Douglas Call
Associate Professor

- 919-515-6455
- dfcall@ncsu.edu
- Fitts-Woolard Hall 3179
- Visit My Website
Dr. Call is an Associate Professor in the Department of Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering at North Carolina State University. Dr. Call is interested in biological and electrochemical processes to treat water and wastewater. Watch a short video below to hear Dr. Call briefly explain his research focus.
Dr. Call received both his MS (2008) and PhD (2011) in Environmental Engineering from Penn State University. He continued as a postdoctoral scientist at Penn State until becoming an Assistant Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Syracuse University in 2012. He is currently teaching CE 373 Fundamentals of Environmental Engineering, CE 378 Environmental Chemistry and Microbiology, and CE 573 Biological Principles of Environmental Engineering at NC State.
Education
Environmental Engineering
The Pennsylvania State University
Environmental Engineering
The Pennsylvania State University
Civil Engineering
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
Environmental Sciences
University of Virginia
Research Description
Dr. Call's research focuses on water and wastewater treatment technologies. He has expertise in both biological and electrochemical principles. Examples of current research interests include: 1) removal of emerging drinking water contaminants, including per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), using electrically-driven separation processes, 2) investigating microbial interactions with pyrogenic carbonaceous materials (e.g., activated carbon, biochar) to enable aqueous contaminant transformations (i.e., biological activated carbon) and energy recovery from wastewater (i.e., anaerobic digestion), 3) desalination of brackish water using capacitive deionization (CDI), 4) phosphate recovery from wastewater using nano-based sorbents, and 5) conversion of nitrogen gas into ammonium using microbial electrochemical technologies.
Honors and Awards
- National Science Foundation CAREER Award, 2020
- Gertrude Cox Award for Innovative Excellence in Teaching and Learning with Technology, 2019
- Outstanding Young Alumni Award - Virginia Tech, 2019
Publications
- Improving Long-Term Anode Stability in Capacitive Deionization Using Asymmetric Electrode Mass Ratios
- Algurainy, Y., & Call, D. F. (2022), ACS ES&T ENGINEERING. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsestengg.1c00348
- Mechanisms of orthophosphate removal from water by lanthanum carbonate and other lanthanum-containing materials
- Zhi, Y., Paterson, A. R., Call, D. F., Jones, J. L., Hesterberg, D., Duckworth, O. W., … Knappe, D. R. U. (2022), SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.153153
- Developing microbial communities containing a high abundance of exoelectrogenic microorganisms using activated carbon granules
- Cheng, Q., & Call, D. F. (2021), SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT, 768. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.144361
- Evaluation of the Temperature Range for Biological Activity in Landfills Experiencing Elevated Temperatures
- Schupp, S., Cruz, F. B., Cheng, Q., Call, D. F., & Barlaz, M. A. (2021), ACS ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY ENGINEERING. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsestengg.0c00064
- Evidence of thermophilic waste decomposition at a landfill exhibiting elevated temperature regions
- Cruz, F. B., Cheng, Q., Call, D. F., & Barlaz, M. A. (2021), WASTE MANAGEMENT, 124, 26–35. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wasman.2021.01.014
- Influence of natural organic matter and pH on phosphate removal by and filterable lanthanum release from lanthanum-modified bentonite
- Zhi, Y., Call, D. F., Grieger, K. D., Duckworth, O. W., Jones, J. L., & Knappe, D. R. U. (2021), WATER RESEARCH. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.watres.2021.117399
- Asymmetrical removal of sodium and chloride in flow-through capacitive deionization
- Algurainy, Y., & Call, D. F. (2020), WATER RESEARCH, 183. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.watres.2020.116044
- Effect of cross-chamber flow electrode recirculation on pH and faradaic reactions in capacitive deionization
- Liu, F., Coronell, O., & Call, D. F. (2020), DESALINATION, 492. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.desal.2020.114600
- Emerging lanthanum (III)-containing materials for phosphate removal from water: A review towards future developments
- Zhi, Y., Zhang, C., Hjorth, R., Baun, A., Duckworth, O. W., Call, D. F., … Grieger, K. (2020). [Review of , ]. ENVIRONMENT INTERNATIONAL, 145. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2020.106115
- Life cycle assessment of salinity gradient energy recovery using reverse electrodialysis
- Mueller, K. E., Thomas, J. T., Johnson, J. X., DeCarolis, J. F., & Call, D. F. (2020), JOURNAL OF INDUSTRIAL ECOLOGY. https://doi.org/10.1111/jiec.13082
Grants
- Converting Textile Waste to Pumpable Slurry for Biogas Production
- Environmental Research & Education Foundation(9/01/21 - 8/31/23)
- Harnessing (bio-)electrochemical Technologies as Sustainable Sources for on Demand Precision Agriculture
- Game-Changing Research Incentive Program for Plant Sciences (GRIP4PSI)(2/17/20 - 6/30/22)
- Science and Technologies for Phosphorus Sustainability (STEPS) Center
- National Science Foundation (NSF)(10/01/21 - 9/30/26)
- CAREER: Leveraging the Multifunctional Redox Properties of Pyrogenic Materials to Enable Biological Transformations of Aqueous Organic Contaminants
- National Science Foundation (NSF)(7/01/20 - 6/30/25)
- An Electroactive Point-of-Use Filter for Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Contaminant Removal
- US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)(10/01/19 - 8/15/21)
- Recovering High-value Acids from Anaerobic Co-digestion of Municipal Solid and Grease Interceptor Waste Using an Electrically Driven Separation Process
- Environmental Research & Education Foundation(5/01/19 - 4/30/22)
- EAGER Electrically Driving the Microbial Conversion of Nitrogen Gas into Ammonia
- National Science Foundation (NSF)(8/15/18 - 7/31/20)
- Electrically Assisted Sorption and Desorption of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances
- Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program (SERDP)(5/16/18 - 5/16/21)
- Methane Conversion to Electrical Current using Microbial Electrochemical Technologies
- NCSU Research and Innovation Seed Funding Program(1/01/15 - 12/31/15)
- Improving the Anaerobic Treatment of Biosolids and High-Strength Waste Streams through Addition of Electrically-Conductive Particles
- NCSU Water Resources Research Institute(3/01/15 - 12/31/16)