STRATEGIC RESEARCH FOCUS AREA
Engineering for planetary health
Planetary health is rooted in understanding the interdependencies of natural and built systems and the human experience.
Working toward a sustainable future
Our research centers around interconnected environmental and energy systems, both natural and engineered, which contribute to planetary health. We explore solutions to global problems at this critical intersection and train the next generation of engineers to continue this pursuit.
Water System Efficiency and Resource Recovery
- Manage urban water systems for ecosystem health and human needs
- Design novel and efficient treatment technologies for water, wastewater, and stormwater
- Develop alternate water sources through advanced treatment and reuse strategies
- Determine effective nutrient recovery and removal strategies
Optimizing Alternative Energy Systems
- Develop and optimize waste to energy systems and waste valorization technologies
- Minimize barriers to the application of bioenergy systems
- Optimize extraction of wind energy
- Improve energy efficiency and generation of water and wastewater treatment
- Assist household energy transitions in the developing world
Environmental Informatics
- Utilize low cost sensors within distributed environmental sensing networks
- Manage large data sets for solving difficult energy/environment problems
- Exploit machine learning technologies to develop and optimize efficient and low impact energy/environment systems
Engineered Systems for Climate Change Adaptation
- Develop environmental infrastructure that supports resilient climate change adaptation strategies
- Model climate change impacts on urban water systems
- Develop climate change adaptation strategies for critical military assets
Rational Remediation
- Develop cost effective and practical groundwater & sediment remediation strategies
- Develop low-cost technologies for treating emerging contaminants
- Design and optimize waste containment systems
Human/Environment Interface
- Understand contaminant exposure pathways in complex human/environment systems
- Employ real-time monitoring systems to characterize and predict contamination events
- Develop technologies for preventing mine wastes from polluting natural waters
- Understand water, soil and built environment impacts on indoor air pollution