Cleaning Up Forever: How AI and Membrane Science Are Taking PFAS Out of Our Water with Dr. Yongsheng Chen

About this episode

Dr. Yongsheng Chen discusses the challenges of PFAS in drinking water and how AI and membrane science are being used to address these issues.

Clean water plays a fundamental role in health, safety, and quality of life. This Earth Day conversation takes a closer look at PFAS, often called “forever chemicals,” and the growing challenge they pose to drinking water systems across the United States and beyond. My guest is Dr. Yongsheng Chen, a professor in the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Georgia Institute of Technology and the driving force behind a new approach to water treatment that aims to remove these contaminants at their source. We talk about what makes PFAS so difficult to manage, from their persistence in the environment to the limitations of traditional, chemical-based treatment methods. Dr. Chen explains how his team is using artificial intelligence and machine learning to design advanced nanofiltration membranes. These membranes are built to target harmful substances and pull them out of the water, while still allowing clean water to pass through. His work focuses on removing what doesn’t belong in the first place. That difference matters more now as regulations tighten and even very small traces of contamination are no longer acceptable. There’s also a broader story here about how…

People in this episode

Guest: Dr Yongsheng Chen

Topics covered

• PFAS
• water treatment
• artificial intelligence
• nanofiltration membranes
• environmental science

Keywords

• clean water
• forever chemicals
• machine learning
• Minus Filtration
• municipal systems

Mentioned in this episode

Products: nanofiltration membranes

Books & works: This Episode

Places: the United States

More episodes of AUTM on the Air

• How Novartis Approaches External Research Collaboration with Dr. Yogesh Sharma · June 10, 2026 · 27 min
• Bridging the Early-Stage Funding Gap in Innovation with Teri Willey · June 3, 2026 · 29 min
• Detecting Alzheimer’s Earlier with a Simple Blood Test with Yuanbing Jiang · May 27, 2026 · 23 min
• Turning Research into Real World Impact from the Inside Out with Ravini Moodley · May 20, 2026 · 24 min
• Timing, Trust, and Technical Credibility Building, the Long Game with Ram Krishnan · May 13, 2026 · 30 min
• The Missing Link Between Research and Real-World Impact with Ben Reinhardt · May 6, 2026 · 36 min