Yun Xing Author & Editor

David M. Kempisty is a bioenvironmental engineer in the US Air Force with over 20 years active duty experience. He is currently serving in the grade of Lieutenant Colonel. In his present assignment, Dave is the Chief of Medical Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear operations in the Surgeon’s Directorate at the North American Aerospace Defense Command and US Northern Command at Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado. Previously Dave was an Assistant Professor and the Director for the Graduate Environmental Engineering and Science program in the Department of Systems Engineering and Management at the Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT). In this capacity, his students and he conducted research into perfluorinated alkyl substances (PFAS) to include both toxicological and remedial aspects of PFAS. He’s been recognized for this research with the 2017 US Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Research and Development bronze medal for Water Infrastructure and Technologies research. Previous to AFIT, Dave earned his PhD from the University of Colorado – Boulder in Civil Engineering. His dissertation included a chapter on improving PFAS adsorption to granular active carbon. Dave is a licensed professional engineer in the State of Michigan. He received his BS degree from Michigan Technological University and his BS degree from AFIT. In addition to research and policy associated with PFAS, other areas of interest include environmental health issues, sustainability initiatives and improving defense support to civil authorities after natural and man-made disasters. Dave is active in multiple professional societies, has led and presented at international and domestic conferences and has authored many peer-reviewed and trade journal articles.

Yun Xing is a postdoctoral research scholar at the Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT). She holds a BS in Biochemical engineering from Tianjin University (China) and a PhD in Bioengineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology. Her previous work experiences include cancer nanotechnology research at Stanford University and research on PFAS remediation and isomer cytotoxicity at AFIT. Her areas of interest include bionanotechnology, toxicity of emerging materials, pollutants of emerging concern, and characterization of the effects and fate of biocontaminants in the environment. She has authored 19 peer-reviewed journal articles and five book chapters with over 1500 citations. She is a member of several professional associations and has served as a reviewer for a number of journals including the Analyst, ACS Nano and Applied and Environmental Microbiology.

LeeAnn Racz is a bioenvironmental engineer in the US Air Force having served at bases across the globe. She currently serves as Commander of the 1st Special Operations Aerospace Medicine Squadron at Hurlburt Field, Florida. Previous assignments have included Chief of Consultative Services at the US Air Force School of Aerospace Medicine as well as assistant professor of environmental engineering and director of the Graduate Environmental Engineering and Science Program in Systems & Engineering Management at the Air Force Institute of Technology. She presently holds the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. She is a licensed professional engineer, certified industrial hygienist, and board certified environmental engineer. She holds a BS in environmental engineering from California Polytechnic State University (San Luis Obispo), an MS in biological and agricultural engineering from the University of Idaho, and a PhD in civil and environmental engineering from the University of Utah. Her areas of interest include characterizing the fate of chemical warfare agents and pollutants of emerging concern in the natural and engineered environments as well as environmental health issues and using biological reactors to treat industrial waste. She has authored dozens of refereed journal articles, conference proceedings, magazine articles, presentations, and two handbooks. She is a member of several professional associations and honor societies and has received numerous prestigious teaching and research awards.