Ran YIN, Ph.D.
Associate Professor at Nanjing University
Current affiliation:
Institute for the Environment and Health
Nanjing University
Taihu Lake Avenue 1520
Email: yinran@nju.edu.cn
Academic Profiles: [Google Scholar] [ResearchGate] [ORCID]
Bio
Prof. Ran Yin is an Associate Professor at the Institute for the Environment and Health, Nanjing University (NJU), recognized as a National High-Level Young Talent and a Suzhou Innovation & Entrepreneurship Leading Talent. He earned his B.Eng. from Nanjing University in 2014 and his Ph.D. from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) in 2020, subsequently serving as a Research Assistant Professor there from 2022 to 2023 after postdoctoral research and having conducted visiting studies at Stanford University and Purdue University. His research, anchored at the National Key Laboratory, focuses on advanced water treatment and photochemistry-driven solutions for environmental risk control, supported by grants from the NSFC and provincial funds. With over 50 first/corresponding-author papers in top journals like Nature Water, Environmental Science & Technology, and Water Research, his contributions have earned him distinctions such as the IUVA Rising Star Award, inclusion in Stanford's Top 2% Scientists list, and selection for the Hong Kong RGC Junior Research Fellow Scheme. He actively engages in the academic community through roles on the IUVA Board Member and as an Early Career Board Member for Environmental Science & Technology, while also collaborating with industry to translate research into applications like equipment for UV disinfection and emerging contaminants. His group welcomes prospective postdocs and students to contact him at yinran@nju.edu.cn.
News
New January 2026. Dr. Yin was selected to join the Early-career Editorial Board of ENGINEERING Environment.
New January 2026. Dr. Yin was selected to join the Early-career Editorial Board of Water Cycle.
New January 2026. Our paper “Elucidating the role of reactive nitrogen species in micropollutant degradation using machine learning” was published on Water Research.
January 2026. Our paper “Simultaneous control of organic chloramines and emerging contaminants in swimming pool water using far-UVC irradiation” was published on Water Research.
November 2025. Our paper “Simultaneous Control of Chlorite and Micropollutants in Drinking Water through Far-UVC Photolysis” was published on Environmental Science & Technology.
October 2025. Our paper “Dissolved organic matter-mediated photosensitized activation of peracetic acid for micropollutant abatement in wastewater effluent” was published on Journal of Hazardous Materials.
August 2025. Our paper “Reactive Halogen Species Boost Fungal Spore Inactivation in Seawater during UV/PMS Treatment” was published on Environmental Science & Technology. The paper was selected as the Front Cover Article!
July 2025. Our paper “Making waves: Sustainable control of micropollutants via NOM-mediated photosensitized activation of oxidants” was published on Water Research.
June 2025. Our paper “Efficient Production of HO• and 3DOM* via Far-UVC Photolysis of Dissolved Organic Matter in Water” was published on Environmental Science & Technology.
June 2025. Our paper “Reductive Control of Refractory Contaminants in Water by Far-UVC Photolysis of Sulfite” was published on Environmental Science & Technology.
December 2024. Our paper “Modeling ClO2–NOM Reactions for Predicting Byproduct Formation and Micropollutant Degradation in Surface Water” was published on Environmental Science & Technology.
November 2024. Our paper “Reactive Nitrogen Species Generated from Far-UVC Photolysis of Nitrate Contribute to Pesticide Degradation and Nitrogenous Byproduct Formation” was published on Environmental Science & Technology.
October 2024. Dr. Yin has been ranked among the World’s Top 2% Scientists by Stanford University for citation impact in 2024.
October 2024. A new project was funded by NJU for the “AI for Science” program.
October 2024. Dr. Yin has been awarded for the Gusu Innovation and Entrepreneurship Talent Project.
September 2024. Dr. Yin has been selected to serve at the IWA Young Professionals Committee - China Chapter.
August 2024. Our paper “Control of Aromatic Disinfection Byproducts in Potable Reuse Water by the UV222/H2O2 vs UV254/H2O2 Advanced Oxidation Processes” was accepted by Environmental Science & Technology.
July 2024. Our paper “Control of Micropollutants in Water by Far-UVC Photolysis of Peracetic Acid” was accepted by Environmental Science & Technology Letters.
July 2024. Our paper “Data driven multiple objective optimization of AAO process towards wastewater effluent biological toxicity reduction” was accepted by npj Clean Water.
June 2024. Dr. Yin went back to HKUST for talent recruitment for NJU!
May 2024. Our paper “Dissolved Organic Matter-Mediated Photosensitized Activation of Monochloramine for Micropollutant Abatement in Wastewater Effluent” was accepted by Environmental Science & Technology.
April 2024. Dr. Yin was appointed to the Adjunct Assistant Professor position at HKUST.
