
Director, Mortenson Center
Mortenson Endowed Chair in Global Engineering
Department: Civil, Environmental, and Architectural Engineering
Education: BS, Broadcast Journalism (Honors), University of Colorado at Boulder (2006); BS, Aerospace Engineering Sciences, University of Colorado at Boulder (2006); MS, Aerospace Engineering Sciences (Bioastronautics), University of Colorado at Boulder (2006); PhD, Aerospace Engineering Sciences (Bioastronautics), University of Colorado at Boulder (2009); MPH, Masters in Public Health, Oregon Health and Science University (2014)
Teaching: CVEN 5837 Development Engineering
Research: Water and air testing and treatment applied in developing communities through to operational spacecraft. Remote sensing and "Internet of Things" technologies for monitoring of water, sanitation and energy resources.
Office: SEEC N292D
Honors and Distinctions:
- Rockefeller Foundation Bellagio Center Residency Fellowship, 2015
- NASA Johnson Space Center Fellowship, 2008-2009
- Finalist, Canadian Astronaut Selection, 2017
- University of Colorado at Boulder Kalpana Chawla Outstanding Recent Alumni Award, 2015
- University of Colorado at Boulder College of Engineering Recent Alumni Award, 2015
- Portland State Impact Entrepreneurs Entrepreneurship Award, 2014
- NASA-JSC Engineering Achievement Medal, September 2007
- International EnergyGlobe Awards, Rwanda National Award, 2007, 2008, 2009
- Engineers Without Borders-USA Humanitarian Award, 2004
Recent Publications with graduate students:
* indicates graduate student
- *Turman-Bryant, N., *Fankhauser, K., Clasen, T., Thomas, E., “Measuring Progress Toward Sanitation and Hygiene Targets,” Waterlines, 2018.
- *Barstow, C., *Kirby, M., Clasen, T., Thomas, E., “Health, livelihood, and environmental impacts of the distribution of a carbon-credit-financed, large-scale water filter and improved cookstove programme in Rwanda,” Case Report, Lancet Planetary Health, DOI: 10.1016/S2542-5196(18)30116-5, 2018.
- *Kirby, M., Nagel, C., Rosa, G., Umupfasoni M., Iyakareyme, L., Thomas, E., Clasen, T., “Use, microbiological effectiveness and health impact of a household water filter intervention in rural Rwanda—A matched cohort study,” International Journal of Hygiene and Environmental Health, 2017.
- *Delea, M., Nagel, C., Thomas E., Halder, A., Amin, N., Shoab, A., Freeman, M., Unicomb, L., Clasen, T., “Comparison of respondent-reported and sensor-recorded latrine utilization measures in rural Bangladesh: a cross-sectional study,” Transactions of The Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, 2017.
- *Bedell, E., Leslie, M., *Fankhauser, K., Burnett, J., Wing, M., Thomas, E., “Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Based Structure from Motion Biomass Inventory Estimates." Journal of Applied Remote Sensing 11(2), 2017.
- Clasen, T., Zambrano, L., Rosa, G., Kirby, M., Barstow, C., Thomas, E., Nagel, C., “Study design of a cluster-randomized controlled trial to evaluate a large-scale distribution of cook stoves and water filters in Western Province, Rwanda,” Contemporary Clinical Trials, (4) http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.conctc.2016.07.003, 2016.
- *Barstow, C., Nagel, C., Clasen, T., Thomas, E., “Process Evaluation and Assessment of Use of a Large Scale Water Filter and Cookstove Program in Rwanda,” BMC Public Health BMC Public Health 16:584 DOI 10.1186/s12889-016-3237-0, 2016.
- Thomas, E., *Tellez-Sanchez, S., *Wick, C., *Kirby, M., *Zambrano, L., Rosa, G., Clasen, T., Nagel, C., "Behavioral Reactivity Associated with Electronic Monitoring of Environmental Health Interventions - A Cluster Randomized Trial with Water Filters and Cookstoves," Environmental Science and Technology, DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.6b00161, 2016.
- *Bohnert, K., Chard, A., Mwaki, A., *Kirby, A., Muga, R., Nagel, C., Thomas, E., Freeman, M., Comparing Sanitation Delivery Modalities in Urban Informal Settlement Schools: A Randomized Trial in Nairobi, Kenya, International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 13(12), 1189; doi:10.3390/ijerph13121189, 2016.
- Nagel, C., *Beach, J., Iribagiza, C., Thomas, E., “Evaluating Cellular Instrumentation on Rural Handpumps to Improve Service Delivery – A Longitudinal Cohort Study in Rural Rwanda,” Environmental Science and Technology (49) 24 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.5b04077, 2015.
- *Kipf, A., Brunette, W., *Kellerstrass, J., Podolsky, M., Rosa, J., Sundt, M., Wilson, D., Borriello, G., Brewer, E., Thomas, E., “A Proposed Integrated Data Collection, Analysis and Sharing Platform for Global Development,” Journal of Development Engineering, doi:10.1016/j.deveng.2015.12.002, 2015.
- O’Reilly, K., *Louis, E., Thomas, E., Sinha, A., “Combining Remote Monitoring and Ethnography to Estimate Household Latrine Usage in Rural India,” Journal of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene for Development, (5), 3, doi: 10.2166/washdev.2015.155, 2015.
- *Barstow, C., Ngabo, F., Rosa, G., *Majorin, F., Boisson, S., Clasen, T., Thomas, E., “Designing and Piloting a Large-Scale Project to Provide Water Filters and Improved Cookstoves in Rwanda,” PLoS One, 2014.
- Thomas, E., *Barstow, C., Rosa, G., *Majorin, F., Clasen, T., “Use of Remotely Reporting Electronic Sensors for Assessing Use of Water Filters and Cookstoves in Rwanda,” Environmental Science and Technology, 2013. DOI: 10.1021/es403412x.
- Rosa, G., *Majorin, F., Boisson, S., Barstow, C., Johnson, M., Kirby, M., Ngabo, F., Binagwaho, A., Thomas, E., Clasen, T., “Assessing the Impact of Water Filters and Improved Cookstoves on Drinking Water Quality and Household Air Pollution: A Randomised Controlled Trial in Rwanda,” PLoS One, 2014. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0091011
- Thomas, E., Zumr, Z., *Barstow, C., Fleming, M., Spiller, K., Remotely accessible and reconfigurable in-situ instrumentation to improve monitoring of global development interventions, Sustainability, August 2, 2013.
- Gold, M., Thomas, E., Byyny, R., Habanabakize, J., Development and Implementation of the Bring Your Own Water Treatment System in Dense, Rural, and Mountainous Rwandan Communities, Journal of Engineering for Sustainable Development, V2.N1, 2007