ESE Faculty Profiles

Faculty affiliated with the Institute for the Sustainable Future and the ESE program include over 100 researchers from across campus, all of which are interested in interdisciplinary research and education on environmental topics. Below we show faculty currently affiliated with the program. There are many unique and emerging issues in environmental sciences that faculty are pursuing.

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Last Name	First Name	Department(s)
Alter	Kirk	Building Construction Management	Kirk Alter Research Areas Sustainable construction Contact Email: alterk@purdue.edu Link: Website/profile of Kirk Alter
Armstrong	Shalamar	Agronomy	Shalamar Armstrong Research Areas Soil & Land Use Contact Email: sarmstro@purdue.edu
Aubeneau	Antoine	Civil Engineering	Antoine Aubeneau Research Areas Groundwater and surface-water mixing along river networks Contact Email: aubeneau@purdue.edu Link: Website/profile of Antoine Aubeneau
Bellisario	Kristen	Honors College	Kristen Bellisario Research Areas Soundscape Ecology, Natural Acoustic Environments, Corridor Ecology Current Projects Land stewardship assessment with acoustic monitoring; Corridor ecology for large mammals using sonic monitoring; NASA and US Fish & Wildlife Service projects; Land use possibilities for solar panel installations through acoustic perspective. Contact Email: kbellisa@purdue.edu Link: Website/profile of Kristen Bellisario
Blatchley	Ernest (Chip)	Civil Engineering, Environmental and Ecological Engineering	Ernest (Chip) Blatchley Research Areas Physico/chemical processes of environmental engineering; water disinfection, advanced oxidation processes, and water supply in developing countries. Contact Email: blatch@purdue.edu Link: Website/profile of Ernest (Chip) Blatchley
Boor	Brandon	Civil Engineering, Environmental and Ecological Engineering	Brandon Boor Research Areas Indoor Air Quality, Aerosol Science, Architectural Engineering, Human Exposure, Indoor Chemistry Current Projects U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) - Developmental, Behavioral & Environmental Determinants of Infant Dust Ingestion. National Science Foundation (NSF) - Formation, Growth, and Phase State of Organic Nanoaerosols in Indoor Environments. Alfred P. Sloan Foundation - Measurements of Radical Chemistry and Aerosol Production in Indoor Environments. Contact Email: bboor@purdue.edu Link: Website/profile of Brandon Boor
Bowling	Laura	Agronomy	Laura Bowling Research Areas Watershed Hydrology, Hydroclimatology, GIS & Remote Sensing Current Projects Watershed management in Peru Regional groundwater modeling in the US Contact Email: bowling@purdue.edu
Brouder	Sylvie	Agronomy	Sylvie Brouder Research Areas Soil ecology, crop nutrient management, biofuel sources and production impacts on water and soil Current Projects Sustainable Food, Energy, and Water Systems (SFEWS) NRT grant project with Dr. Rakesh Agrawal, a collaboration between College of Agriculture and College of Engineering. Contact Email: sbrouder@purdue.edu
Cai	Hua	Industrial Engineering	Hua Cai Research Areas Environmental implications of emerging technologies, Urban sustainabilty, Industrial ecology and Complex adaptive systems Current Projects Sustainable development of new mobility systems Contact Email: huacai@purdue.edu
Cherkauer	Keith	Agricultural and Biological Engineering	Keith Cherkauer Research Areas Hydrologic modeling and observations, Remote sensing, Unmanned aircraft system applications in hydrology and agriculture, Crop modeling, Climate and land use change impact assessment on water resources. Contact Email: cherkaue@purdue.edu
Crawford	Melba	Agronomy, Civil Engineering	Melba Crawford Research Areas Geomatics engineering surveying, environmental engineering, high performance computing Contact Email: mcrawford@purdue.edu
Engel	Bernie	Agricultural and Biological Engineering	Bernie Engel Research Areas Water Quality, Drainage, Subirrigation, Surface Irrigation and Erosion Control Contact Email: engelb@purdue.edu
Engelberth	Abigail	Agricultural and Biological Engineering	Abigail Engelberth Research Areas Biological engineering and bioenergy Contact Email: aengelbe@purdue.edu
Fei	Songlin	Forestry and Natural Resources	Songlin Fei Research Areas Sustaining Hardwood Ecosystems (SHE) Contact Email: sfei@purdue.edu
Flaherty	Liz	Forestry and Natural Resources	Liz Flaherty Research Areas Her research interests include mammalian responses to habitat fragmentation, forest ecology, and stable isotope ecology. Contact Email: eflaher@purdue.edu Link: Website/profile of Liz Flaherty
Flanagan	Dennis	Agricultural and Biological Engineering	Dennis Flanagan Research Areas Soil erosion by water mechanics, prediction, and control. Current Projects Water Erosion Prediction Project (WEPP) model development and applications. Contact Email: flanagan@purdue.edu Link: Website/profile of Dennis Flanagan
Frankenberger	Jane	Agricultural and Biological Engineering	Jane Frankenberger Research Areas Watershed management, water quality, hydrology, GIS, agricultural water management Contact Email: frankenb@purdue.edu
Frisbee	Marty	Earth Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences	Marty Frisbee Research Areas Groundwater and Surface Water Interactions Contact Email: mdfrisbee@purdue.edu Link: Website/profile of Marty Frisbee
