Professor Julie Korak (she/her)

Summary

Dr. Korak’s research interests are broadly focused on water treatment engineering spanning municipal drinking water, water reuse and industrial waste management. Her recent projects include developing holistic water treatment and waste brine management processes for ion exchange systems and evaluating corrosion of drinking water distribution systems. Her research also focuses on using optical sensing techniques to characterize dissolved organic matter (DOM) fate and transport in drinking water treatment processes.

Google Scholar    Current CV   ORCID   ResearchGate

Professional Experience

2018 - Present: Assistant Professor in Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering, University of Colorado Boulder

2015-2018: Environmental Engineer, Water Treatment Group, Bureau of Reclamation, U.S. Department of the Interior

Education and Licensure

Professional Engineer License (2017-), State of Colorado

Ph.D. Civil Engineering (2013), University of Colorado Boulder

M.S. Civil Engineering (2013), University of Colorado Boulder

B.S. Chemical Engineering (2009), University of Colorado Boulder

B.S. Environmental Engineering (2009), University of Colorado Boulder

Awards and Honors

• 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, 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