
Shaffer Lab
The Shaffer Lab at the University of Houston studies membrane materials and processes for water purification and resource recovery. Our goal is to promote resilient communities and ecosystems through membrane separations that both create and recover valuable resources.
Research
Research Interests
Design and synthesis of porous materials and functional polymers
Fabrication of polymer thin films and membranes
Structure-property-performance relationships for dense and porous polymer films
Mass transport modeling in engineered and natural systems
Applications
Treatment systems for reuse of produced water from oil and gas operations
Organic solvent filtration
Catalytic membrane reactors for contaminant capture and removal
Decision support tools for water resources management
Tools
Solution-based molecular layer-by-layer assembly of polymer films
Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy
Surface chemistry and topography characterization
Membrane performance testing for ultrafiltration, reverse osmosis, and membrane distillation

Contact Us
UH Civil and Environmental Engineering
4726 Calhoun Road N107
Houston, TX, 77204
dshaffer @ uh.edu
713-743-7612