Garrison	James	Aeronautics and Astronautics Engineering	James Garrison Research Areas Earth observation, remote sensing, satellite navigation and positioning Contact Email: jgarriso@purdue.edu
Gitau	Margaret	Agricultural and Biological Engineering	Margaret Gitau Research Areas Hydrologic and water quality modeling, Trends and impacts of land use, land management and climate on hydrology and water quality, Sustainable water quality management, Development of computer and internet-based applications. Contact Email: mgitau@purdue.edu
Gkritza	Konstantina Nadia	Agricultural and Biological Engineering, Civil Engineering	Konstantina Nadia Gkritza Research Areas Transportation electrification, sustainability, travel demand modeling. Current Projects ASPIRE, NSF, ERC Contact Email: nadia@purdue.edu Link: Website/profile of Konstantina Nadia Gkritza
Goforth	Reuben	Forestry and Natural Resources	Reuben Goforth Research Areas Aquatic ecology, GIS, watersheds, land use sustainability Contact Email: rgoforth@purdue.edu
Grant	Richard	Agronomy	Richard Grant Research Areas Research in the emission of trace gasses such as H2S, N2O, NH3, CH4, and CO2 from agricultural sources. Current Projects Transport of N2O through the soil and emission into the atmosphere throughout the year and transport and emission of NH3 in maize canopies. Contact Email: rgrant@purdue.edu
Grillos	Tara	Political Sciences	Tara Grillos Research Areas Environmental policy in developing countries; human decision-making and behavior in the context of sustainable development; participatory processes and stakeholder engagement Contact Email: tgrillos@purdue.edu
Hallett	Steve	Horticulture and Landscape Architecture	Steve Hallett Research Areas Botany and Plant Pathology Contact Email: halletts@purdue.edu
Hardiman	Brady	Forestry and Natural Resources, Environmental and Ecological Engineering	Brady Hardiman Research Areas Forest ecology, Ecology of coupled natural & human systems Contact Email: hardimanb@purdue.edu
Haviarova	Eva	Forestry and Natural Resources	Eva Haviarova Research Areas Sustainable forest industry development, emerging furniture design Contact Email: ehaviar@purdue.edu
Hoagland	Lori	Horticulture and Landscape Architecture	Lori Hoagland Research Areas I study agroecology to help support local and sustainable food production systems. I am especially interested in learning how to manage beneficial plant-soil-microbial relationships to improve nutrient-use efficiency and prevent fertilizer loss, reduce the need for pesticides to control crop diseases, and prevent the uptake of toxic heavy metals into edible produce to protect consumer health. Most of my projects are conducted on-farm using a participatory research approach. This helps determine how local soil and environmental factors influence plant-soil-microbial relationships while also leveraging local knowledge and empowering farmers to help develop more sustainable management practices. Current Projects Tomato Organic Management and Improvement Project (TOMI) https://eorganic.info/tomi. The long-term goal this large multistate, multidisciplinary project is to overcome the challenge of crop diseases in organic farming systems by: 1) identifying soil management practices that promote populations of native soil microbes with pathogen suppressive activity, 2) identifying factors that can better support the survival and efficacy of biopesticides which contain live cultures of pathogen suppressive microbes under field conditions, 3) developing new open-pollinated tomato varieties that have genetic resistance to the most virulent pathogen strains and produce fruit with exceptional flavor, 4) identifying mechanisms mediating differences in responsiveness among tomato germplasm to beneficial microbes that induce systemic resistance to pathogens, and 5) developing new tools and breeding strategies to integrate selection for beneficial plant-soil-microbial relationships into tomato breeding programs. Contact Email: lhoaglan@purdue.edu Link: Website/profile of Lori Hoagland
Holland	Jeffrey	Entomology	Jeffrey Holland Research Areas Spatial ecology and biodiversity, focused upon how large-scale landscape patterns influence the flow of pest and beneficial insects. Current Projects Impact of exotic beetles on habitat of an endangered bird in southern California The Hardwood Ecosystem Experiment, a 100-year large-scale study of forestry impacts upon biodiversity and oak regeneration Invasion dynamics of spongy moth. Contact Email: jdhollan@purdue.edu Link: Website/profile of Jeffrey Holland
Hook	Tomas	Forestry and Natural Resources	Tomas Hook Research Areas Aquatic Ecology Current Projects Our research focuses on fish and fisheries ecology in the Great Lakes and other lentic systems. We are particularly interested in understanding how natural processes and various stressors structure the population and community dynamics of these systems. Contact Email: thook@purdue.edu Link: Website/profile of Tomas Hook
Horton	W Travis	Civil Engineering	W Travis Horton Research Areas Architectural Engineering Contact Email: wthorton@purdue.edu
Howarter	John	Materials Engineering	John Howarter Research Areas Research interests are centered around reducing the operational energy footprint of polymer membranes through material design Contact Email: howarter@purdue.edu
Hua	Inez	Civil Engineering	Inez Hua Research Areas Environmental chemistry and fate, industrial ecology and sustainability Contact Email: hua@purdue.edu
