1. Graduate and Postdoctoral Researchers
  2. Undergraduate Researchers
  3. Lab Alumni
  4. Student Awards & Recognition
  5. Advising before Rutgers

Members listed in alphabetical order by last name.

Graduate Students & Postdoctoral Researchers

Aanand Aggarwal

Aanand Aggarwal

Data Science
Graduate Researcher

Aanand is pursuing a Master of Information in Data Science at Rutgers University with dual bachelor's degrees in Computer Science and IT & Informatics. His research utilizes Python and AI/ML techniques to automate the classification of corrosion images. He plans to apply this background in the health tech sector, addressing challenges in medical diagnostics and health equity.

Eve Butterworth

Eve Butterworth

Environmental Science
PhD Student

Eve is a first-year PhD student who graduated from Wellesley College with a BA in Geosciences. She researches urban water contamination in New Jersey, including lead in schools and contaminants following natural disasters. She is passionate about environmental justice and building relationships between the lab and at-risk communities.

Gael Fleurant

Gael (Jennie) Fleurant

Environmental Science
PhD Student

Jennie's research focuses on drinking water quality, with emphasis on corrosion and metal leaching in decentralized water systems. She aims to improve understanding of corrosion processes and inform safer material choices for drinking water systems in low- and middle-income countries. Her interests include water treatment and sustainable safe drinking water access.

Emily Newton

Emily Newton

Environmental Science
Masters Student

Emily is a master's student in Environmental Science with a bachelor's degree in Forensic Science. She is passionate about forensic environmental science and entomology, particularly its relevance to contamination investigations. This year, she will focus on one contamination event to give it thorough analytical attention.

Undergraduate Researchers

Aniya Elliott

Aniya Elliott

Public Health
Aresty Research Assistant

Aniya is a senior majoring in Public Health with a certificate in Cancer Epidemiology and Surveillance. She is passionate about toxicology, environmental health impacts, and health mobility issues. Beyond research, she serves as a Resident Assistant and Community Service Chair for the Haitian Association.

Charlene Guo

Charlene Guo

Environmental Science
Honors Thesis Research

Charlene is a junior majoring in Environmental Science interested in water quality management, heavy metal contamination, and the intersection of environmental pollutants and human health. Her current project focuses on lead exposure from contaminated spices and its implications for public health using biokinetic modeling.

Juliana Jusino

Juliana Jusino

Environmental Science
Aresty Research Assistant

Juliana is a senior majoring in Environmental Science with a focus in Environmental Health. Her professional interests include stormwater management and water quality. She has hands-on lab experience and is studying the impact of lead release in public water systems.

Aiman Koli

Aiman Koli

Mathematics & Computer Science
Aresty Research Assistant

Aiman is a junior double majoring in Math and Computer Science, particularly interested in Deep Learning and Reinforcement Learning research. He is intrigued by how AI research can contribute to public health. This year he is developing Deep Learning models to improve spectrophotometry practices in the drinking water field.

Sanskriti Malakar

Sanskriti Malakar

Computer Science & Cognitive Science
Aresty Research Assistant

Sanskriti is a third-year student pursuing a dual major in Computer Science and Cognitive Science. She is passionate about machine learning, artificial intelligence, and data science, and is curious about how these technologies can improve everyday life.

Dan Mayster

Dan Mayster

Data Science & Economics
Aresty Research Assistant

Dan is a third-year student studying Data Science and Economics. He is interested in deriving insights from data in the fields of public health and finance. He is excited to help track water lead remediation efforts in New Jersey public schools.

Khang Nguyen

Khang Nguyen

Environmental Engineering
Aresty Research Assistant

Khang is a sophomore majoring in Environmental Engineering. His vision is to address social issues through science and engineering. He is looking forward to studying the efficacy of drinking water systems that impact community health.

Willem Weigand

Willem Weigand

Statistics & Mathematics
Aresty Research Assistant

Willem is a senior majoring in Statistics and Mathematics with a minor in Biology. He works with the Rutgers Formula Racing team and monitors waterways in Central Jersey. His research focuses on tracking progress on water lead remediation efforts in schools.

Lab Alumni

Olivia Ackerson

Olivia Ackerson

Environmental Science
Undergraduate Researcher (Jan-Dec 2024)

Research Topic: Policies to mitigate lead in drinking water in low- and middle-income countries; Lead in Chicago's water supply and consumer trust/public perceptions.

Bobo Au-Yeung

Bobo Au-Yeung

Psychology & Criminal Justice
Aresty Research Assistant (Sep 2024-Apr 2025)

Research Topic: Identify and formulate intervention processes to alleviate psychological effects of negative messaging (nocebo), particularly in children post-environmental crises. Poster presented at Aresty Research Symposium.

Ishani Bhaumik

Ishani Bhaumik

Chemistry
Aresty Research Assistant (Sep-Dec 2024)

Research Topic: Investigate trends of lead release from pipes into potable water in New Jersey.

Daniella Mangibin

Daniella Mangibin

Computer Science & Data Science
Aresty Research Assistant (Sep 2024-Apr 2025)

Research Topic: Build a deep learning model focused on corrosion in potable water pipes and plumbing. Poster presented at Aresty Research Symposium.

