THIS SESSION WILL BE HELD AS BOTH AN IN-PERSON EVENT (in HRC 155) AND A LIVE STREAM WEBINAR.

About the Speaker: Dr. Katya Cherukumilli is an environmental engineer and aqueous geochemist striving to bridge the gap between fundamental discoveries and real-world impact. Dr. Cherukumilli studies the prevalence, co-occurrence, and remediation of geogenic and anthropogenic chemical contaminants in drinking water supplies by leveraging data science, material characterization techniques, experimental lab work, hardware prototyping, and participatory research methods. Her research interests include (i) modification of low-cost, natural materials to selectively target and sequester inorganic chemical contaminants, (ii) large-scale field implementation of drinking water treatment technologies with lower material, labor, and waste demands, and (iii) development of portable biosensors to detect dissolved heavy metals and emerging micropollutants in water supplies. Dr. Cherukumilli received her PhD in Civil and Environmental Engineering in 2017and her BS in Environmental Sciences in 2012 from the University of California, Berkeley. She is also the founder of Global Water Labs, a nonprofit organization that pilots and deploys locally affordable, scalable, and financially viable water treatment solutions in low-resource settings. Through her research, teaching, mentorship, and service activities, Dr. Cherukumilli is dedicated to advancing efforts towards environmental justice, planetary health, sustainable development, and diversity, equity, and inclusion goals.