March 2024. Our paper “Far-UVC Photolysis of Peroxydisulfate for Micropollutant Degradation” was accepted by Environmental Science & Technology.
January 2024. Dr. Yin has started his new position as a tenure-track associate professor at Nanjing University!
January 2024. The cover art we designed for the paper “Rapid Inactivation of Fungal Spores in Drinking Water by Far-UVC Photolysis of Free Chlorine” was selected as the Front Cover of the current issue of ES&T.
January 2024. Our paper “Advanced oxidation of recalcitrant chromophores in full-scale MBR effluent for non-potable reuse of leachate co-treated municipal wastewater” was accepted by Chemosphere.
December 2023. Our paper “The impacts of climate change on groundwater quality: a review” was accepted by Science of the Total Environment. This is our 12th and also the last paper published in Year 2023.
December 2023. Dr. Yin was invited to give a keynote speech at the 3rd Jiangsu-Hong Kong-Macau joint Engineering Forum in Macau.
December 2023. Dr. Yin was invited to serve as the co-host for an online seminar delivered by Prof. Qiang Zhimin on “UV for Water Disinfection”.
November 2023. Dr. Yin was invited to give a keynote speech at the 2023 CUVA/IUVA Asia UV Symposium in Jinan.
November 2023. A new project was funded! We will explore the photochemistry of peroxyacids towards non-potable reuse of treated wastewater effluent.
November 2023. Our paper “Rapid Inactivation of Fungal Spores in Drinking Water by Far-UVC Photolysis of Free Chlorine” was accepted by Environmental Science & Technology.
October 2023. Our paper “Developing a Hybrid Model for Predicting the Reaction Kinetics between Chlorine and Micropollutants in Water” was accepted by Water Research.
October 2023. Dr. Yin presented his work about “Applying Far-UVC Radiation in Controlling Micropollutants in Water” at the IWA Aspire Conference in Kaohsiung.
October 2023. Dr. Yin received the Excellent Young Scientist Fund.
September 2023. Dr. Yin presented his work about the Opportunities and Challenges of Applying Far-UVC Radiation in Controlling Micropollutants in Water at the IUVA World Congress in Dubai.
September 2023. Welcome Ms. Song Xinjie and Ms. Du Yue to join the Yin Lab @NJUSZ!
August 2023. A new project was commenced in August 21. We work with the Water Service Department (WSD) and Binnies to develop innovative technologies to treat reclaimed water for district cooling in Hong Kong.
June 2023. Our GRF proposal gets funded by the Hong Kong Research Grants Council. We will investigate the degradation of refractory organic contaminants in water by far-UVC-driven photolysis and advanced oxidation processes and explore the possibility of using the novel UV radiation source for broad water treatment applications. Cheers!
June 2023. Our paper “Rapid and complete inactivation of pathogenic microorganisms by solar-assisted in-situ H2O2 generation using a polypyrrole-supported copper sulfide system” was accepted by Applied Catalysis B: Environmental.
June 2023. Our paper “Controlling Contaminants Using a Far-UVC-based Advanced Oxidation Process for Potable Reuse” was accepted by Nature Water. This is my first paper on Nature branded journals. More to come!
June 2023. Our paper “Making waves: Opportunities and challenges of applying far-UVC radiation in controlling micropollutants in water” was accepted by Water Research.
June 2023. Our paper “Dose–Response Behavior of Pathogens and Surrogate Microorganisms across the Ultraviolet-C Spectrum: Inactivation Efficiencies, Action Spectra, and Mechanisms” was accepted by Environmental Science & Technology.
May 2023. Our paper “Nitrate Protects Microorganisms and Promotes Formation of Toxic Nitrogenous Byproducts during Water Disinfection by Far-UVC Radiation” was accepted by Environmental Science & Technology.
May 2023. Our paper “A High-Radical-Yield Advanced Oxidation Process Coupling Far-UVC Radiation with Chlorinated Cyanurates for Micropollutant Degradation in Water” was accepted by Environmental Science & Technology.
April 2023. I was invited to join the Editorial Board of Environmental Surfaces and Interfaces.
April 2023. I was invited to join the HKUST CIVL Faculty-Student Sports Day! I beat the Table Tennis player from the School team! We also won the badminton match but lost the basketball match! What a close game!
April 2023. Our paper “Generation of Reactive Nitrogen Species in UV Photolysis of Dichloramine and Their Incorporation into Nitrogenous Byproducts” was accepted by Environmental Science & Technology.
March 2023. I will start my new position as a tenure-track Associate Professor at Nanjing University (Suzhou Campus) from September 2023! So excited about the new role!
Feb 2023. Our paper “Photo-sterilization of groundwater by tellurium and enhancement by micro/nano bubbles” was accepted by Water Research.
Feb 2023. New semester starts! I will teach CIVL 2410 and work on three research projects relevant to Far-UVC, DOM photochemistry, and electricity generation from wastewater.
