Researcher Profile: Meet Hang Nguyen

Hang Nguyen is a Master’s student in the Ecohydrology Research Group at the University of Waterloo. The lab is run by Professor Philippe Van Cappellen who is the Principal Investigator on the Microplastics Fingerprinting project.

The Microplastics Fingerprinting project team consists of almost 30 faculty members, masters and PhD students, and support staff from various disciplinary backgrounds. We recognize this diversity as a strength that enables an interdisciplinary and holistic evaluation of the challenges and solutions associated with microplastics. Each issue of our newsletter will feature one of the project’s excellent researchers.   ​

Hang is currently working on extracting microplastics from stormwater pond sediment and water and characterizing microplastic particles using Laser direct infrared imaging (LDIR) spectroscopy. By collecting sediments from stormwater ponds with different land uses and extracting microplastics, we hope to gain more insights into the contribution of urban catchments to microplastic pollution, as well as factors controlling microplastics’ occurrence and distribution in aquatic ecosystems. Data from the LDIR can provide essential information, such as particle sizes and polymer composition, to help us predict microplastic transportation and fate in aquatic ecosystems.

Hang received her Bachelor of Science degree in Environmental Chemistry from Trent University, Peterborough, Canada. She was inspired to research contaminants in the aquatic environment through her coursework in toxicology and oceanography.