Huang	Yiwei	Horticulture and Landscape Architecture	Yiwei Huang Research Areas Participatory Design and Planning; Green Way and Green Infrastructure; Environmental Justice Current Projects Downscaling and visualizing climate change scenarios to advance environmental justice and maximize local participation. Contact Email: huan1655@purdue.edu
Hubbard	Bryan	Civil Engineering	Bryan Hubbard Research Areas Construction, architecture Contact Email: bhubbard@purdue.edu
Huber	Matthew	Earth Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences	Matthew Huber Research Areas Climate Change. Heat waves. Sustainability. Paleoclimate modeling. Large-scale atmosphere-ocean dynamics. Polar amplification. Tropical thermostats. ENSO. Tropical Cyclones. Contact Email: huberm@purdue.edu Link: Website/profile of Matthew Huber
Hutzel	William Bill	Polytechnic Institute	William Bill Hutzel Research Areas Professor Hutzel conducts research into Net Zero Energy Buildings, focusing on solar energy, building automation, and Indoor Environmental Quality. Contact Email: hutzelw@purdue.edu Link: Website/profile of William Bill Hutzel
Ileleji	Klein	Agricultural and Biological Engineering	Klein Ileleji Research Areas Biomass feedstock logistics, processing, particulate flows and handling Contact Email: ileleji@purdue.edu
Jacobs	Douglass	Forestry and Natural Resources	Douglass Jacobs Research Areas Forest Restoration, Ecophysiology Contact Email: djacobs@purdue.edu
Jafvert	Chad	Civil Engineering	Chad Jafvert Research Areas Environmental water chemistry, drinking water treatment in developing countries, surface water quality, environmental remediation, real-time water quality monitoring. Contact Email: jafvert@purdue.edu Link: Website/profile of Chad Jafvert
Johnson	David	Industrial Engineering, Political Science	David Johnson Research Areas Natural hazards risk analysis, climate change adaptation, sustainable agriculture, renewable energy. Current Projects Coastal flood risk assessment; wetlands restoration for ag nutrient management; biomass co-firing; wind and solar policy analysis. Contact Email: davidjohnson@purdue.edu Link: Website/profile of David Johnson
Johnston	Cliff	Agronomy	Cliff Johnston Research Areas Biogeochemistry, mineral physics, nanoscience, soil science, spectroscopy Contact Email: clays@purdue.edu
Kaplan	Ian	Entomology	Ian Kaplan Research Areas Insect Ecology, Specialty Crops Contact Email: ikaplan@purdue.edu
Kladivko	Eileen	Agronomy	Eileen Kladivko Research Areas Soil Physics, Land Management, Preferential flow of chemicals through soils Contact Email: kladivko@purdue.edu
Kulatunga	Athula	Electrical and Computer Engineering, Polytechnic	Athula Kulatunga Research Areas Energy management and efficiency, industrial process controls Contact Email: nkulatun@purdue.edu
Ladisch	Michael	Agricultural and Biological Engineering	Michael Ladisch Research Areas Bioprocess engineering as it applies to bioproducts, biorecovery, and bionanotechnology Contact Email: ladisch@purdue.edu
Laskin	Alexander	Earth Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences	Alexander Laskin Research Areas Chemistry of Atmospheric Aerosols; Environmental Chemistry Current Projects Atmospheric Brown Carbon; Airborne Nano-Plastic Particles; Chemical Imaging and Molecular Characterization of Aerosols Contact Email: alaskin@purdue.edu Link: Website/profile of Alexander Laskin
Lee	Linda	Agronomy, ESE Program Head	Linda Lee Research Areas Environmental chemistry Contact Email: lslee@purdue.edu
Liu	Sa	Health and Human Sciences	Sa Liu Research Areas Exposure assessment, environmental and occupational health sciences, air pollution, water pollution, community engaged research. Current Projects To assess a community’s concerns and perceptions about the contamination and health risks associated with tetrachloroethylene and other chlorinated volatile organic compounds; quantify exposures and study the impact of the contaminants on visual and neurocognitive functions, and compare cancer rates in the community to county and state rates; co-design and implement with the community an action plan to reduce the exposures and health impact; and evaluate the effectiveness of the process, identifying pathways for moving from research to effective actions. (NIH/NIEHS R01ES033486) Contact Email: saliu@purdue.edu Link: Website/profile of Sa Liu
Lumkes	John	Agricultural and Biological Engineering	John Lumkes Research Areas Agricultural robotics and mechanization Contact Email: lumkes@purdue.edu
Ma	Zhao	Forestry and Natural Resources	Zhao Ma Research Areas My Human Dimensions Lab focuses on one overarching research question: How do individuals and organizations make environmental and natural resource decisions in the context of social-ecological change? We examine environmental and natural resource decision-making processes at multiple scales in multiple contexts, with a particular focus on how individuals and organizations make environmental and natural resource decisions in response to various ecological, climatic, social, economic, political, and cultural changes and how various environmental and natural resource decisions subsequently impact individuals, households, communities, organizations, and landscapes. Current Projects 1. Perceptions and management of soil contamination in urban farms in Indiana (PhD student: Nathan Shoaf) 2. Conservation-oriented adaptation to climate change in Rhode Island (PhD