November 2022. I was invited to give a research seminar by the School of Energy and Environment at the City University of Hong Kong.
November 2022. I was invited to give a seminar at the 3rd Yungu Young Scholar Symposium at Westlake University.
October 2022. I was selected to join the Early-career editorial board of Reviews of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology.
October 2022. Our paper “Role of UV-based advanced oxidation processes on NOM alteration and DBP formation in drinking water treatment: A state-of-the-art review” was accepted by Chemosphere.
September 2022. Our paper “Reducing properties of triplet state organic matter probed via the transformation from chlorine dioxide to chlorite” was accepted by Water Research.
August 2022. Our paper “Reactive Nitrogen Species Mediated Inactivation of Pathogenic Microorganisms during UVA Photolysis of Nitrite at Surface Water Levels” was accepted by Environmental Science & Technology.
August 2022. I started a new position as a Research Assistant Professor at HKUST.
August 2022. I was selected to join the Early-career editorial board of《中国给水排水》.
July 2022. Our paper “Superfast degradation of micropollutants in water by reactive species generated from the reaction between chlorine dioxide and sulfite” was accepted by Water Research.
July 2022. Our paper “Transformation of dissolved organic matter during biological wastewater treatment and relationships with the formation of nitrogenous disinfection byproducts” was accepted by Water Research.
June 2022. Our paper “Effects of molecular-level component variation of fulvic acid on photodegradation of Microcystin-LR under solar irradiation” was accepted by Chemical Engineering Journal.
May 2022. Our paper “Revisiting the protocol for determining submicromolar concentrations of ozone in the water treated by advanced oxidation processes” was accepted by Chemosphere.
May 2022. I served at the Program Committee and attended the “2022 IUVA Research Innovation Symposium”.
April 2022. Our paper “Multi-angle comparison of UV/chlorine, UV/monochloramine, and UV/chlorine dioxide processes for water treatment and reuse” was accepted by Water Research.
March 2022. The book chapter “Sulfate Radical-based Advanced Oxidation Processes for Water and Wastewater Disinfection” from the book “Persulfate-based Oxidation Processes in Environmental Remediation” was published by Royal Society of Chemistry.
March 2022. Our paper “ClO2 pre-oxidation changes dissolved organic matter at the molecular level and reduces chloro-organic byproducts and toxicity of water treated by the UV/chlorine process” was accepted by Water Research.
March 2022. Our paper “Dosing low-level ferrous iron in coagulation enhances the removal of micropollutants, chlorite and chlorate during advanced water treatment” was accepted by Journal of Environmental Sciences.
March 2022. I started a new position as a Visiting Postdoctoral Scholar at Stanford University.
Feb 2022. Our paper “Concentration-dependent Chloride Effect on Radical Distribution and Micropollutant Degradation in the Sulfate Radical-based AOPs ” was accepted by Journal of Hazardous Materials.
January 2022. Our paper “A Flower Pollen-based Photosensitization Process for Enhanced Solar Disinfection of Drinking Water: Reactor Design and Inactivation Mechanisms” was accepted by ACS ES&T Engineering.
December 2021. Our paper “A Novel UVA/ClO2 Advanced Oxidation Process for the Degradation of Micropollutants in Water” was accepted by Environmental Science & Technology.
December 2021. Our paper “The multiple roles of chlorite on the concentrations of radicals and ozone and formation of chlorate during UV photolysis of free chlorine” was presented at the Pacifichem 2021: A Creative Vision for the Future.
December 2021. I was invited to present the paper “Development of the UV/chlor(am)ine advanced oxidation processes for emerging contaminant removal during potable water reuse” at the 4th International Forum on Asian Water Environment Technology.
October 2021. I was invited by SENG to present at the HKUST Engineering Research Postgraduate Recruitment Webinar.
June 2021. I was invited to present the paper “Micropollutant abatement by UV photolysis of inorganic chloramines towards potable water reuse” at the IWA Digital World Water Congress.
May 2021. I was invited by SENG to share the Appreciation Notes for HKUST Learning Journeys.
May 2021. I was interviewed by the Head Engineering Student Ambassador (Sheena Anne Garcia) and shared about “How an Engineering PhD Graduate Quenches Curiosity for Truth through Research”.
April 2021. I was named the winner of the School of Engineering (SENG) PhD Research Excellence Award 2020-21.
July 2020. The paper “Chloramine photochemistry and its application in potable water reuse” was presented at the 4th National Conference on Water Treatment and Reuse of China and received the “Best Paper Award”.
April 2020. I was awarded by the Hong Kong Research Grants Council (RGC) for the prestigious RGC Postdoctoral Fellowship.
March 2020. The paper “The Fate of chlorine dioxide under UV-LED irradiation” was presented at the IUVA Americas Conference.
November 2019. I successfully defended my Ph.D. Dissertation.