Tannaz is an Associate Professor in Energy and Environmental Engineering, a Chartered Engineer, and a Fellow of the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining (CEng FIMMM). She is also a Fellow of Advance HE (FHEA). She holds the title of Honorary Associate Professor at Heriot-Watt University.

Her research spans groundwater remediation, water treatment technologies, biochar, sustainable materials, nanotechnology, soil remediation, pyrolysis, and non-destructive testing.

In 2021, she was named among the Top 50 Women in Engineering by the Women's Engineering Society (UK), in recognition of her contributions to the field.

Tannaz completed her PhD in Geosciences at the University of Edinburgh in collaboration with Heriot-Watt University (2015), where she investigated multiphase fluid flow in porous carbonate rocks at the pore scale. Her research involved industrial collaboration with Petrobras and BG Group, and academic partnerships with Brazilian universities. She also holds an MSc in Reservoir Geoscience and Engineering from IFP School (France) and a BSc in Engineering from Iran.

Tannaz’s research lies at the intersection of environmental engineering, materials science, and subsurface fluid dynamics. Her work is organised across four interrelated themes: biochar and sustainable materials, groundwater remediation and water treatment, reactive transport in porous media, and nanomaterials and their toxicity assessment. These focus areas reflect her commitment to developing sustainable technologies for water treatment and subsurface applications, while critically evaluating the environmental and health implications of emerging materials and methods.

Biochar and Sustainable Materials

• Engineering and enhancing functional biochar for environmental use

• Biomass pyrolysis

• Structure–function relationship of biochar for environmental applications

Groundwater Remediation and Water Treatment

• Application of nanotechnology for in-situ groundwater clean-up

• Use of zero-valent iron nanoparticles (nZVI) for degradation of chlorinated solvents

• Development of sustainable and nature-based water treatment methods using engineered and bio-derived materials (e.g. biochar)

• Integration of nature-based solutions for the remediation of contaminated soils and aquifers

• Surfactant-enhanced remediation strategies

• Environmental safety and performance assessment of water and soil treatment technologies

Reactive Transport in Porous Media

• Pore-scale fluid flow modeling in carbonate and sandstone rocks

• Digital Rock Physics and core analysis for subsurface systems

• Porous media characterization in 2D, 3D, and 4D using pore-scale imaging

• Oil/water emulsions, asphaltene behavior, and enhanced oil recovery (EOR)

Nanomaterials and Toxicity Assessment

• Environmental risk assessment of engineered nanomaterials

• Toxicity of nanoparticles (e.g. nZVI) and their by-products in remediation

• Transport, reactivity, and fate of nanoparticles in subsurface environments

• Development of safe, sustainable nanotechnologies for water and soil treatment

Tannaz employs a combination of advanced imaging techniques (including X-ray computed micro-tomography) and computational modelling to study material behavior, fluid dynamics, and reactive transport in porous media.

Tannaz maintains strong international research links, particularly with collaborators in China, Nigeria, Brazil and Italy. Her work has been supported by:

• UKRI: African Agriculture KTP: Valorisation of cassava waste through biochar for water treatment and soil enhancement. (£241K, 2024-2026)

• British Council – Advanced Manufacturing of Biochar in the UK, China, Malaysia, and Nigeria (£70,000, 2020–2023)

• UKRI (GCRF QR) – Nanotechnology for Groundwater Remediation in Brazil (£40,000, 2019–2021)

• Global Challenges Research Fund (RCUK) – 2018

• CONFAP (Brazilian National Council of State Funding Agencies) – 2018

• FAPESP (São Paulo Research Foundation) – 2017

• Teesside University – Working with Business Scheme – 2016

• The Royal Academy of Engineering – Newton Research Collaboration Programme – 2015–2016

• Teesside University Research Fund – 2015

Tannaz is currently accepting applications from candidates interested in pursuing full-time PhD studies in her areas of expertise. There is no funding available at this time; therefore, applicants must have secured their own funding.

Standard University entrance requirements apply, and suitable candidates will typically hold degrees in Chemical Engineering, Environmental Engineering or Science, Hydrology,or closely related disciplines.

Prospective candidates are invited to submit their CV and a letter of interest directly to [email protected].

Available PhD topics:

Title 1: Biochar for Water Treatment Applications
This project explores the design and optimisation of biochar materials for sustainable water treatment. Research will focus on understanding the structure-function relationships of biochar and its efficacy in removing contaminants from water systems, including heavy metals, organic pollutants, and pathogens.

Using advanced imaging and modelling techniques, the project aims to develop biochar with enhanced sorption properties and longevity, contributing to nature-based solutions for water remediation challenges.

