Tara Randall was recently awarded the WateReuse Association Colorado Student Scholarship, which will help her conduct meaningful water reuse research that spans social, cultural and economic barriers in Israel and Uganda.
Randall is pursuing her MS in environmental engineering at CU Boulder, working alongside Professor Karl Linden. Her research investigates UV-LED disinfection technology for biofouling mitigation during irrigation with recycled wastewater effluent. The project is an international collaboration with Technion, the Israel Institute of Technology.
Through the Engineering for Developing Communities certificate program, Randall has worked with Water for People on water and sanitation projects in Uganda. Her experience with drinking water, wastewater and water reuse began in 2014 with the California Department of Water Resources (DWR).
As a student engineer, Randall worked with a team that investigated and monitored greenhouse gas emissions caused by water transportation and management techniques across California. They also examined the role of water reuse to meet emission reduction goals within DWR.
After graduating with a BS in biological systems engineering from the University of California Davis in 2017, Randall worked as a process engineer on development-related projects in Brazil. Her experiences, paired with her position at DWR, instilled a passion for improving water quality in water-scarce and low-income regions.
“It is an honor to receive the WateReuse Association Colorado Student Scholarship,” Randall said. “I would like to thank the WateReuse Association, and my community at CU Boulder, for supporting my research pursuits as a young professional in the water sector.”
The WateReuse Association is the nation’s only trade association dedicated to advancing laws, policy, funding and public acceptance of recycled water. Their membership is made up of water utilities, business, government agencies and not-for-profit organizations dedicated to recycling water to ensure the safety of communities.