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Washington State University
The Gene and Linda Voiland School of Chemical Engineering and Bioengineering

Faculty & Staff

Haluk Beyenal

Haluk Beyenal, Ph.D.
Professor
Voiland College Associate Dean of Research and Graduate Studies

Electrochemistry for human health and environment, electrochemical bandage, electrochemical signals in soil and envirochemical engineering.

Dr. Beyenal’s Website
Google Scholar

Office: 305B Wegner Hall đź“ž509-335-6607

Lab: 303, 347, 350 & 353 Wegner Hall

The Gene and Linda Voiland
School of Chemical Engineering and Bioengineering
1505 Stadium Way, Room 105
P.O. Box 646515
Washington State University
Pullman, WA 99164-6515

Graduate Students

Christina Webster
Dilara Ozdemir
Duygu Aydin
Ibrahim Bozyel
MD Monzurul Islam Anoy
Majid Al-Qurahi
Mohamed Abdallah
Won-Jun Kim

Biography

Dr. Beyenal is widely known for his biofilm engineering expertise in the area of microscale biofilm characterization and electron transfer processes in biofilms. The research in his laboratories has focused on the fundamental understanding of biofilm processes, their characterization, and applications of biofilm processes. He has developed many research tools for understanding biofilm processes at the microscale, including microelectrodes for monitoring local chemistry and electron transfer mechanism inside biofilms. He has developed mathematical models for predicting biofilm activity, electron transfer rates, and biofilm structure. He pioneered the studies of electron transfer processes in biofilms using microelectrodes and powering electronic devices using microbial fuel cells. He and his collaborators in Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) developed an electrochemical nuclear magnetic resonance microimaging technique to study electron transfer processes in biofilms. The microscale techniques developed in his laboratory are critically used to study biofilms respiring on electrodes. His research group also developed technology to power remote sensors using energy harvested from microbial fuel cells. His research has been supported by the Office of Naval Research, National Science Foundation program, Department of Energy, Department of Defense, National Institute of Health as well as industry. He and Zbigniew Lewandowski published a book entitled “Fundamentals of Biofilm Research” in 2007 and 2nd edition in 2013 and he received an NSF-CAREER award in 2010. He and Jerome Babauta edited a book entitled “Electrochemically active biofilms in microbial fuel cells and bioelectrochemical systems: From laboratory practice to data interpretation” in 2015. Recently his research group was awarded by the National Institute of Health to develop an electrochemical bandage for wound healing by eliminating biofilms. Currently, he is a tenured Professor at Washington State University, in the Gene and Linda Voiland School of Chemical Engineering and Bioengineering. He trained many Ph.D. students in the field of electrochemistry and biofilm engineering. These students are employed by Intel, Academia, Gamry, Illumina, and other companies.

Education and Credentials

  • PhD in Chemical Engineering, Hacettepe University, 1997
  • MS in Chemical Engineering, Hacettepe University, 1993

Major accomplishments

  • Received NSF-CAREER award
  • Received 3M non-tenured faculty award
  • Invented electrochemical scaffold and discovered mechanism of action for electrochemical biofilm control
  • Developed novel electrochemical techniques to study electrochemically active biofilms
  • Discovered applications of electrochemically active biofilms
  • Published a book on fundamentals of biofilm research (1st and 2nd editions)
  • Published an edited book on electrochemically active biofilms
  • Developed new electrochemical and optical microsensors
  • Discovered new treatment strategies for wound biofilms
  • Designed microbial fuel cells and developed technologies for using electricity from microbial fuel cells
  • Developed image analysis software for biofilm structure quantification
  • Organized workshops to teach biofilm processes

Awards and honors

  • 2018 Outstanding Research Faculty Award, Voiland College of Engineering and Architecture, Washington State University
  • 2018 Anjan Bose Outstanding Researcher Award, Voiland College of Engineering and Architecture, Washington State University
  • 2017 Outstanding Research Faculty Member in the Voiland School of Chemical Engineering and Bioengineering, Washington State University
  • 2017 Tech Connect Defense Medical Innovation Award
  • 2014 Outstanding Academic Advisor, Washington State University, Graduate and Professional Student Association
  • 2013 Senior fellow for the summer faculty research program, Office of Naval Research
  • 2012 Co-Founder: ISMET (International Society of Microbial Electrochemical Technology)
  • 2011 Outstanding Researcher Award, College of Architecture, Washington State University
  • 2010 NSF-CAREER Award
  • 2007 3M Non-tenured Faculty Award
  • 2005 Outstanding Researcher Award, College of Engineering, Montana State University
  • 1996 Doctoral research fellowship for studying abroad, awarded by The Scientific and Technical Research Council of Turkey
  • 1994-1996 Doctoral research fellowship, awarded by The Scientific and Technical Research Council of Turkey
A yellow field with two people walking in the distance
Measuring electric current in soil could provide answers on soil health
Our research group developed a probe to measure the electrochemical signal of microbes in aquatic environments and tested it on healthy and unhealthy soil samples to measure microbial metabolism and other indicators of soil health. Read the report about this research on Science Daily. Or read the article published by Wired about this discovery.
Two researchers use an electric probe in the laboratory to test for antibiotic resistance.
Test determines antibiotic resistance in less than 90 minutes
We developed technology that measures the metabolic activity of bacteria with an electric probe can identify antibiotic resistance in less than 90 minutes, a dramatic improvement from the one to two days required by current techniques.
Read about this discovery on Science Daily.
Haluk Beyenal with Phuc Ha looking at a petri dish.
WSU researchers grow citrus disease bacteria in the lab
Beyenal research group have for the first time grown the bacteria in a laboratory that causes Citrus Greening Disease, considered the world’s most harmful citrus disease. Read details of this discovery in various news.
Pools of hot water like this are the home to bacteria that can eat and breathe electricity.
Our research group captured bacteria that eat and breathe electricity!
Read report about this research on WSU news or watch the YouTube video.
Defense Innovation Award 2017 Logo
WSU e-bandage combats drug-resistant bacteria, wins defense innovation award
Our research team was awarded the TechConnect Defense Innovation Award at this year’s Defense Innovation Technology Acceleration Challenges summit for their invention of an electrochemical scaffold to combat drug-resistant bacterial wound infections.
Graphic showing unique microbial photosynthesis discovered
Unique microbial photosynthesis discovered
Our research group discovered a unique microbial photosynthesis for the first time in a pair of bacteria.
Read Sci-News report on this discovery.
Biofilms in Bioelectrochemical Systems: From Laboratory Practice to Data Interpretation - edited by Haluk Beyenal and Jerome T. Babauta (textbook cover)
This book, edited by Dr. Haluk Beyenal and WSU Ph.D. graduate, Dr. Jerome T. Babauta, serves as a manual of research techniques for electrochemically active biofilm research. View the book at Wiley.com
Fundamentals of Biofilm Research, Second Edition cover
Fundamentals of Biofilm Research, Second Edition provides the tools to unify and advance biofilm research as a whole.