Title 2: Biochar for Soil Remediation and Soil Quality Enhancement
This project investigates the application of biochar as a soil amendment to remediate contaminated soils and improve soil health. The research will explore biochar’s capacity to immobilise heavy metals and organic pollutants, enhance nutrient retention, and improve soil structure and microbial activity.

The study will integrate high-resolution characterisation techniques and pore-scale modelling to optimise biochar properties for specific soil types and contamination profiles. This work supports sustainable land management and carbon sequestration goals aligned with climate change mitigation efforts.

Title 3: Mobility of nanoparticles in porous media

This projecty will study the progressive porous media clogging induced by deposition of  nanoparticles (such as zero-valent iron, nZVI) used in groundwater remediation. nZVI is specifically studied since it has proven to deliver effective degradation of chlorinated hydrocarbons when injected in sub-surface layers contaminated by these organic-based toxic substances. The technology is known as nanoremediation and is an emerging technology with great potential for in-situ remediation of contaminated aquifers. For the degradation to occur the nZVI particles need to be injected (in form of aqueous suspensions) into the contaminant bearing sediments. nZVI nanoparticles are highly reactive and excellent degraders of the chlorinated hydrocarbon contaminants by reduction reactions. While the nanoremediation concept is proven to be successful at laboratory, pilot, and field scales, there are a number of limitations to the technique, including the mobility of nZVI suspensions in sub-surface sediment layers.

The state-of-the-art facilities at Teesside's University's Energy Laboratories will be used.

Title 4: Toxicity Assessment and Environmental Safety Aspects of Nanoremediation:

In developing new sustainable technologies one crucial step is to assess the risks associated with the materials/methods used. This will ensure the technology will have no adverse impact on the human health and the environment. Of particular importance is assessing the toxicity of the proposed materials and any by-products generated in the process.  This allows identification of the potential toxicity of novel products prior to their release in the environment.

This study investigates the toxicity and environmental aspects of nanoremediation technology.  Nanoremediation aims at remediation of contaminated groundwater resources by degradation of contaminants, in-situ, i.e. within the subsurface aquifers. This is achieved by injection of aqueous suspensions of nanoparticles (e.g. zero-valent iron) and through chemical reactions that degrade chlorinated solvents into less harmful substance.

Chlorinated solvent contaminants are among the most recalcitrant aquifer contaminants which can cause serious health problems such as kidney and liver damage, sudden miscarriage, and some are considered as carcinogenic. They are a significant problem, both in the UK and globally, due to their wide industrial use since the beginning of 20th century e.g. in metal processing plants.

This is a collaborative project between the School of Computing, Engineering & Digital Technologies and the School of Health & Life Sciences of Teesside University.

Title 5: Nanoparticle-enhanced recovery of organic fluids from porous rocks

This project will design emulsions and foams by investigating the synergic behaviour of nanoparticle and surfactant systems to enhance the remobilisation and recovery of trapped organic fluids from complex natural rocks (sandstones and carbonates). We will use the state-of-the-art facilities at Teesside's University's Energy Laboratories.

This project’s findings will have implications for a wide range of applications including: (i) remediation of potable water aquifers contaminated by non-aqueous phase liquids (NAPL) leakage, (ii) oil recovery from hydrocarbon reservoirs, and (iii) storing CO2 in the geological formations within the carbon capture and storage technology.

Tannaz is an editorial board member for the Scientific Reports - Nature journal, and an editor of the InterPore Journal. She is a steering committee member of Interpore UK. This organisation serves as an excellent platform to strengthen the porous media- related research by creating the synergy between the UK-based researchers in industry and academia.

She holds Chartered Engineer status and is a Fellow of the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining (CEng FIMMM). She is a Fellow of Higher Education Academy (FHEA).

Tannaz was a member of the I12 User Working Group at the Diamond Light Source, the UK's only synchrotron facility. This user group works with the beamline team to develop new solutions for performing advanced experiments at I12 beamline. (2020-2022)

Tannaz has been the external examiner for three MSc courses at Heriot-Watt University  (2020-2023)

Tannaz works closely with collaborators from the North China Water University and the Brazilian Synchrotron (LNLS, specifically the X-ray tomography beamline). LNLS is part of the Brazilian Centre for Research in Energy and Materials (CNPEM).

• Development of sustainable materials for water treatment (e.g. biochar)

• Digital Rock Physics and core analysis for the energy sector

• Application of X-ray CT in porous material characterization

• Nanotechnology for EOR and in-situ groundwater remediation

Tannaz is a fellow of Higher Education Academy (FHEA).