student: Mary Strickland) 3. Community forest restoration project in Hawaii (PhD student: Rebekah O'hara) 4. Purdue Climate Change Research Center (2021-2023). PI. Incorporating community agency in reducing uncontrolled wildfires (PhD student: Katy Dix) 5. Community revitalization in Areas of Concerns in the Great Lakes region (MS student: Isabelle Staph) 6. Delta Stewardship Council Delta Science Program (2021-2024). Co-PI. Integrating social and ecological research to control invasive species: Fostering collective action among private and public stakeholders (A collaborative grant with Suisun Resource Conservation District, Utah State University, Santa Clara University, Chapman University; post-doc: Vaish Tripuraneni) 7. USDA Forest Service, Northern Research Station (2020-2023). PI. Oak ecosystem restoration on private lands across Chicago and the Driftless Area. 8. National Science Foundation, Geography and Spatial Sciences Program (2017-2022). PI. Co-producing environmental conservation and social equity: Is conditionality in Payments for Ecosystem Services a necessity or impediment? 9. Indiana Department of Natural Resources (2018-2022). Co-PI (PI: Rob Swihart). Integrated deer management in Indiana. Contact Email: zhaoma@purdue.edu Link: Website/profile of Zhao Ma
Masta	Stephanie	Curriculum and Instruction, Engineering Education	Stephanie Masta Research Areas The focus of my research is on the educational experiences of Brown and Black students, and how those experiences reflect the colonial nature of educational institutions. Current Projects I am currently working on a project funded through the Spencer Foundation, which studies the experiences of Indigenous graduate students in STEM disciplines. Contact Email: szywicki@purdue.edu Link: Website/profile of Stephanie Masta
Meyers	Stephen	Horticulture and Landscape Architecture	Stephen Meyers Research Areas The Horticulture Crops Weed Science Lab quantifies weed-crop interactions and develops practical and novel integrated weed management solutions for horticulture crop producers. Current Projects Multi-year plasticulture strawberry production; pumpkin tolerance to pre-plant and post-directed herbicides; organic sweetpotato weed management through cultural and mechanical controls; herbicide tolerance and efficacy trials in peppermint, watermelon, asparagus, and potato; sileage tarps and cover crops for reduced tillage weed management in potatoes and onions. Contact Email: slmeyers@purdue.edu
Michalski	Greg	Earth Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences	Greg Michalski Research Areas Biogeochemistry, nitrogen cycling, air/water pollution, modeling isotopes Contact Email: gmichals@purdue.edu
Mickelbart	Michael	Horticulture and Landscape Architecture	Michael Mickelbart Research Areas Plant Physiology Contact Email: mmickelb@purdue.edu
Morphew	Jason	Engineering Education	Jason Morphew Research Areas My research investigates self-regulated and co-regulated learning in technology enhanced STEM contexts. More specifically my research investigates how student beliefs, identities, pedagogical activities, and learning contexts impact conceptual understanding, student learning behavior, and metacognition. Current Projects I am currently working on three main projects. 1) Impact of manipulable based augmented reality on spatial reasoning and learning in STEM. 2) Impact of cognitive diagnostic computer adaptive testing on learning and the implementation of pedagogical interventions. 3) Impact of integrated STEM instruction on learning outcomes, student interest, motivation, and workforce development. Contact Email: jmorphew@purdue.edu Link: Website/profile of Jason Morphew
Mosier	Nathan	Agricultural and Biological Engineering	Nathan Mosier Research Areas Renewable fuels, chemicals, and polymers. Current Projects Soybean oil conversion to high-value lubricants. Contact Email: mosiern@purdue.edu Link: Website/profile of Nathan Mosier
Nateghi	Roshanak (Roshi)	Industrial Engineering (primary), Environmental and Ecological Engineering (joint appointment)	Roshanak (Roshi) Nateghi Research Areas Sustainability and Resilience of Critical Infrastructure Systems Contact Email: rnateghi@purdue.edu
Ni	Jiqin JQ	Agricultural and Biological Engineering	Jiqin JQ Ni Research Areas Agricultural air quality monitoring, modeling, and mitigation. Animal environment and welfare. Anaerobic digestion of agricultural and agro-industrial wastes for energy production and pollution reduction. Agricultural waste management. Contact Email: jiqin@purdue.edu Link: Website/profile of Jiqin JQ Ni
Nies	Loring (Larry)	Civil Engineering	Loring (Larry) Nies Research Areas Life cycle analysis, sustainability, nanotech impacts, bioremediation Contact Email: nies@purdue.edu
Nyssa	Zoe	Anthropology	Zoe Nyssa Research Areas I am an anthropologist and Science and Technology Studies scholar with a focus on expert cultures and technical decision making in the life and environmental sciences. Current Projects My current projects focus on: conservation as a science and its social and environmental impacts; biodiversity data infrastructures and practices; and climate change and climate engineering research communities. Contact Email: znyssa@purdue.edu
