Damian Helbling

Damian Helbling is a Professor in the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering within Cornell University's College of Engineering, having joined the faculty in January 2014. He received a B.S. in Civil Engineering with a minor in environmental engineering from The Pennsylvania State University, where he participated as a National Science Foundation REU fellow at the Center for Biofilm Engineering. Before pursuing graduate studies, he worked as an environmental engineering consultant. Helbling earned his M.S. and Ph.D. in Civil and Environmental Engineering from Carnegie Mellon University, completing his doctorate in May 2008 with research on sensor networks in drinking water distribution systems to monitor and control post-treatment water quality. He then conducted postdoctoral research at the Swiss Federal Institute for Aquatic Science and Technology (Eawag) in Switzerland, focusing on the environmental fate of organic chemical contaminants, with emphasis on biological transformation processes.

Helbling's research investigates the occurrence, fate, and remediation of organic chemicals in natural and engineered water systems, highlighting links to human health, antibiotic resistance, and ecosystem integrity. His group employs high-resolution mass spectrometry to characterize organic molecules in water and wastewater and develops innovative remediation technologies, including cyclodextrin-based adsorbents for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). Key publications include “Discovery of comprehensive sets of chemical constituents as markers of PFAS sources through a nontarget screening and machine learning approach” (Environmental Science & Technology, 2025), “A macroporous cyclodextrin monolith for continuous PFAS removal from water” (Journal of the American Chemical Society, 2025), “Cascading pathways regulate the biotransformations of eight fluorotelomer acids performed by wastewater microbial communities” (Environmental Science & Technology, 2024), and “Perfluoroalkyl acid adsorption by styrenic β-cyclodextrin polymers, anion-exchange resins, and activated carbon is inhibited by matrix constituents in different ways” (Water Research, 2024). He has earned the Tau Beta Pi Professor of the Year Award (2024), Sustainable Future Award from SRC (2023), Research Excellence Award from Cornell Engineering (2019), NSF CAREER Award (2018), and James and Mary Tien Excellence in Teaching Award (2016). Through collaborations with toxicologists, chemists, utilities, and industry, Helbling contributes to water quality guidelines and sustainable chemical alternatives.

Professional Email: damian.helbling@cornell.edu