Research Interests

Research interests focus on protein and biomimetic engineering including separation and purification of enzymes, use of enzymes in non-conventional media, reactor design for biotransformations in non-conventional media (particularly supercritical fluids), enzyme immobilization (with emphasis on “designer” sol-gels), immobilized enzyme kinetics, biosensor development, protein thermodynamics and stability and analysis of coupled enzymatic reactions. Research in the area of environmental engineering includes bioremediation of contaminated soils, wastewater treatment, development of engineering fundamentals for constructed wetlands (treatment of organic wastes and pathogen removal) and the development of separation processes for treatment of waste effluents. Research is also being conducted in the area of bioprocess monitoring and soft sensor development.

The research in my laboratory is very multidisciplinary so numerous collaborations are in place with faculty not only in the department of Chemical Engineering, but other departments (Civil Engineering) and universities (e.g. University of Guelph; Wilfrid Laurier). The same multidisciplinary mix will be found in the researchers and graduate students that work on the described projects.

Biomimetic Engineering

• Over the past 10 years significant advances have been made in the use of enzymes in non-conventional media. These advances are ushering in a new age in the application of enzymes to organic syntheses. Our efforts in this area have focused on the development of engineering fundamentals using emerging principles from the life sciences. For example, we have concentrated on the development of suitable support materials (e.g. “designer” sol-gels) for biotransformations in non-conventional media (e.g. supercritical fluids). To understand the phenomena that lead to enzyme inactivation in these systems, we have turned to various thermodynamic approaches to characterize the supports and understand fundamental aspects of protein stability and protein/protein interactions.

Environmental Engineering

• We have been active in a variety of areas related to environmental engineering including bioremediation of soils contaminated with polyaromatic hydrocarbons, the treatment of waste effluents, wastewater treatment, pathogen removal and the development of fundamentals related to constructed wetlands. An approach similar to that in the area of biomimetic engineering has been taken where basic biological principles have been applied to understanding these complex processes. This has resulted in the development of novel technologies or more insightful modeling/optimization of these processes.

Awards

Sandford Fleming Foundation Faculty of Engineering Teaching Excellence Award (twice); Award of Merit from the Canadian Society for Chemistry; Excellence in Research Award with Dr. C. Barclay from the Research and Technology Branch of the Ontario Ministry of the Environment; University of Waterloo Alumni Gold Medal; Lionel Cinq Mars Award from the Canadian Botanical Association; Invitation Fellowship from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science.

