FKKT

Education

• 2010 - 2013 - PhD: Interdisciplinary doctoral study program Environmental Protection, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia.
• 2007 - 2009 - Master: Master study program Chemistry and Technology of Environmental Protection, Brno University of Technology, Faculty of Chemistry, Brno, Czech Republic

Positions

• 2021 – Associate Professor and Researcher, University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Chemistry and Chemical Technology, Ljubljana, Slovenia
• 2016 – 2021 - Assistant Professor and Researcher, University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Chemistry and Chemical Technology, Ljubljana, Slovenia
• 2013 – 2016 - Assistant and Researcher, University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Chemistry and Chemical Technology, Ljubljana, Slovenia

Research Fields

• Microplastics – sources, occurrence in the environmental, fate, impacts and solutions
• Ecotoxicity
• Wastewater Treatment
• Bioremediation (Phytoremediation, Mycoremediation) Strategies

Current Projects

• PLANTERASTICS – Interactions of microplastics with floating plants – Principal investigator (2019 – 2021), ARRS.

• PLASTI-C-WETLAND – Impact of microplastics on a constructed wetland – Principal investigator (2020-2023), ARRS.

• PAPILLONS – Plastic in Agricultural Production: Impacts, lifecycles and long-term sustainability– Principal investigator at UL FKKT (2021-2025), EU H2020.

• PRIORITY – Plastics Monitoring Detection Remediation Recovery – Member of the Management Committee (2021-2025), EU, COST Action.
• PLA-NET – The plastic network - member

International experience

• 2021 - Visiting researcher and guest professor (Erasmus+), University of Koblenz Landau, Institute for Environmental Sciences, Germany. Topic: Interactions of microplastics with nanoparticles (January – April, October 2021)
• 2020 - Visiting researcher, University of Cartagena, Environmental and Computational Chemistry Group, Colombia. Topic: Microplastics in Cartagena bay (January 2020)
• 2019 - Guest professor, Erasmus+ , Staff mobility for teaching at Jagiellonian University in Krakow, topic of lectures: Plastics and microplastics in the environment and Bioremediation and phytoremediation technologies. Krakow, Poland (December 2019)
• 2019 - Guest professor, Erasmus+ , Staff mobility for teaching at Universidad de Jaén, Departamento de Ingeniería Química, Ambiental y de los Materiales, topic of lectures: Plastic waste management and Microplastics in the environment. Jaen, Spain (May 2019)
• 2019 – Invited lecture. A scientific perspective on microplastics in nature and society: an overview of SAPEA report 2019: invited lecture at scientific forum Perspective on microplastics in nature and society, on June 11th, 2019, at Albanian Academy of Sciences, Tirana, Albania.
• 2019 – Invited lecture. SAPEA evidence review report - natural sciences: overview of natural sciences evidence: invited lecture at Experts Workshop 'Environmental and Health Impacts of Microplastic Pollution - from scientific evidence to policy advice', 10-11 January 2019, Brussels, Belgium.
• 2018-2019 - Member of a working group engaged by the European Commission (Science Advice for Policy by European Academies - SAPEA) – preparation of evidence report “A Scientific Perspective on Microplastics in Nature and Society”
• 2018 – Invited lecture at World Water Week technical event on Microplastics in freshwater environments: The removal of microplastics in wastewater treatment plants 27 August 2018, Stockholm, Sweden.
• 2018 - Guest professor, Erasmus+ , Staff mobility for teaching at Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade de Lisboa, topic of lectures: Microplastics. Lisboa, Portugal (September 2018)
• 2017 - Guest professor, UNESCO – Summer School: Plastics in Marine and Freshwater Environments (July 2017) – creating an international network of scientists, politicians and other experts in the field of microplastics
• 2016 - Visiting researcher, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Department of Aquatic Sciences and Assessment, Uppsala, Sweden. Topic: Assessment of potential effects of pesticides in streams (PRO-AQUA project) (June – July 2016)
• 2015/2016 - Visiting researcher, Tulane University, School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, New Orleans, USA. Topic: Development of a treatability protocol for Contaminants of Emerging Concern (CECs) (August 2015 – September 2015 and August 2016 – September 2016)
• 2013 - Visiting researcher, University Koblenz-Landau, Institute for Environmental Sciences, Landau, Germany. Topic: Nanoparticles and their ecotoxicological implications in the aquatic environment (March 2013 – May 2013)
• 2012 - Visiting researcher, INCDO – INOE 2000, Research Institute for Analytical Instrumentation, Cluj-Napoca, Romania. Topic: Advanced oxidation processes for removal of hazardous pollutants from landfill leachate (December 2012)
• 2012 - Visiting researcher Tulane University, School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, New Orleans, USA. Removal of endocrine disruptive chemicals by Advanced Oxidation Processes (August 2012 – September 2012)
• 2011 - Visiting researcher, Slovak University of Technology, Institute of chemical and environmental engineering, Bratislava, Slovakia. Degradation of selected harmful compounds by ozonation (September 2011)

