Julie Korak

  • Assistant Professor
  • Professional Engineer (CO)
  • ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING
Address

Office: SEEC S291B

Education

  • BS in Chemical Engineering and B.S. Environmental Engineering, University of Colorado Boulder (2009)
  • MS in Civil Engineering, University of Colorado Boulder (2013)
  • PhD in Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Colorado Boulder (2014)

Honors and Distinctions

  • Early Career Faculty Development Award, Department of Civil, Environmental, and Architectural Engineering, University of Colorado Boulder, 2026.
  • 40 Under 40 Rising Stars in Environmental Engineering and Science, American Academy of Environmental Engineers and Scientists, 2026
  • Outstanding Review in Environmental Science: Processes & Impacts of 2024, Royal Society of Chemistry (One paper was selected by the Editorial and Advisory Board Members), 2025. https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2024/em/d4em00183d
  • RIO Faculty Fellow, University of Colorado Boulder, 2023–2024.
  • Teaching Award, Department of Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering, University of Colorado Boulder, 2023
  • Faculty Appreciation Award for Environmental Engineering (selected by students), (2020 and 2022)
  • Top Reviewer for AWWA Water Science, 2019
  • Inaugural Early Career Editorial Advisory Board, Environmental Science and Technology, 2020-present
  • Membrane Technology Best Paper Award for a publication in the Journal of the American Water Works Association for Nanofiltration to improve process efficiency of hexavalent chromium treatment using ion exchange. 2019 

Interest

  • Water treatment engineering
  • Inorganic contaminant removal
  • Internal corrosion control
  • Online monitoring of natural and engineered processes

Recent Publications

  1. Korak, J.A. and McKay, G.M. Use of Fluorescence and Absorbance as Surrogates for the Aromaticity and Molecular Weight of Dissolved Organic Matter. Environmental Science: Processes and Impacts.  Advance Article. https://doi.org/10.1039/D4EM00183D
  2. Korak, J.A. and McKay, G.M. Metanalysis of Optical Properties for the Characterization of Dissolved Organic Matter. Environmental Science & Technology, 2024, 58 (17) 7380-7392. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.3c10627
  3. Magliozzi, L.; Matiasek, S.; Charles Alpers, C.; Korak, J.A.; McKnight, D., Foster, A.; Ryan, J.; Roth, D.; Tsui, M.T.; Chow, A.T.; Webster, J.P. Wildland-Urban Interface Wildfire Increases Metal Contributions to Stormwater Runoff in Paradise, CA. Environmental Science: Processes and Impacts, 2024, 26, 667-685. https://doi.org/10.1039/D3EM00298E
  4. Warren, M.; Crespo-Medina, M.; Ramirez-Toro, Rodriguez, R.; Hernandez, M.; Rosario-Ortiz, F.L.; Korak, J.A. Water quality in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria: Challenges associated with lead assessment and potential regulatory implications. ACS ES&T Water, 2023, 3 (2), 354-365. https://doi.org/ 10.1021/acsestwater.2c00425
  5. Korak, J.A.; Mungan, A.L.; Watts, L.T. Critical Review of Waste Brine Management Strategies for Drinking Water Treatment Using Strong Base Ion Exchange. Journal of Hazardous Materials 2023, 441, 129473. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhazmat.2022.129473
  6. Flint, L.C; Arias-Paić M.S.; Korak, J.A. Removal of hexavalent chromium by anion exchange: non-target anion behavior and practical implications. Environ. Sci.: Water Res. Technol 2021, 7, 2397–2413. https://doi.org/10.1039/d1ew00382h
  7. Arias-Paic, M.S.; and Korak, J.A.; Forward osmosis for ion exchange waste brine management. Environmental Science and Technology Letters, 2020, 7 (2), 111-117.  https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.estlett.9b00733