USG honors Nzengung as Regents' Entrepreneur

In recognition of his success in developing the tools and expertise to counteract some of the most environmentally toxic byproducts of military materiel, the University System of Georgia Board of Regents approved Valentine Nzengung as Regents’ Entrepreneur at its Feb. 13 meeting. Nzengung is the third UGA faculty member to receive this honor.

The distinction recognizes innovative faculty members who have demonstrated success in translating research into a commercial setting.

Nzengung is a professor of environmental geochemistry in Franklin College of Arts and Sciences, 2016 UGA Entrepreneur of the Year, National Academy of Inventors Fellow, and was featured as a “Trendsetter and Planet Protector” by Georgia Trend Magazine. His research includes the development and evaluation of innovative technologies for the cleanup of contaminated water, sediment, and soils.

He holds five patents and one pending for proprietary green and sustainable remediation technologies. Nzengung has been a trailblazer in sustainable, environmental remediation technologies for over 30 years and is known best for MuniRem, a product that instantly neutralizes bulk explosives, bomb fillers, and chemical warfare materiel. The success of this product allowed him to launch his company MuniRem Environmental, LLC.

“I would like to express my sincere appreciation to the University of Georgia, my mother, and the students I have worked with in my research for giving me the opportunities and support that have led to my being named a Regents’ Entrepreneur by the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia. This recognition is an endorsement of my commitment to develop peaceful means to mitigate the hazards of explosives globally—in many regards, this work is just beginning and this recognition will further our ability to make advancements that will benefit all of us here on Earth.”

MuniRem Environmental, LLC, works with authorized partners to carry out a wide range of environmental remediation projects and is being selected for various global, high-value military and private contracts.

Nzengung's innovative work in the field of phytoremediation techniques to treat munitions constituents, particularly perchlorates and nitroaromatics, has long been inspiring as well as extraordinarily restorative in a wide variety of environments around the world. We join the USG and the University of Georgia in celebrating our colleague.

Image: Valentine Nzengung, professor in the Department of Geology and founder of MuniRem Environmental, LLC, has been named as UGA’s third Regents’ Entrepreneur. (Photo by Beth Chang for UGA)