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Runze Sun

Postdoctoral Associate

Education

Ph.D. in Civil Engineering, University of Missouri, 2025
M.S. in Applied Chemistry, China Agricultural University, 2020
B.S. in Pesticide Engineering, Shandong Agricultural University, 2017

Experience

Postdoctoral Associate, Virginia Tech, September 2025 – Present

Awards

Scholarship Council Scholarship for Outstanding Self-funded Students, 2024

Paul Kufrin Memorial Scholarship, University of Missouri, 2024 

Dr. Runze “Vivian” Sun is a Postdoctoral Associate in the Department of Biological Systems Engineering at Virginia Tech. Her research focuses on PFAS occurrence, transformation, and remediation in water, wastewater, soil, and residual solids. Her work integrates water treatment, thermal destruction, catalyst design, and process optimization to better understand the fate of PFAS and to develop practical strategies for contaminant removal and risk mitigation. Current interests also include advanced wastewater treatment, sludge densification, and nutrient removal process intensification. 

Google Scholar
  1. Sun, R., Cao, J., Dolatabad, A. A., Zhao, L., Mai, J., Zhang, X., & Xiao, F. (2025).
    Structure dependent removal and transformation of more than 50 polyfluoroalkyl substances during drinking water treatment.
    npj Emerging Contaminants, 1(1), 10.
  2. Sun, R., Bhat, A. P., Arnold, W. A., & Xiao, F. (2025).
    Investigation of transformation pathways of polyfluoroalkyl substances during chlorine disinfection.
    Environmental Science & Technology, 59(3), 1756–1768.
  3. Sun, R., Alinezhad, A., Altarawneh, M., Ateia, M., Blotevogel, J., Mai, J., & Xiao, F. (2024).
    New insights into thermal degradation products of long-chain per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and their mineralization enhancement using additives.
    Environmental Science & Technology.
  4. Sun, R., Babalol, S., Ni, R., Dolatabad, A. A., Cao, J., & Xiao, F. (2024).
    Efficient and fast remediation of soil contaminated by per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) by high-frequency heating.
    Journal of Hazardous Materials, 463, 132660.
  5. Sun, R., Sasi, P. C., Alinezhad, A., & Xiao, F. (2023).
    Sorptive removal of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in organic-free water, surface water, and landfill leachate and thermal reactivation of spent sorbents.
    Journal of Hazardous Materials Advances, 10, 100311.

2026 Virginia Corn Board Grant — $20,000
Co-PI
Managing Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) Risks in Virginia Corn Systems by Identifying Sources, Plant Uptake, and Practical Mitigation Strategies

2025 EPA MWC Seed Grant (EM-84065101) — $20,000
PI
Decomposition of Polyfluoroalkyl Substances and Increased Exposure Risk of Perfluorinated Compounds During Disinfection in Drinking Water Treatment Systems