Skip to main content
Clarkson University Logo
  • Visit
  • Apply
  • Request Info
  • Give
  • Alumni
  • Parents
  • Intranet
  • About
    • President's Page
    • Board of Trustees
    • Administration
    • History & Facts
    • Accreditation
    • Accolades
    • The Clarkson Brand
    • Maps & Directions
  • Academics
    • Undergraduate Programs
    • Graduate Programs
    • Continuing & Professional Education
    • School of Arts & Sciences
    • Lewis School of Health Sciences
    • Reh School of Business
    • Coulter School of Engineering
    • Beacon Institute for Rivers and Estuaries
    • Institute for a Sustainable Environment
    • Institute for STEM Education
    • Academic Affairs
    • Student Achievement Services
    • Academic Calendar
  • Admissions
    • First-Year Admissions, Undergraduate
    • Transfer Admissions, Undergraduate
    • International Admissions, Undergraduate
    • Early College Program: The Clarkson School
    • Graduate School Admissions
    • Financial Aid
    • Apply Now
  • Campus Life
    • Office of Student Life
    • Student Clubs & Activities
    • Living on Campus
    • Campus Dining
    • Clarkson Ignite
    • Career & International Experiences
    • Explore the Region
    • Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
    • Student Health & Counseling
    • ROTC
    • Office of the Dean of Students
  • Research
  • Athletics
  • News
  • Search

CU • News & Events

Clarkson Professor’s Research Featured in Nature Scientific Reports

Release Date
Wednesday May 3, 2023

Abul Baki, an Assistant Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Usama Ijaz, a Civil and Environmental Engineering PhD student at Clarkson University, and their co-authors recently published their research on the in-stream transport and retention of polystyrene microplastics in the prestigious journal Nature Scientific Reports. 

Abul Baki

Scientific Reports is the fifth-most cited journal in the world, with more than 696,000 citations in 2021, and receives widespread attention in policy documents and the media.

Microplastics (MPs) as an emerging contaminant have become a threat to ecosystems due to their persistence in terrestrial, aquatic, and marine environments. Due to their ubiquitous presence, microplastics are currently becoming a major interest to researchers. 

The paper published by Baki and Ijaz investigates the impact of large roughness elements (LREs) on in-stream transport and retention patterns of polystyrene-microplastics (PS-MPs). This study presents the results as the necessary primary and pivotal stage for future research to achieve an overall robust understanding, characterization, and parameterizations of in-stream MPs transport and retention processes. 

This study was promoted by the Team Science Project Planning Grant (2022) of Clarkson University. Others who collaborated on this project with Baki and Ijaz include Alan Christian, Biology Research Professor at Clarkson, Omar Abdul-Aziz, Associate Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at West Virginia University, and Wenming Zhang, Assistant Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Alberta. 

To learn more about the study, visit https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-023-33436-0

As a private, national research university, Clarkson is a leader in technological education and sustainable economic development through teaching, scholarship, research and innovation. We ignite personal connections across academic fields and industries to create the entrepreneurial mindset, knowledge and intellectual curiosity needed to innovate world-relevant solutions and cultivate the leaders of tomorrow. With its main campus located in Potsdam, N.Y., and additional graduate program and research facilities in the New York Capital Region, Beacon, N.Y., and New York City, Clarkson educates 4,600+ students across 95 rigorous programs of study in engineering, business, the arts, education, sciences and health professions. Our alumni earn salaries that are among the top 2.5% in the nation and realize accelerated career growth. One in five already leads as a CEO, senior executive or owner of a company. To learn more about Clarkson University, go to www.clarkson.edu.


Photograph for media use is available at:
/sites/default/files/media/image/2018-09/abul-baki.jpg

Photograph Size:
Width: 2400px
Height: 3600px

News directors and editors: For more information, contact Jake Newman, Director of Media Relations, at 315-268-6764 or jnewman@clarkson.edu.

Schools at Clarkson

  • Graduate School
  • School of Arts & Sciences
  • David D. Reh School of Business
  • Wallace H. Coulter School of Engineering
  • Earl R. and Barbara D. Lewis School of Health Sciences
  • Institute for a Sustainable Environment
  • Early College Program: The Clarkson School
  • Institute for STEM Education
  • Beacon Institute for Rivers and Estuaries

Highlights of Excellence

  • Career Center
  • Honors Program
  • ROTC
  • Student Projects for Engineering Experience and Design (SPEED)
  • Student Success Center
  • Writing Center

Research & Innovation

  • Clarkson Center for Complex Systems Science (C3S2)
  • The Center for Advanced Materials Processing (CAMP)
  • Center for Air and Aquatic Resources Engineering & Science (CAARES)
  • Center for Identification Technology Research (CITeR)
  • The Center for Rehabilitation Engineering, Science & Technology (CREST)
  • NYS Center of Excellence in Healthy Water Solutions
  • The Shipley Center for Innovation
  • Clarkson Ignite
  • University Libraries

Clarkson University

8 Clarkson Ave., Potsdam, New York 13699 315-268-6400
80 Nott Terrace, Schenectady, NY 12308 518-631-9831
199 Dennings Ave., Beacon, New York 12508 845-838-1600
Take a Virtual Tour

Organizational Chart
© 2023 by Clarkson University | Web Accessibility Assistance

  • Human Resources • Giving • Bookstore
  • CARES Act Reports & Consumer Information Disclosures (HEOA)
  • Act on Legal & Moral Concerns