Kimberly Pugel was awarded the best presentation in June 2018 at the Engineering Projects and Organizations Conference in Brijuni, Croatia. She sought to gather feedback from participants on a new method for integrating qualitative data about organization's priorities into a network analysis, in order to support groups of organizations seeking to work toward a common goal, but who face challenges reaching agreement on the best actions to reach that goal. Read the paper titled, "Factor and Actor Networks: Alignment of Collective Action Groups for Water Sustainability in Ethiopia".
Kimmy is focusing on civil systems and collaborative management of water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) projects and organizations, researching the impact of systems approaches designed to engage, understand, and strengthen local WASH service delivery systems. As a part of the USAID Sustainable WASH Systems initiative, she focuses on the application of these approaches at varying levels of decision making and organizational contexts in Ethiopia, Uganda, Kenya, and Cambodia.
She has been involved in the United Nations Major Group for Children and Youth (MGCY) since August 2015 and is currently the Technology Focal Point for the Financing for Development Working Group, helping coordinate activities surrounding the UNMGCY Youth Commission on Science, Engineering & Technology for SDGs.
She is part of The Global Projects and Organizations (GPO) Research Group led by CEAE Professor Amy Javernick-Will. The GPO group conducts research on disaster recovery and resiliency; water, sanitation, and hygeine (WASH), knowledge mobilization in global projects and organizations; and engineering education.
Her academic interests convene on the science-policy interface and the role of engineering and innovation in water governance. Her technical interests and past work includes groundwater remediation and innovative solutions for water reclamation and energy reuse using algae biomass as the primary research assistant on projects for the National Science Foundation Global Waste Research Institute and the U.S. Department of Energy. Kimmy also makes time to learn new things – inside and outside – trying out new recipes, trails, and music.