Begin with purpose
I begin with a consequential environmental problem, then help students build a model of the system and its assumptions.
Environmental engineering · Michigan State University
Environmental Engineer, Researcher & Educator
I investigate how microbial communities can remove persistent water contaminants, and I teach emerging engineers to approach unfamiliar problems with evidence, curiosity, and care.
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01 · Practice
Teaching
Student-centered learning that connects engineering principles with real-world impact.
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02 · Inquiry
Research
Advancing sustainable water solutions through microbial processes and systems thinking.
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03 · Community
Mentorship
Supporting growth, building confidence, and cultivating inclusive engineering communities.
About
Where research and learning meet
Advancing cleaner water through microbial research and developing independent engineering thinkers.
I am a Ph.D. candidate in Environmental Engineering at Michigan State University. My work investigates how microbial communities can transform persistent groundwater contaminants, with a focus on 1,4-dioxane biodegradation and propanotrophic enrichment cultures.
My teaching connects environmental challenges to the choices engineers make. I design active, inclusive learning experiences that make reasoning visible, invite revision, and help students grow toward independent judgment.
Ph.D. Candidate Expected May 2027Research focus Environmental microbiologyBased at Michigan State University
Teaching
Teaching philosophy
From purpose to independent engineering judgment. ↗
“I want students to leave my classroom able to do more than solve the problems I have taught them. I want them to know how to think when the problem is unfamiliar.”
Read the full teaching philosophy and classroom example ↗
Make thinking visible
Students predict, compare evidence, explain their decisions, receive feedback, and revise. Support gradually gives way to independence.
Design for belonging
Written criteria, multiple ways to contribute, rotating team roles, and evidence-based disagreement make rigorous work accessible.
Teaching experience
EGR 100 · Introduction to Engineering Design
Graduate Teaching Assistant · Fall 2026
Leading three lab sections and two weekly open-lab hours; coaching student teams through engineering design, technical communication, and formative feedback.
Prior experience
ENE 280 · Principles of Environmental Engineering
Graduate Teaching Assistant · Fall 2024
Guided problem solving and helped students connect foundational analysis with environmental applications.
Certificate in College Teaching
Five areas of teaching practice
CIRTL coursework completed in August 2026. The CCTI mentored teaching project is planned for Spring 2027.
Foundations of college teaching ↗
Align outcomes, learning activities, and assessments; use evidence from STEM teaching research to design purposeful practice.
Effective learning environments ↗
Set explicit expectations, use inclusive language and examples, provide multiple participation pathways, and structure equitable teamwork.
Technology in teaching ↗
Choose digital tools for a clear learning purpose. Teach responsible AI use through verification, disclosure, and independent reasoning.
University context ↗
Connect classroom choices to student support, accessibility, academic integrity, and the responsibilities of an instructor in a university community.
Assessment of student learning ↗
Use transparent criteria, formative checks, feedback, and reflection to uncover misconceptions and improve the next learning activity.
Learning design · active learning
Purpose → model → productive struggle → evidence → independence
Learning goals, practice, and assessment ask students to use the same reasoning. I use real environmental cases, individual thinking time, team discussion, worked examples, and feedback before students make and defend a recommendation.
Inclusive practice · environmental engineering
Whose Water, Which Solution?
In this designed activity, teams compare water challenges from multiple perspectives, identify assumptions, weigh competing criteria, and explain tradeoffs. Students can draw on their experience without being asked to speak for an identity group.
Assessment · reflection
Make learning observable
Short explanations, design checkpoints, and individual reflections reveal how students reason. I use mistakes diagnostically, assess engineering reasoning against clear criteria, and revisit whose ideas shape a group’s final design.
Future teaching inquiry · Spring 2027
Responsible AI in engineering education
My planned mentored teaching project will examine how AI-supported work can strengthen learning while preserving students’ own problem formulation, verification, and engineering judgment. Findings and evidence will be added after the study.
Explore CIRTL coursework, CCTI progress, and teaching experience ↗
Research
Environmental microbiology & bioremediation
Harnessing microbial communities to protect groundwater.
My research combines enrichment cultures, molecular tools, and contaminant analysis to understand—and improve—co-metabolic biodegradation of persistent groundwater pollutants.
Dissertation research
Co-metabolic biodegradation of 1,4-dioxane
Investigating how propane, 1-propanol, and 2-propanol shape propanotrophic communities and their capacity to remove 1,4-dioxane.
- Enrichment cultures
- qPCR & metagenomics
- GC–MS / GC–FID
R·02
Microbial ecology
Organisms and enzymes behind biodegradation
Identifying key organisms, propane monooxygenase genes, and community responses associated with contaminant transformation.
R·03
Applied remediation
Bioaugmentation and mixed contaminants
Evaluating sustained aerobic degradation in systems with TCE, cis-DCE, and 1,1-DCE, and exploring the potential of enriched cultures for mixed-contaminant remediation.
R·04
Emerging collaboration · study in development
PFAS and microbial transformation
Developing a collaboration to test selected PFAS compounds with enrichment cultures. Analytical methods and experimental conditions are being finalized; transformation outcomes have not yet been established.
Selected work
Publications & presentations
Research communicated for scientific and applied audiences.
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Third Place
Battelle Student Poster Competition · 2026
2026
Journal of Environmental Management
Characterization of multiple trichloroethene, cis-dichloroethene and 1,1-dichloroethene degrading propanotrophic communities ↗
2025
Science of the Total Environment
Characterization of propanotrophic enrichments from agricultural soils capable of 1,4-dioxane biodegradation to sub-μg/L levels ↗
2025
Journal of Hazardous Materials
Identification of the dominant methanotrophs in trichloroethene degrading enrichment cultures from multiple sources ↗
2025
Environmental Pollution
Biodegradation rates of low concentrations of 1,4-dioxane in impacted site sediments and agricultural soils and an investigation of the microorganisms and genes involved ↗
2024
Journal of Microbiological Methods
Occurrence of Rhodococcus sp. RR1 prmA and Rhodococcus jostii RHA1 prmA across microbial communities and their enumeration during 1,4-dioxane biodegradation ↗
Awards & fellowships
- Outstanding Ph.D. Student Award · MSU Civil and Environmental Engineering · 2026
- Third Place Student Poster Award · Battelle Chlorinated Conference · 2026
- Pat and Scott Eston Graduate Fellowship · awarded 2026 for Spring–Summer 2027
- KBS-LTER Research Fellowship · 2024
- MSU Civil and Environmental Engineering Summer Fellowships · 2023 and 2024
See full citations, book chapter, presentations, and awards ↗
Mentorship & service
Helping emerging engineers build confidence and communicate sound decisions.
I mentor undergraduate researchers in laboratory methods, including qPCR, chromatography, and experimental troubleshooting. In the classroom I help student teams divide work, explain choices, and find a path forward when a first design does not work.
MentorshipUndergraduate research and first-year design teams
CommunicationTechnical presentations for broad audiences
CommunityConference and admitted-student service
Curriculum vitae
Teaching, research, and service—together.
For a current academic CV or teaching materials, please contact me directly. You can also view my publication record and professional profile below.