Zhiyong Jason Ren is professor of civil and environmental engineering and the Acting Director (2020) and the Associate Director for Research for the Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment (ACEE). He works on the water-energy nexus, specifically in the areas of energy and resource recovery during environmental processes such as wastewater treatment and reuse, water desalination, remediation, and carbon capture and utilization. He is leading several initiatives on water sector decarbonization and digitalization, developing programs to enable a water circular economy.