People

Principle Investigator

Julie Zimmerman

Senior Associate Dean of Academic Affairs, School of the Environment;
Professor in School of Engineering and Applied Science;
Professor in School of the Environment;
Deputy Director of the Center for Green Chemistry and Green Engineering
Editor-in-Chief Environmental Science and Technology
julie.zimmerman@yale.edu

PhD Students

Mary Kate Mitchell Lane

PhD Candidate Environmental Engineering
NSF Graduate Research Fellow
marykate.mitchell@yale.edu
Research Area: Utilizing supercritical fluids as green solvents for biorefinery and nanoparticle synthesis applications

Yan Du

PhD Candidate Environmental Engineering
yan.du@yale.edu
Research Areas: Computational modeling; POPs in wastewater; life-cycle assessments

Andreas Backhaus

PhD Candidate Environmental Engineering
andreas.backhaus@yale.edu
Research Areas: Biomass valorization using supercritical fluids; nanoparticle shape control in supercritical fluid synthesis; environmental-economic data analysis and modeling

Dylan Judd

PhD Candidate, School of the Environment
dylan.judd@yale.edu
Research Areas:

Gabriel Gonsalves Bertho

PhD Candidate, Environmental Engineering

Research Areas: The use of waste materials for the development of selective adsorbents for water treatment. His research focuses on the green modification of biopolymers such as chitosan and cellulose for the development of sustainable and tunable treatment methods, with recent efforts centered on the synthesis of electrically conductive biopolymers.

Undergraduate Students

Avery Long 

BS Chemical Engineering, ‘24
avery.long@yale.edu
Research Area: Continuous Solvothermal Synthesis of Glutathione-Functionalized Anisotropic Gold Nanoparticles for Lead Detection in Water
 

Rachel Pontius

BS Environmental Engineering, ‘24
rachel.pontious@yale.edu
Research Area: The Integrated Biorefinery

Mary Ben Apatoff

BS Environmental Engineering, 2024
maryben.apatoff@yale.edu
Research Area: The Integrated Biorefinery

Postdoctoral Associates

Heather LeClerc

Postdoctoral Associate
heather.leclerc@yale.edu
Research Areas: Lignin valorization in continuous flow systems

Research Staff

Lars Ratjen                                                               

Research Scientist                                                                                                         
lars.ratjen@yale.edu
Research Areas: 

  • The Yale-UNIDO Global GreenChem Innovation and Network Programme

  • Intersection of environmental factors and mental health

  • Green chemistry and green engineering

Hanno Erythropel

Research Scientist
hanno.erythropel@yale.edu
Research Areas: 

  • The role of sweeteners and flavorants in e-cigarette safety

  • Biodegradable materials

  • Utilizing renewable biomass to generate valuable chemical products

Alumni 

Tetyana Budnyak, PhD (she/her)

Research Fellow
tetyana.budnyak@yale.edu
Research Areas: Development of green lignin-biochar composites capable of removing organic and inorganic pollutants from water

Elise Gilcher 

Postdoctoral Associate
elise.gilcher@yale.edu
Research Areas: Extractions and conversion of biomass with supercritical fluids to valorize the integrated biorefinery

Holly Rudel

PhD  Environmental Engineering, 2023
holly.rudel@gmail.com
Research Area: Sustainable materials as selective adsorbents in water treatment
Currently: California Council on Science and Technology Policy Fellow
 

Jessie Wainer 

MESc Yale School of the Environment, 2023 
Research Area: Sustainable water treatment 
 

Tong Wang 

PhD  Environmental Engineering, 2022
tong.wang.tw493@yale.edu
Currently: Lecturer at East China Normal University

 

 

Mark Falinski 

PhD Environmental Engineering, 2020
markfalinski@gmail.com
Currently: Consultant at Boston Consulting Group

 

Camrynn “Cammie” Fausey

PhD  Environmental Engineering, 2020
camrynnfausey@gmail.com
Currently: Lead Artificial Intelligence Engineer at Mitre