Selected References

Refereed Journal

• Peldszus, S., Hallé, C., Peiris, R.H., Hamouda, M., Jin, X., Legge, R.L., Budman, H., Moresoli, C. and Huck, P.M.  2011.  Reversible and irreversible low-pressure membrane foulants in drinking water treatment:  Identification by principal component analysis of fluorescence EEM and mitigation by biofiltration pretreatment.  Water Research (in press)
• Campbell-Murdy, R.G., Weber, K.P. and Legge, R.L.  2011.  Exploring concept maps as study tools in a first year engineering biology course:  A case study.  Int. J. Eng. Educ. (in press)
• Peiris, R.H., Budman, H., Moresoli, C., Legge, R.L.  2011.  Fluorescence-based fouling prediction and optimization of a membrane filtration process for drinking water treatment.  AIChE Journal (in press)
• Peiris, R.H., Budman, H., Moresoli, C., Legge, R.L. 2011.  Assessing irreversible fouling behaviour of membrane foulants in the ultrafiltration of natural water using principal component analysis of fluorescence excitation-emission matrices. Water Science & Technology: Water Supply  (in press)
• Pervisian, A., Parker, W.J. and Legge, R.L.  2011.  Combined MBBR-MR for industrial wastewater treatment.  Environmental Progress and Sustainable Energy (in press)
• Peiris, R.H., Budman, H., Moresoli, C., Legge, R.L. 2011. Development of a species specific fouling index using principal component analysis of fluorescence excitation-emission matrices for the ultrafiltration of natural water and drinking water production.  J. Memb. Sci. 378: 257-264.
• Moshtaghioun, S.M., Haghbeen, K., Sahebghadam, A.L., Legge, R.L., Khoshneviszadeh, R. and Farhadi, S.  2011.  Direct spectrophotometric assay of laccase using diazo derivatives of guaiacol.  Anal. Chem. 83(11):  4200-4205.
• Peiris, R.H., Budman, H., Moresoli, C. and Legge, R.L.  2011.  Identification of humic acid-like and fulvic acid-like natural organic matter in river water using fluorescence spectroscopy.  Water Science and Technology 63(10): 2427-2433.
• Mojumdar, S.C., Moresoli, C., Simon, L.C. and Legge, R.L.   2011.  Edible wheat gluten (WG) protein films:  Preparation, thermal, mechanical and spectral properties.  J. Therm. Anal. Calorim. 104: 929-936.
• Weber, K.P., Mitzel, M.R., Slawson, R.M. and Legge, R.L. 2011.  Effect of ciprofloxacin on microbiological development in wetland mesocosms.  Wat. Res. 45: 3185-3196.
• Weber, K.P. and Legge, R.L.  2011.  Dynamics in the bacterial community-level physiological profiles and hydrological characteristics of constructed wetland mesocosms during start-up.  Ecological Engineering 37: 666-677.
• Park, J.-W. and Legge, R.L.  2010.  Comparison of performance between regular shaped and irregular shaped granular carriers in a moving bed biofilm reactor.  J. Korean Soc. Urban Environment  10(2):  135-141.
• Elshereef, R., Budman, H., Moresoli, C. and Legge, R.L. 2010.  Probing protein colloidal behavior in membrane-based separation processes using spectrofluorometric Rayleigh scattering data.  Biotech. Prog.  26(3):  772-780.
• Peiris, R.H., Budman, H., Moresoli, M. and Legge, R.L.  2010.  Understanding fouling behaviour of ultrafiltration membrane processes and natural water using principal component analysis of fluorescence excitation-emission matrices.  J. Memb. Science 357:  62-72.
• Weber, K.P. and Legge, R.L. 2010. Method for the detachment of viable bacteria from wetland gravel.  J. Microbiological Methods 80: 242 – 250. 
• Elshereef, R., Budman, H., Moresoli, C. and Legge, R.L. 2010. Monitoring the fractionation of a whey protein isolate during dead-end membrane filtration using fluorescence and chemometric methods.  Biotechnology Progress 26(1):  168-178.
• Weber, K.P., Werker, A., Gehder, M., Senger, T. and Legge, R.L.  2010.  Influence of the microbial community in the treatment of acidic iron-rich water in aerobic wetland mesocosms.  Bioremediation Journal 14(1): 28-37.
• Meunier, S.M. and Legge, R.L. 2010. Evaluation of diatomaceous earth as a support for sol-gel immobilized lipase for transesterification.  J Mol Catalysis B: Enzymatic 62: 54-58.
• Peiris, R.H., Hallé, C., Budman, H., Moresoli, C., Peldszus, S., Huck, P.M. and Legge, R.L.  2010.  Identifying fouling events in a membrane-based drinking water treatment process using principal component analysis of fluorescence excitation-emission matrices.  Water Res. 44:  185-194.
• Jűrgen-Lohmann, D.L., Nacke, C., Simon, S.C. and Legge, R.L.  2009.  Effect of sol-gel hydrophobicity on the distribution and structure of different proteins in organically modified sol-gel thin films.  J. Sol-gel Sci. & Tech.  52(3):  370 - 381.