Otarola-Castillo	Erik	Anthropology	Erik Otarola-Castillo Research Areas I am an evolutionary anthropologist and archaeologist. I earned my Ph.D. from Stony Brook University and became an Assistant Professor at Purdue University the same year. My contributions to anthropology uniquely combine anthropological theory with data science and Artificial Intelligence (AI) methods. This synergy guides my research on human-environmental interactions. Over time, I have conducted community-engaged research, established a database tracing 13,000 years of North American human-environment interactions, and written over 35 peer-reviewed papers for prestigious journals, including PNAS, Nature Scientific Reports, and the Annual Review of Anthropology. Current Projects My research program revolves around the question, "What do people eat and why?” I integrate theoretical, experimental, and field research approaches to answer this, drawing from Anthropology, Biology, Statistics, and other disciplines. This multidisciplinary framework enables me to research a spectrum of human-environment interactions spanning modern, historic, and prehistoric periods, as evidenced in my recent publications (Otárola-Castillo et al., 2023a, b, Martin et al., 2022; Veile et al., 2022a, b). One prolific area of focus is the subsistence responses of early North Americans to climate change (e.g., Otárola-Castillo 2016). I continued this work with a project building a comprehensive archaeological database across the North American Great Plains and Midwest. The aim is to discover the 13,000-year processes linking food security, climate shifts, and fluctuations in human behavior. I have also secured funding to study ancient anthropogenic effects on the environment, focusing on the debated role of American hunters in the extinction of Late Pleistocene megafauna. My team uses innovative 3D morphometric and Bayesian techniques to analyze North and South American megafauna remains for potential human-hunting-induced bone surface modifications (BSM). We have published our experiments to create BSM under controlled conditions and introduced new methodologies to identify BSM evidence of hunting and butchery with greater confidence (e.g., Otárola-Castillo et al., 2023). My expertise in statistics and computational methods, including Bayesian inference and AI, allows me to innovate research techniques within and beyond Anthropology. My open-source contributions, such as 3D-morphometrics software, have been used extensively in analyses of morphological variation. To increase the accessibility of Bayesian methods to archaeologists, I published accessible examples to illustrate the differences between Bayesian and traditional statistics. Additionally, although recent AI breakthroughs have paved the way for its incorporation into anthropological research, its “black box” nature can raise concerns about transparency and reliability (e.g., McPherron et al., 2022). To investigate this further, I recently earned a competitive Purdue fellowship to assess the use of AI and its potential pitfalls, focused on archaeological debates regarding humanity's role in the megafauna extinction during the last Ice Age. The primary outputs are systematic literature reviews of megafauna extinctions and guidance on applying AI methods in anthropological research. Contact Email: eoc@purdue.edu Link: Website/profile of Erik Otarola-Castillo
Paul	Sidd	Agronomy	Sidd Paul Research Areas Dr. Paul's research attempts to understand how anthropogenic modifications of the natural landscape impact various soil-related ecosystem services using a range of earth observation and geospatial data science techniques. Specifically, his lab is interested in studying the effects of land management and climate change on soil organic carbon, soil hydrology, water resources, and crop yield at local to regional scales. Current Projects (1) Empowering Indiana's Organic Farmers: Assessing Regional And Farm Scale Soil Health With A Farmer Network (2) Modeling Landscape-Scale Dynamics Of Soil Organic Carbon And Associated Ecosystem Services For Sustainable And Resilient Agroecosystems Contact Email: sspaul@purdue.edu Link: Website/profile of Sidd Paul
Penn	Chad	Agronomy	Chad Penn Research Areas Fertility, water quality, nutrient management, soil chemistry Current Projects Nutrient management and water quality Contact Email: chad.penn@usda.gov
Pijanowski	Bryan	Forestry and Natural Resources	Bryan Pijanowski Research Areas Soundscape Ecology, Ecological Informatics, Landscape Ecology, Biogeography, GIS, Ornithology Contact Email: bpijanow@purdue.edu Link: Website/profile of Bryan Pijanowski
Porterfield	Marshall	Agricultural and Biological Engineering	Marshall Porterfield Research Areas Physiological sensing technologies for research applications in biology, agriculture, and medicine Contact Email: porterf@purdue.edu
Proctor	Caitlin	Agricultural and Biological Engineering	Caitlin Proctor Research Areas Drinking Water Safety, Water Treatment, Microbial Ecology, Bioprocesses Contact Email: proctoc@purdue.edu
Prokopy	Linda	Forestry and Natural Resources, Horticulture and Landscape Architecture	Linda Prokopy Research Areas Understanding what motivates farmers to adopt environmentally friendly practices and diverse cropping systems. Current Projects Diverse Corn Belt - https://diversecornbelt.org/ Contact Email: lprokopy@purdue.edu Link: Website/profile of Linda Prokopy
Rapp	Randy	Polytechnic Institute	Randy Rapp Research Areas Disaster Restoration and Reconstruction Management; Building Demolition; Economic Analysis; Construction Cost Estimating; Construction Site Planning Contact Email: rrapp@purdue.edu Link: Website/profile of Randy Rapp