Leyla Muñoz

Leyla Muñoz

Public Health
Aresty Research Assistant (Sep 2024-Apr 2025)

Research Topic: Wastewater and blood lead surveillance; Updates on the Flint Water Crisis. Multiple poster presentations at Aresty Research Symposium, NJWEA Annual Conference 2025, and WPU Annual Research Symposium.

Bhuvan Bugude

Bhuvan Bugude

Biology and Pre-Med
Science Communication Intern (Spring 2024)

Research Topic: Policies to mitigate lead in drinking water in low- and middle-income countries.

Eva Rehman

Eva Rehman

Biotechnology
Science Communication Intern (Spring 2024)

Research Topic: Policies to mitigate lead in drinking water in low- and middle-income countries.

Awards and Scholarships to student advisees

National level

  • First Prize – Technical Poster (Tolu Odimayomi – AWWA Annual Conference and Exposition 2021), 2021
  • First Prize – Technical Poster - People’s Choice (Tolu Odimayomi – AWWA Annual Conference and Exposition 2021), 2021

State level

  • First Prize – Technical Paper (Philip Smith – ASCE Virginias’ Section), 2018
  • Third Prize – Technical Paper (Kristine Mapili – ASCE Virginias’ Section), 2016

University level

  • Rutgers Deans Graduate Fellowship (Eve Butterworth), 2025-26
  • Rutgers SEBS Undergraduate Scholarship (Charlene Guo), 2025-26
  • Third Prize – Technical Poster (Philip Smith – 7th Virginia Tech CEE Research Day), 2017
  • First Prize – Technical Poster (Kristine Mapili – 6th Virginia Tech CEE Research Day), 2016
  • First Prize – Technical Poster (Zihan Wang – 5th Virginia Tech CEE Research Day), 2015

Advising before Rutgers

UNC Chapel Hill

  • Kyle Rezek, MSPH graduate committee member and advisor on lead leaching experiments using NSF-61 test water and blood lead modeling projects (graduated 2024)

Virginia Tech (lead advisor Dr. Marc Edwards)

Graduate Students

  • Chivonne Battle, Environmental Justice, waterborne lead, and trust in drinking water in Chicago Metropolitan Area (manuscript underway), 2018-20
  • Kris Mapili (last known: Civil Engineer, Wood), Erosion corrosion of copper in the presence of common disinfectants: free chlorine, chloramine, chlorine dioxide, 2015-16
  • Frank Mazzola (last known: PhD candidate, Virginia Tech), Engineering Ethics and the Public graduate students’ perceptions survey (co-first author on peer-reviewed article under review), 2021-23
  • Dr. Kathryn Lopez (last known: ORISE Postdoc, US EPA) Blood lead modeling in three US cities and water sampling in the Chicago metropolitan area (co-author on peer-reviewed article in ACS ES&T Water), 2018-19
  • Dr. Taylor Lightner (last known: Research Associate, Quality Education for Minorities Network), Narrative Analysis of Engineering Graduate Students’ Journeys Navigating Public-Inspired Science Work (co-author on peer-reviewed conference article in ASEE Annual Conference 2021), 2020-21
  • Tolulope Odimayomi (last known: Ph.D. candidate, Virginia Tech), Biosolids monitoring as an independent method for tracking population-level water lead exposure (AWWA ACE national conference poster awardee; manuscript underway) and citizen science sampling for opportunistic pathogens (co-author on peer-reviewed article in ACS ES&T Water), 2020-22

Undergraduate Students

  • Minyoung Choi, Lead in drinking water and public trust in Chicago survey (manuscript underway), 2020-21
  • Fadi Hindi, Lead in drinking water and public trust in Chicago (manuscript underway), 2020-21
  • Gregory House, Erosion Corrosion in Copper and Nonleaded Alloys used in potable water systems (co-author on peer-reviewed article in CORROSION), 2015-17
  • Natalie Kinnamon, Reimagining of water quality consumer confidence reports from US water utilities, 2020-21
  • Grace Psenicska, Sourcing NSF graduate research fellows’ public contact information for a national perceptions survey about incentives, research misconduct, and scientific integrity in STEM academia, 2019
  • Sophia Lee, Misinformation around Flint Water during the Federal Emergency and water sampling for opportunistic pathogens in Flint, 2016-17
  • Helen Salko, Analyzing blood lead level trends in the United States using NHANES data, 2019-20
  • Philip Smith, Erosion Corrosion and Cavitation in Copper and Nonleaded Alloys used in potable water systems (co-author on peer-reviewed article in CORROSION), 2015-17
  • Brenda Velasco, Competition for engineering tenure-track faculty positions in the United States (co-author on peer-reviewed article in PNAS Nexus), 2020-21
  • Zihan Wang, Erosion Corrosion in Copper and Nonleaded Alloys used in potable water systems, 2014-15
  • Carol Yang, Whistleblowing and the Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment (co-author on popular science article in American Scientist), 2019-20

Page created: 2024. Last updated: April 2026