 

Lauren Pincus 

PhD School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, 2020
Lpincus@princeton.edu
Currently: Hess Postdoctoral Fellow at the Department of Geoscience at Princeton University

 

Eva Albalghiti 

BA Environmental Engineering, 2017
MESc Environmental Science, 2020
ealbalghiti@outlook.com
Currently: PhD Student at the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at University of Michigan
 

Qingshi Tu

Postdoctoral Associate, 2018
Qingshi.tu@ubc.ca
Currently: Assistant Professor at Department of Wood Science at University of British Columbia

 

Evelyn “Sale” Rhodes

MSc Environmental Science, 2017-2019
esrhodes8@gmail.com
Currently: Research and Program Associate at The Aquaya Institute
 

Amanda Lounsbury

PhD Environmental Engineering, 2017
Postdoctoral Associate, 2019
amandalo@mail.tau.ac.il
Currently: AAAS Science and Technology Policy Fellow at the Department of Energy
 

Tamara deWinter

Postdoctoral Associate, 2019
dewinter.tam@gmail.com

 

Jamila Saifee Yamani

PhD Environmental Enginering, 2010-2015
jamila.yamani@gmail.com
Currently: Salesforce

 

Thomas Kwan

PhD Environmental Engineering, 2018
thomasalankwan@gmail.com
Currently: Sustainability at Schneider Electric

 

Ranran Wang

PhD Environmental Engineering, 2011-2016
ranran.wang@utwente.nl
Currently: Assistant Professor of Water Enginering & Management at University of Twente

 

Lindsay Soh

PhD Environmental Engineering, 2007-2013
sohl@lafayette.edu
Currently: Assistant Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at Lafayette College

 

Weiwei Mo

Postdoctoral Associate, 2012-2014
weiwei.mo@unh.edu
Currently: Assistant Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at University of New Hampshire

 

Leanne Gilbertson

PhD Environmental Engineering, 2009-2014
leanne.gilbertson@pitt.edu
Currently: Assistant Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at University of Pittsburgh

 

Chun-Chi Chen

Research Scientist, 2012-2014
Currently: Green Energy and Environment Research Laboratories, Industrial Technology Research Institute

 


Matthew Eckelman

Postdoctoral Associate, 2010-2011
m.eckelman@northeastern.edu
Currently: Assistant Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Northeastern University

 

Fuzhan Nasiri

Postdoctoral Associate, 2009-2010
Research Scientist, 2010-2011
fuzhan.nasiri@concordia.edu
Currently: Associate Professor of Building, Civil, and Environmental Engineering at Concordia University
 

George Gachumi

Postdoctoral Associate, 2016
Currently: Postdoctoral Associate at University of Saskatchewan

 

Jonathan Mellor

Postdoctoral Associate, 2013-2014
jonathan.mellor@uconn.edu
Currently: Teaching faculty member at the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth

 

Kira Matus

Senior Policy Analyst, 2010
kmatus@ust.hk
Currently: Associate Head and Associate Professor Division of Public Policy; Associate Professsor Division of Environment and Sustainability; Associate Professor Division of Social Science– The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
 


Laura Brentner

Postdoctoral Associate, 2009-2011
lbrentner@luc.edu
Currently: Lecturer at the Insitute of Environmental Sustainability at Loyola University of Chicago
 


Sarah Miller

PhD Environmental Engineering, 2006-2011
sarah.m.miller@yale.edu
Currently: Assistant Dean for Science and Engineering at Yale School of Engineering and Applied Sciences

 


Troy Savage

Yale Divinity School and Forestry and Environmental Studies, 2013
tsavage@mazzetti.com
Currently: Associate Project Manager– Mazzetti

 

Valerie Fuchs

Postdoctoral Associate, 2010-2011
Currently: Senior Water Resources Engineer– Brown and Caldwell

 

Patrick Foley

PhD Environmental Engineering, 2008-2011
patrick@p2science.com
Currently: Chief Scientific Officer– P2 Science