Awards

• 2019 - Third prize for supervising of students at the 53nd Young Researchers' Summit of Slovenia – research work Presence of microplastics in Slovenian products   
• 2018- Second prize for supervising of students at the 52nd Young Researchers' Summit of Slovenia – research work Delamination of waste paper by funghi Dichomitus squalens in Ceriporiopsis subvermispora.   
• 2017- Second prize for supervising of students at the 51st Young Researchers' Summit of Slovenia – research work Microplastics in cosmetics.
• 2015 - Student prize: The best teacher of the University Study Programme Chemical Engineering for the year 2014/2015. UL FKKT
• 2011- Research Award in the field of Environmental Protection, Soroptimist International, Slovenia
• 2010 – 2013    Doctoral fellowship Ad Futura for foreign citizens in Slovenia in the year 2010, Slovene (Human Resources and Scholarship Fund, Slovenia)

Cooperation on National and International Projects

• 2020 - Cooperation with the University of Plymouth on UNEP Stocktake of Actions to reduce the flow of marine plastic litter and microplastics to the oceans. Academic partner for the Eastern European countries
• 2020 - Development and application of Cordyceps militaris extracts – Supervisor, (Creative path to knowledge, 5 months), Public Scholarship, development, disability and maintenance fund of the Republic of Slovenia
• 2019 - Laboratory constructed wetland: Optimization of treatment, Innovative project for social benefit, Public Scholarship, development, disability and maintenance fund of the Republic of Slovenia
• 2019 - Health friendly photopolymers for 3D printing, Creative path to knowledge, European Social Fund
• 2019 - Optimization of physico-chemical properties of epoxy coatings, Creative path to knowledge, European Social Fund
• 2017 - The development of aqueous dispersion coatings with improved rheological properties, Creative path to knowledge, European Social Fund
• 2017 - Development of Ganoderma lucidum applications, Creative path to knowledge, European Social Fund
• 2015 – 2016 - Development of a treatability protocol for Contaminants of Emerging Concern (Tulane University, School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, New Orleans, USA), Bilateral Project Slovenia-USA
• 2012 – 2013 - Advanced oxidation processes for removal of hazardous pollutants from landfill leachate (INCDO-INOE 2000, Research Institute for Analytical Instrumentation,Cluj, Romania), Bilateral Project Slovenia – Romania
• 2011 – 2012 - Degradation of selected harmful compounds by ozonation (Slovak University of Technology, Institute of chemical and environmental engineering, Bratislava, Slovakia), Bilateral Project Slovakia-Slovenia
• 2011 – 2012 - Removal of Endocrine Disruptive Chemicals by Advanced oxidation processes (Tulane University, School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, New Orleans, USA), Bilateral Project Slovenia-USA

Teaching Assignments

Bologna 1st Cycle Programmes

Introduction to environmental engineering (study programme of Chemical engineering at UL, FKKT)
Industrial processes and sustainable development (study programme of Chemical technology at UL, FKKT)
Environmental protection I (study programme of Technical safety at UL, FKKT)

Bologna 2nd Cycle Programmesfileadmin/datoteke/2-Študij/2-Bolonjski_programi_2._stopnje/3-Kemijsko_inženirstvo_2015-2016/PROCESI_V_TEHNOLOGIJAH_VARSTVA_OKOLJA_2015-2016.pdf

Industrial ecology and clean technology (study programme of Chemical engineering at UL, FKKT)
Bioremediation technologies (study programme of Chemical engineering at UL, FKKT)

Bibliography
The complete bibliography is available at COBISS system