Rate My Professor Rachel Scholes

Dr. Rachel Scholes is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Civil Engineering at the University of British Columbia. She earned a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Northwestern University and an M.S. and Ph.D. in Environmental Engineering from the University of California, Berkeley. Prior to joining UBC in 2021, she served as a Postdoctoral Researcher with the U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service. Her research focuses on protecting human and environmental health by addressing contaminants of concern in urban water systems, with particular emphasis on the occurrence and transformations of trace contaminants and the optimization of their removal in engineered and nature-based treatment systems such as constructed wetlands. Key research interests include environmental chemistry, trace contaminants, water reuse, nature-based treatment systems, and stormwater treatment. Dr. Scholes leads the Scholes Lab at UBC, where her team investigates topics including the treatment of reverse osmosis concentrate and the impacts of contaminants such as 6PPDQ from tire wear on aquatic life. Selected publications include “Enabling Water Reuse by Treatment of Reverse Osmosis Concentrate: The Promise of Constructed Wetlands” (ACS Environmental Au, 2021), “Nitrate removal from reverse osmosis concentrate in pilot-scale open-water unit process wetlands” (Environmental Science: Water Research & Technology, 2021), “Transformation of Trace Organic Contaminants from Reverse Osmosis Concentrate by Open-Water Unit-Process Wetlands with and without Ozone Pretreatment” (Environmental Science & Technology, 2020), and “The Role of Reactive Nitrogen Species in Sensitized Photolysis of Wastewater-Derived Trace Organic Contaminants” (Environmental Science & Technology, 2019). She teaches courses including ENVE 301 Environmental Engineering Intermediate Design Project and CIVL 562 Environmental Data Collection and Analysis.

Dr. Scholes has been recognized through the Emerging Investigator Series by Environmental Science: Processes & Impacts in 2022. She maintains an active research program supported by grants including an NSERC Discovery Grant and contributes to the field through supervision of students and postdoctoral researchers.