Raturi	Ankita	Agricultural and Biological Engineering	Ankita Raturi Research Areas At the Agricultural Informatics Lab, we conduct design research and technology development to improve resilience in food and agricultural systems. We build a range of products, from farmer-facing decision support tools and community-oriented local food system toolkits, to developer-facing APIs that serve a range of agricultural data. We conduct human-centered design research, translate our findings into usable and useful software prototypes, think critically about the role of technology in local and global food systems, and build real tools for real users. Each of our projects includes: a partnership with domain experts and communities (e.g., agronomy researchers, farmers, food hub coordinators), a mix of undergraduate students, graduate students, senior personnel, and interdisciplinary faculty. All our work is grounded in community needs and desires and results in open source projects. Current Projects Our current work includes: the development of modular, open source, decision support tools (e.g., for horticulture, cover crops); data stewardship and information modeling of agricultural data and ontologies (e.g., for crop management, soil health); and design research for improved food and farming systems (e.g., for soil health, community food resilience). Contact Email: ankita@purdue.edu Link: Website/profile of Ankita Raturi
Richmond	Doug	Entomology	Doug Richmond Research Areas Soil insect ecology, biological control, plant-insect interactions Contact Email: drichmond@purdue.edu
Rubaii	Kali	Anthropology	Kali Rubaii Research Areas My research as a cultural anthropologist focuses on displacement, health justice, and the environmental impacts of war, namely in Iraq. Research areas include environmental health justice, reproductive health, militarized ecologies and post-war ecosystems, weapons supply chains, and cement and concrete supply chains. Current Projects The Parts Per Million Project: I lead an interdisciplinary and international team of researchers concerned about multi-generational health effects of environmental exposures from the war industry, including exposure to US military burn pits, mineral mines, and cement factories. Through ethnographic interviews, participant observation, mapping, environmental sampling, tissue sampling, and health surveys, my research informs both public health policy and epistemic justice for war-distressed communities. Contact Email: jrubaii@purdue.edu Link: Website/profile of Kali Rubaii
Rui	Yichao	Agronomy	Yichao Rui Research Areas My research focuses on unravelling the mechanistic processes that underpin soil and crop resiliency, and identifying opportunities where current cropping systems can be implemented with agroecological principles to improve their performance and long-term sustainability. Current Projects Soil health, regenerative agriculture, plant-microbe interactions, climate change impacts and mitigation. Contact Email: ruiy@purdue.edu Link: Website/profile of Yichao Rui
Sadoff	Cliff	Entomology	Cliff Sadoff Research Areas Biological control, landscape entomology, prevent spread of invasive species, sustainable ag Contact Email: csadof@purdue.edu
Sankaranarayanan	Karthik	Agricultural and Biological Engineering	Karthik Sankaranarayanan Research Areas Sustainable chemical production using biotechnology and AI. Current Projects Computational planning and experimental implementation of enzyme catalyzed routes towards small molecules. Contact Email: ksankara@purdue.edu Link: Website/profile of Karthik Sankaranarayanan
Saraswat	Dharmendra	Agricultural and Biological Engineering	Dharmendra Saraswat Research Areas Investigating applications of information, communication and sensing technologies (ICSTs) for addressing issues in plant production (field and nursery crops ) and management of natural resources. Current Projects Exploring applications of machine learning and deep learning for plant production and environmental issues. Contact Email: saraswat@purdue.edu Link: Website/profile of Dharmendra Saraswat
Schulze	Darrell	Agronomy	Darrell Schulze Research Areas Soil mineralogy, chemistry, pedology Contact Email: dschulze@purdue.edu
Searle	Catherine L.	Biological Sciences	Catherine L. Searle Research Areas Disease ecology, community ecology, host-parasite interactions, freshwater biology Contact Email: searlec@purdue.edu
Sepulveda	Maria	Forestry and Natural Resources	Maria Sepulveda Research Areas Assess impacts of contaminants and other stressors on aquatic organisms. Current Projects Current Projects Contact Email: mssepulv@purdue.edu Link: Website/profile of Maria Sepulveda
Shah	Amisha	Civil Engineering, Environmental and Ecological Engineering	Amisha Shah Research Areas Dr. Shah’s research and teaching interests include the areas of environmental chemistry, contaminant reaction kinetics, mechanisms and by-product formation, analytical chemistry, and mass transport mechanisms as it pertains to water treatment, water quality, and impacts to climate change. She has published over 30 peer-reviewed journal articles and is a recipient of several awards including the EEE Instructional Excellence Award (2018). Contact Email: adshah@purdue.edu
