Water Quality Testing, Water Treatment, Desalination, Algae, Biofuels, Food Safety, Technoeconomic Analysis, Mechanical Engineering, Analytical Chemistry

Michael Bono is a scientist and engineer dedicated to developing sustainable and equitable solutions for a better world. In his career, he has combined experimental research, engineering analysis, policy considerations, economic viability, community needs, and stakeholder engagement to identify effective solutions to environmental and energy challenges. These solutions have been described in eleven peer-reviewed publications and four granted U.S. patents to date.

Dr. Bono began his sustainability efforts during his undergraduate studies at Union College, where he initiated a project to develop aerogel-based catalytic converters for decreased environmental impact from platinum mining, resulting in a patent for catalytic aerogels. Dr. Bono then completed his PhD at Cornell University, with a dissertation on developing a dielectric method to measure the lipid content of algae cells for monitoring of algal biofuel feedstocks. Following his PhD, Dr. Bono conducted postdoctoral research at MIT with a focus on stakeholder-informed development of improved water quality monitoring technology, yielding patents for improved point-of-use bacterial water testing and a solid-phase-extraction-based sampling method for improved trace contaminant monitoring in remote water sources. More recently, Dr. Bono led a research team to develop a compact electrodialysis prototype for water-efficient household desalination as part of MIT’s K. Lisa Yang Global Engineering and Research Center.

Dr. Bono is the founder of Michael Bono Solutions, LLC, a scientific consultancy focused on problem definition, feasibility assessments, technoeconomic analysis, and community and stakeholder engagement for complex environmental and human health challenges. He is also an active member of the American Chemical Society (ACS), where he has organized symposia on characterization of algal lipids, stakeholder-informed water treatment methods for resource-limited settings, and community engagement as a catalyst for clean water quality management. Contact Michael.