Onassis Foundation scholar Irene Xagoraraki was named Assistant Professor of Environmental Engineering at Michigan State University’s Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering.
She graduated from the Department of Environmental Studies, University of the Aegean, Greece, and as a recipient of an Onassis Foundation scholarship she pursued her studies in the United States over the period 1994-1997, earning her MS and PhD from the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering of the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
She has conducted research into water quality engineering, drinking water safety and public health, with a particular focus on the detection, removal and inactivation of emerging biological and chemical contaminants in water systems. Moreover, her recent research has focused on pathogens (adenoviruses, enteroviruses), protozoa (Cryptosporidium), cyanobacterial toxins and pharmaceuticals in drinking water.
She teaches undergraduate and postgraduate theoretical and laboratory courses in environmental engineering, water quality and public health. She is a research advisor on water quality issues to several American and Canadian governmental bodies, and has been awarded important prizes and distinctions in the USA.
Irene Xagoraraki has also published several books and articles in international scientific journals and has presented papers at international scientific conferences.
