Engineering Division
Association of Environmental Engineering & Science Professors
Research Interests
Dr. Shaffer studies materials and processes for water purification and resource recovery. The goal of his research is to promote resilient communities and ecosystems through treatment processes that both create and recover valuable resources.
Currently, Dr. Shaffer investigates new membrane materials with tailored separation properties to improve desalination performance. He employs novel characterization techniques like neutron radiography and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy to gain insight into structure-property relationships that influence membrane performance. Membranes with tailored properties will be incorporated into systems designed for high-recovery desalination of unconventional water sources.
Link to Current List of Published Works:
https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=fuQA-m4AAAAJ
Presentations
- Shaffer D.L. Highly Permselective Contorted Polyamide Desalination Membranes. Oral presentation at the North American Membrane Society Meeting, Tuscaloosa, AL, May 13-17, 2023.
- Paul S. and Shaffer D.L. Chlorine-resistant Covalent Organic Framework (COF) Thin-Film Composite Membranes for Desalination. Oral presentation at the Texas Water Conference, Houston, TX, April 11-14, 2023.
- Flores D.R. and Shaffer D.L. Predicting Nanofiltration Separation using Tunable Covalent Organic Framework Membranes. Oral presentation at the Membrane Technology Conference & Exposition, Knoxville, TN, February 20-23, 2023.
- Picton E.S., Lakraychi A.E., Meng J., Liang Y.L., Shaffer D.L., Yao Y. Nanoporous Covalent Organic Framework (COF) Composite Membrane to Improve the Performance of Organic Batteries. Oral presentation at the Sustainable Nanotechnology Organization Conference, Austin, TX, November 10-13, 2022.
- Taheri P. and Shaffer D.L. Tuning Molecular Interactions with Covalent Organic Framework Membranes to Intensify the Continuous Liquid-Phase Synthesis of Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients. Poster presentation at the Gordon Research Conference Chemical Separations, Galveston, TX, January 21-26, 2024.
- Strane M.S. and Shaffer D.L. Characterizing Class A Land-Applied Biosolids and Microplastics to Quantify Transport from Agricultural Fields to Freshwater Systems. Poster presentation at the Texas Plastic Pollution Symposium, Houston, TX, April 5, 2023.
Selected Publications
- Bribiesca Rodriguez P. and Shaffer D.L., Wettability Alteration and Enhanced Oil Recovery in Carbonate Porous Media by Tuning Waterflood Chemistry. Energy & Fuels, 2024.
- Lakraychi A.E., Picton E.S., Liang Y., Shaffer D.L.*, Yao Y.* Suppressing Shuttle Effect with a Size-Selective Covalent Organic Framework Based Bilayer Membrane. ACS Energy Letters, 2023, 8, 5032-5040.
- Shevate R., Flores D.R., Taheri P., Musale D.A, and Shaffer D.L. Membrane Distillation of Hypersaline Produced Water: Performance, Cleaning, and Membrane Reusability. ACS ES&T Water, 2023, 3, 3407-3417.
- Shevate R. and Shaffer D.L. Large-Area 2D Covalent Organic Framework Membranes with Tunable Single-Digit Nanopores for Predictable Mass Transport. ACS Nano, 2022, 16, 2407–2418.
- Shaffer D.L., Feldman K.E., Chan E.P., Stafford G.R., and Stafford C.M. Characterizing salt permeability in polyamide desalination membranes using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. Journal of Membrane Science, 2019, 583, 248-257.