Shan	Jie	Civil Engineering	Jie Shan Research Areas Geospatial data science; Geographic information system/science and its applications; Remote sensing for urban areas Current Projects Interaction and effect of transportation to public safety and possibly to the environment Contact Email: jshan@purdue.edu
Simsek	Halis	Agricultural and Biological Engineering	Halis Simsek Research Areas Environmental Engineering Contact Email: simsek@purdue.edu
Singh	Shweta	Agricultural and Biological Engineering, Environmental and Ecological Engineering	Shweta Singh Research Areas Sustainable Manufacturing, Machine Learning in Sustainability Science, Coupled Modeling, Life Cycle Analysis, Industrial Ecology Contact Email: singh294@purdue.edu Link: Website/profile of Shweta Singh
Specht	Aaron	Health and Human Sciences	Aaron Specht Research Areas My work primarily focuses on 3 areas: 1) building instrumentation to make quantification of environmental pollutants easier in population or ecological health projects; 2) implementation of my novel technologies into existing cohort studies or environmental health studies; and 3) developing new studies centered on the added capabilities afforded using my new technology and the implications of these measurements in toxicological health. Current Projects I have three currently funded projects within my lab: 1) Development of a novel X-ray fluorescence tool to quantify exposures in the military. 2) Measure long-term lead exposure and identify potential neurological motor dysfunction for future studies in occupationally exposed cohorts. 3) Using micro X-ray fluorescence to map biomarkers from humans and animals to investigate potential health impacts in neurodegeneration or exposure studies. Contact Email: aspecht@purdue.edu Link: Website/profile of Aaron Specht
Sutherland	John	Environmental and Ecological Engineering	John Sutherland Research Areas With a foundation in areas such as environmental and ecological engineering, manufacturing engineering, mechanical engineering, and industrial engineering, our team is conducting innovative research at the interface of manufacturing and the environment that has an impact. Current Projects We have multiple projects. Our general aim is to apply the principles of sustainability to manufacturing. Current areas of research include smart/sustainable manufacturing, circular economy (including recycling and remanufacturing), environmental life cycle assessment, techno-economic assessment, sustainability of bioenergy systems, green manufacturing planning, product design for the environment, and social sustainability of manufacturing. Contact Email: jwsuther@purdue.edu Link: Website/profile of John Sutherland
Tao	Bernard	Agricultural and Biological Engineering, Food Science	Bernard Tao Research Areas Renewable resource utilization, polymer coating, plant lipids, biosensors Contact Email: tao@purdue.edu
Troy	Cary	Civil Engineering	Cary Troy Research Areas Coastal processes, Environmental fluid mechanics, Physical Limnology, Water Science Current Projects Characterization of Lake Michigan shoreline processes - a combination of field measurements, historical data analysis, and shoreline model simulations. Contact Email: troy@purdue.edu Link: Website/profile of Cary Troy
Turco	Ron	Agronomy	Ron Turco Research Areas Remediation technologies, microbiology, microbial ecology Contact Email: rturco@purdue.edu
Volenec	Jeff	Agronomy	Jeff Volenec Research Areas Dr. Volenec’s research resides at the intersection of agriculture and the environment. His work aims to understand how crop plants adapt to stress, including climate change, and to explore how genotype x environment x management interactions might be used to enhance plant productivity and resilience. Current Projects Crop Ecology and Input Use Efficiencies. Devising cropping systems with the diverse phenologies and the broad adaptation necessary to exploit underutilized temporal and spatial niches is critical to enhancing the health and sustainability of the Midwest cornbelt. Volenec and collaborators are working to develop novel management systems for Midwestern US crop system intensification and diversification that will increase the output or value of multiple ecosystem services (ES) when compared to conventional management. This includes strategic inclusion of mulch and cover crop systems that will provide significant economic income for farmers without displacing or reducing yields of existing crops. Performance metrics include enhancing profit and efficient use of water, nutrients, and radiation, while reducing production of greenhouse gases and loss of nutrients to surface waters. Contact Email: jvolenec@purdue.edu Link: Website/profile of Jeff Volenec
Vyn	Tony	Agronomy	Tony Vyn Research Areas Cropping Systems, Tillage and Nutrient Use Efficiencies in Corn Production Contact Email: tvyn@purdue.edu
Wang	Lei	Earth Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences	Lei Wang Research Areas Fundamental dynamics and variability of mid-latitude atmospheric waves, especially high-impact extreme weather and climate events Contact Email: leiwang@purdue.edu
Wells	Ellen	Health and Human Sciences	Ellen Wells Research Areas Environmental epidemiology Current Projects Multiple metals in children Contact Email: wells54@purdue.edu
Welp	Lisa	Earth Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences	Lisa Welp Research Areas Stable-isotope biogeochemistry, exchange of water and carbon dioxide between land biosphere and atmosphere, boreal forest carbon cycle Contact Email: lwelp@purdue.edu
