Jacob King

Dr. Jacob (Jack) King is a Pittsburgh native and joined Pitt in September 2025. The King group aims to develop decentralized technologies to achieve a circular water economy by eliminating contaminants and recovering nutrients and critical minerals from waste streams. The group particularly focuses on electrochemical systems – which do not require chemical inputs, are modular, and can be remotely operated. Projects include destruction and sensing of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances and selective separation of ionic chemical species in wastewater.

B.S., Environmental Engineering, Duke University, 2016
M.S., Environmental Engineering, Stanford University, 2017
PhD, Environmental Engineering, Stanford University, 2022

LaPier, J.K., Liu, Y.J., King, J.F., Béguerie, T., Nzihou, A., & Mitch, W.A. (2026). Electrochemical Debromination of Brominated Aromatic Flame Retardants Using Activated Carbon-Based Cathodes. Environ Sci Technol, 60(1), 1346-1356.American Chemical Society (ACS). doi: 10.1021/acs.est.5c03324.
Ng, C.A., & King, J.F. (2026). Trends in Organofluorine Chemistry Reveal Gaps in Knowledge on Environmental Persistence. Environ Sci Technol, 60(16), 11924-11937.American Chemical Society (ACS). doi: 10.1021/acs.est.6c01045.
Wang, Z., Lower, L., Kawashima, K., Zhang, D., Misal, S.N., Castro Baldivieso, S., Chen, G., Hong, S., Tupkar, H., Silva, K.N., Banerjee, A., Mathison, R., Lopez Ochoa, J., Buyuker, I.S., Messias, I., Ju, D., Lee, A., Gaddam, R., King, J.F., Blockmon, A.L., Nagarajan, P., Stokes, J.E., Svirinovsky-Arbeli, A., Biby, A.H., Wilson, C.E., Luo, J., Cosenza, A., Phuthi, M.K., Karki, N., Wang, X., Morchhale, A., Arrazolo, L.K., Ramesh, S.L., Kozlica, D.K., Ganesan, V.S., Tafese, B.N., Lim, J., Wofford, L., Hou, S., Shin, J., Oh, D., Minocha, N., & Cabana, J. (2026). NGenE 2025: Electrochemistry for Energy Abundance. ACS ENERGY LETTERS.American Chemical Society (ACS). doi: 10.1021/acsenergylett.6c01050.
King, J.F., & Chaplin, B.P. (2024). Electrochemical reduction of perand polyfluorinated alkyl substances (PFAS): is it possible? Applying experimental and quantum mechanical insights from the reductive defluorination literature. CURRENT OPINION IN CHEMICAL ENGINEERING, 44.Elsevier. doi: 10.1016/j.coche.2024.101014.
King, J.F.F., & Mitch, W.A.A. (2024). Electrochemical reduction of halogenated organic contaminants using carbon-based cathodes: A review. CRITICAL REVIEWS IN ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY, 54(4), 342-367.Taylor & Francis. doi: 10.1080/10643389.2023.2239130.
King, J.F., & Mitch, W.A. (2022). Electrochemical Reduction of Halogenated Alkanes and Alkenes Using Activated Carbon-Based Cathodes. Environ Sci Technol, 56(24), 17965-17976.American Chemical Society (ACS). doi: 10.1021/acs.est.2c05608.
King, J.F., Szczuka, A., Zhang, Z., & Mitch, W.A. (2020). Efficacy of ozone for removal of pesticides, metals and indicator virus from reverse osmosis concentrates generated during potable reuse of municipal wastewaters. Water Res, 176, 115744.Elsevier. doi: 10.1016/j.watres.2020.115744.
Scholes, R.C., King, J.F., Mitch, W.A., & Sedlak, D.L. (2020). Transformation of Trace Organic Contaminants from Reverse Osmosis Concentrate by Open-Water Unit-Process Wetlands with and without Ozone Pretreatment. Environ Sci Technol, 54(24), 16176-16185.American Chemical Society (ACS). doi: 10.1021/acs.est.0c04406.
Zhang, Z., King, J.F., Szczuka, A., Chuang, Y.H., & Mitch, W.A. (2020). Pilot-scale ozone/biological activated carbon treatment of reverse osmosis concentrate: potential for synergism between nitrate and contaminant removal and potable reuse. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE-WATER RESEARCH & TECHNOLOGY, 6(5), 1421-1431.Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC). doi: 10.1039/d0ew00013b.
King, J.F., Taggart, R.K., Smith, R.C., Hower, J.C., & Hsu-Kim, H. (2018). Aqueous acid and alkaline extraction of rare earth elements from coal combustion ash. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF COAL GEOLOGY, 195, 75-83.Elsevier. doi: 10.1016/j.coal.2018.05.009.

Jacob King

Biography

Publications