A marketable prototype of the engineered microbial sensor for monitoring PFAS in drinking water, as developed by a team from CCNY and Columbia University
Krish Ramalingam and Alex Rosenthal of the Department of Civil Engineering in The City College of New York’s Grove School of Engineering are co-principal investigators of a team awarded a $2 million National Science Foundation grant to develop a device to detect so-called “forever chemicals” in drinking water.
The three-year project, “NSF Convergence Accelerator Real-World Chemical Sensing Applications: Engineered Microbial Sensors for Monitoring Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances in Drinking Water,” is a cooperative agreement between CCNY and Columbia University that commenced on July 1, 2025.
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, known as PFAS, are a large, complex group of synthetic chemicals that have been used in consumer products around the world since about the 1950s, according to the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. These chemicals do not degrade easily in the environment.
This award is to fund Phase II of the project. In Phase I, the initial one-year grant, the team developed the project’s idea and concept, conducted market research to determine the need for such a product, and constructed a marketable prototype. Phase II will involve testing the prototype in the lab before deploying it at sites around the country where an immediate need to obtain PFAS data exists.
Currently, the fastest analysis for PFAS compounds can take up to two months, and can cost between $200 and $400 per sample.
“We intend to cut the time to real time or a few hours, and to reduce the cost to approximately $60,” said Ramalingam. “Also, by using a combination of synthetic biology (with yeast as the base), microprocessor technology, and artificial intelligence, coupled with machine learning techniques, we aim to make this product ubiquitous in the industry. This will be a game changer.”
Virginia W. Cornish, the Helena Rubinstein Professor of Chemistry at Columbia, is the project’s principal investigator.
Launched in 2019, the NSF Convergence Accelerator builds upon basic research and discovery to accelerate solutions toward real-world impact. The program funds teams to solve complex challenges through convergence research and innovation. To enhance its impact, the Accelerator also places teams together in cohorts, synergizing their work through facilitated collaboration.
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Syd Steinhardt
212-650-7875
ssteinhardt@ccny.cuny.edu