Dr. May Wu is a principal environmental system scientist at Argonne National Laboratory and the Principal Investigator of a multi-year water analysis project supported by the U.S. Department of Energy. Her research focuses on water use, water quality, and water resource availability related to conventional and renewable energy and fuels. Dr. Wu is the principal author of a spatial-explicit online model, WATER (Water Analysis Tool for Energy Resources), which develops the water footprint of biofuels and assesses water availability for bioenergy production in the United States to support decision making.

Dr. Wu also heads a project developing watershed models for the Mississippi River basin and its tributaries. The work examines the impact of land use, integrated landscape design, conservation practices, and climate change in biomass production on water quality (nitrogen, phosphorus, suspended sediments) at varying scales. Dr. Wu is a member of the Modeling Working Group in the Hypoxia Task Force, chaired Future Risk Technical Committee at AWRA, and served as guest editor for Water, Applied Energy, and Current Sustainable and Renewable Energy Reports.

May has a diverse background that encompasses engineering and microbiology in the areas of biofouling control in the cooling system, wastewater treatment, online monitoring, microbial-induced corrosion, fermentation, and membrane separation. She has more than 25 years of experience in R&D and environmental sustainability analysis.

Dr. Wu holds several U.S. patents, 60+ publications, and a dual Ph.D. in Environmental Engineering and Environmental Toxicology from Michigan State University.