• Weber, K.P., Legge, R.L.  2009.  One-dimensional metric for tracking bacterial community divergence using sole carbon source utilization patterns.  J. Microbiol. Methods 79: 55-61.
• Peiris, B.R.H., Budman, H., Moresoli, C. and Legge, R.L.  2009.  Acquiring reproducible fluorescence spectra for very low concentrations of dissolved organic matter.  Water Science and Technology 60(6):  1385-1392.
• Jűrgen-Lohmann, D.L., Nacke, C., Legge, R.L. and Simon, L.C. 2009. Preparation and methodology for chemical mapping of sol-gel thin films containing lysozyme.  J. Sol-Gel Sci. Technol. 50: 77-86.
• Haghbeen, K. and Legge, R.L.  2009.   Adsorption of phenolic compounds on some hybrid xerogels.  Chemical Engineering Journal 150:  1-7. 
• Jebakumar, S.R.D. and Legge, R.L.  2008.  Surfactant enhanced biodegradation of perchloroethylene (PCE) by Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC 9027.  Int. J. Integrative Biol.  4(1): 45-49.
• Peiris, B.R.H., Haile, C., Haberkamp, J., Legge, R.L., Peldszus, S., Moresoli, C., Budman, H., Amy, G. and Huck, P.M.  2008.  Assessing nanofiltration fouling in drinking water treatment using fluorescence fingerprinting and LC-OCD analyses.  Water Science & Technology:  Water Supply 8(4):  459-465.
• Maas, C.L.A., Parker, W.J. and Legge, R.L.  2008.  Oxygen uptake rate tests to evaluate integrated fixed film activated sludge processes.  Water Environ. Res. 80(12):  2276-2283. 
• Mass, C.L.A., Parker, W.J. and Legge, R.L.  2008. Detachment of solids and nitrifiers in integrated, fixed-film activated sludge systems.  Water Environ. Res. 80(12):  2202-2208.
• Asgher, M., Bhatti, H.N., Ashraf, M. and Legge, R.L.  2008.  Recent developments in biodegradation of industrial pollutants by white rot fungi and their enzyme system.  Biodegradation 19:  771-783.
• Elshereef, R., Budman, H., Moresoli, C. and Legge, R.L.  2008.  Fluorescence-based Soft-sensor for monitoring β-lactoglobulin and α-lactalbumin solubility during thermal aggregation.  Biotech. Bioeng.  99: 567-577.
• Weber, K.P., Gehder, M. and Legge, R.L.  2008. Assessment of changes in the microbial community of constructed wetland mesocosms in response to acid mine drainage exposure.  Water Research 42:  180-188.
• Werker, A., Van Loon, W. and Legge, R.L.  2007.  Tracers for investigating pathogen fate and removal mechanisms in mesocosms.  Science of the Total Environment 380:  188-195.
• Weber, K.P., Grove, J.A., Gehder, M., Anderson, W.A. and Legge, R.L. 2007.  Data transformations in the analysis of community-level substrate utilization data from microplates.  J Microbiol. Methods 69: 461-469.
• Asghar, M., Asad, M.J., Rehman, S. and Legge, R.L. 2007.  A thermostable a-amylase from a moderately thermophilic Bacillus subtilis strain for starch processing.  J. Food Eng.  79: 950-955.
• Clifford, J.S., Ioannidis, M.A. and Legge, R.L.  2007.  Enhanced aqueous solubilization of tetrachloroethylene by a rhamnolipid biosurfactant.  J. Colloid & Interface Sci.  305: 361-365.
• Jürgen-Lohmann, D. and Legge, R.L.  2007.  Activity of hydroperoxide lyase under aqueous and micro-aqueous conditions.  J. Mol. Catalysis B: Enzymatic 44: 32-38.
• Asghar, M., Bhatti, H.N., Shah, S.A.H. and Legge, R.L.  2007.  Decolorization potential of mixed microbial consortia for reactive and disperse textile dyestuffs.  Biodegradation  18(3): 311-316.

Book Chapters

• Weber, K.P. and Legge, R.L.  2010.  Community Level Physiological Profiling In:  Methods in Molecular Biology – Remediation.  Ed. Stephen Cummings.  Humana Press, New York, NY.  pp. 263-281.
• Weber, K.P. and Legge, R.L.  2008.  Pathogen Removal in Constructed Wetlands In: Wetlands:  Ecology, Conservation and Restoration.  Ed. R.E. Russo.  Nova Science Publishers, Hauppauge, NY. pp. 176-211.
• Scott, D.S. and Legge, R.L. 1999. Oil and Bioplastics. CIGR Handbook of Agricultural Engineering. Vol. V. Energy and Biomass Engineering. Ed. O. Kitani. American Society of Agricultural Engineers. St. Joseph, MI. pp. 297-310

Patents

• Peiris, R.H., Legge, R.L., Moresoli, C. and Budman, H.M.  Fluorescence-based Fouling Prediction and Optimization of Membrane Filtration Processes for Drinking Water Treatment.  (Filed June 10, 2010 – US Patent Serial #61/344,208).

Please see http://myprofile.cos.com/legger56 for a more complete listing.

 

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