Members
Vinka Craver
Professor, PI
Civil & Environmental Engineering
Focus Areas: Nanotechnology, Biotechnology, Sustainability
Joe Goodwill
Associate Professor, PI
Civil & Environmental Engineering
Focus Areas: Physicochemical processes; Treatment system design and operation; Water chemistry
Ali Akanda
Associate Professor, PI
Civil & Environmental Engineering
Focus Areas: Computer modeling of water supplies, floods and droughts; Hydrologic Forecasting; Climate-Water-Health Nexus
Research Staff
Kayla Kurtz
Post-Doctoral Researcher
Civil & Environmental Engineering
Focus Areas: Biofilms; Climate Change Adaptation; Sustainable Development
Fun Fact: Kayla has worked on water projects in six countries.
Hanan Bankhah
PhD Student
Civil & Environmental Engineering
Focus Areas: Water Scarcity, water quantity analysis, Climate Change, Global Health (vector-borne diseases)
Fun Fact: Hanan once attempted ice skating and fell pretty badly but still found it enjoyable yet painful.
Jacira Soares
Graduate Research Assistant, PhD Student
Civil & Environmental Engineering
Focus Areas: Water Treatment Technologies (Potassium Ferrate)
Fun Fact: Jacira is fluent in 4 languages and is working on her 5th.
Andrew Sheerin
Graduate Research Assistant, PhD Student
Civil & Environmental Engineering
Focus Areas: Stormwater Runoff and the transportation/water nexus.
Fun Fact: Andrew currently has the best beard in the research group.
CJ Spellman
Post-Doctoral Researcher
Civil & Environmental Engineering
Focus Areas: Water Reuse Technologies, Pilot Scale Water Treatment, Co-treatment of Acid Mine Drainage & Municipal Waste Water
Fun Fact: CJ once played a game of ice hockey with the Jonas Brothers in the audience.
Nicoly Welter
Graduate Research Assistant, PhD Student
Civil & Environmental Engineering
Focus Areas: Biological and chemical treatment of wastewater
Fun Fact: Nicoly is Brazilian and her family is of German descent.
Sirri Neba Nforsoh
Graduate Research Assistant, PhD Student
Civil & Environmental Engineering
Focus Areas: Recycling of plastics into construction materials
Fun Fact: Sirri enjoys anything sports-related, as well as trying new foods and meeting new people.
Carrie Ellis
Graduate Research Assistant, M.S. Student
Civil & Environmental Engineering
Focus Areas: Water Reuse Technologies
Fun Fact: Carrie was a member of the URI NCAA D1 Soccer Team.
Caitlin Murray
Graduate Research Assistant, M.S. Student
Civil & Environmental Engineering
Focus Areas: Electrochemical Water Treatment
Fun Fact: Caitlin knows how to sail and has been sailing for over half of her life.
Retno Wulan Septiani
Graduate Research Assistant, PhD Student
Civil & Environmental Engineering
Focus Areas: Interactions of the water and carbon cycles in climate change
Fun Fact: Wulan saw snow for the first time in 2022.
Mohammad Alotaibi
Graduate Research Assistant, PhD Student
Civil & Environmental Engineering
Focus Areas: Groundwater depletion of transboundary aquifers in the Arabian Peninsula region
Fun Fact:
Lucy Kamau
Graduate Research Assistant, M.S. Student
Civil & Environmental Engineering
Focus Areas: Safe water and water security issues in developing countries
Fun Fact:
Shane Driscoll
Graduate Research Assistant, PhD Student
Civil & Environmental Engineering
Focus Areas: Drinking water systems
Fun Fact: Shane dabbles in songwriting and art when not climbing a rock wall or exploring the woods for peace and connection
Undergraduate Researchers
Alexandra Russo
Benjamin Annicelli
Cameron Tum
Laura Colon
Recent Graduates
[Last known location]
Graduate Program:
Darya Shahidi, M.S. (2023) [Penn State University PhD Student]
Cameron Murray, M.S. (2023) [Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management]
Albert Larson, Ph.D. (2023)
Kayla Kurtz, Ph.D.
Zachary Shepard, Ph.D. (2023) [Rhode Island Department of Health]
CJ Spellman, Ph.D. (2022) [Narragansett Bay Commission]
Dounia Elkhatib, Ph.D. (2020) [US Environmental Protection Agency]
Erika Addison, M.S. (2020); [Pennoni Associates]
Undergraduate Program:
Logan Beattie, B.S. (2023); [Technical University of Denmark Environmental Engineering Graduate Student]
Katie Cretella, B.S. (2023); [Fuss & O'Neill]
Megan Caless, B.S. (2022); [Black & Veatch]
Eloise Davis B.S. (2022); [Wright-Pierce]
Aaron Myers B.S. (2022); [Pare Corporation]
Noura Rayes, B.S. (2022);
Pamela Franco, B.S. (2021); [URI Civil Graduate Program]
Steven Lucier, B.S. (2021); [URI MBA Program]
Jack Spigel, B.S. (2021); [Northeast Engineers & Consultants]
Bradley Bzdyra, B.S. (2020); [UT Austin Environmental Engineering Graduate Student]
Devyn Barraza, B.A. (2020);
Alexa Leone, B.S. (2020); [NSF Graduate Research Fellow at URI Ocean Engineering Department]
Isabella Silverman, B.S. (2020); [CDM Smith]
Mike Rothenbucher, B.S. (2020); [TRC Companies]
Ian Hallam, B.S. (2019);