West	Terry	Earth Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences	Terry West Research Areas Engineering geology Contact Email: trwest@purdue.edu
Whelton	Andrew	Civil Engineering, Environmental and Ecological Engineering	Andrew Whelton Research Areas Environmental chemistry and engineering; Disaster science and engineering; Polymer science and engineering; Water quality, infrastructure, and public health. Current Projects Microplastics in plumbing. Post disaster building testing and decontamination. Contact Email: awhelton@purdue.edu Link: Website/profile of Andrew Whelton
Wilhelm	Roland	Agronomy	Roland Wilhelm Research Areas We test theories and new biotechnologies using molecular (‘omic’) techniques, model systems, and bioinformatics. Our aim is to improve ecosystem management by uncovering the stable interactions between plants, microbes, and fungi in their in situ environmental contexts. We recruit students interested in doing microbiome research in the field, lab and in silico. Current Projects We use molecular (‘-omic’) and culturing-based methods to characterize individuals and communities of microorganisms and measure their contributions to ecosystem processes, often using stable isotopes. We are interested in understanding the ecology and function of microbes in their environmental context, and how their responses reflect changing conditions. We are also interested in studying and developing ways to promote stable interactions among microbes, plants, and fungi. Current topics include: (i) the modes of microbial attachment and colonization of plant and soil surfaces (‘surface ecology’), (ii) the biology of microorganisms that degrade plant-derived aromatics and secondary metabolites, and (iii) characterizing the physiological and metabolic traits that affect cooperation and competition among organisms. Contact Email: rcwilhelm@purdue.edu Link: Website/profile of Roland Wilhelm
Yu	David	Civil Engineering	David Yu Research Areas Disaster resilience. Community resilience to natural and man-made hazards and how the interplay between physical and social processes shape community resilience. Contact Email: davidyu@purdue.edu
Zhang	Hao	Forestry and Natural Resources, Statistics	Hao Zhang Research Areas Analysis of spatial and space-time data as it relates to climatology, geophysics, natural resources, agriculture, economics Contact Email: zhanghao@purdue.edu
Zhao	Fu	Environmental and Ecological Engineering	Fu Zhao Research Areas Life cycle assessment; material flow analysis; recycling Current Projects 1. Life cycle assessment of a variety of new processes for rare earth, lithium, nickel, and others. 2. Life cycle assessment of strong live wood 3. Life cycle assessment of biosorption process 4. EV battery and motor recycling Contact Email: fzhao@purdue.edu Link: Website/profile of Fu Zhao
Zhou	Zhi George	Civil Engineering, Environmental and Ecological Engineering	Zhi George Zhou Research Areas Environmental biotechnology, antibiotic resistance, biofuel, water quality, water treatment, point-of-use water filtration. Current Projects Emerging contaminant removal and microbial growth in membrane filtration and activated carbon point-of-use technologies Advancing remote sensing of the biogeochemical state of midwestern inland waters. Contact Email: zhizhou@purdue.edu Link: Website/profile of Zhi George Zhou
Zhuang	Qianlai	Earth Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences	Qianlai Zhuang Research Areas Interactions among atmosphere, biosphere, and human dimension in the context of climate change, chemical element cycles, and policy-making Contact Email: qzhuang@purdue.edu

ESE Faculty Profiles

Kirk Alter

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Shalamar Armstrong

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Antoine Aubeneau

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Kristen Bellisario

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Ernest (Chip) Blatchley

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Brandon Boor

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Laura Bowling

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Sylvie Brouder

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Hua Cai

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Keith Cherkauer

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Melba Crawford

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Bernie Engel

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Abigail Engelberth

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Songlin Fei

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Liz Flaherty

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Dennis Flanagan

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Jane Frankenberger

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Marty Frisbee

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James Garrison

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Margaret Gitau

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Konstantina Nadia Gkritza

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Reuben Goforth

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Richard Grant

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Tara Grillos

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