Matt Bentley

Matt received his BS in Engineering from Union University with a concentration in Mechanical Engineering, and he participated on a number of community development research projects during his time there. He is a part of the CU Engineering for Developing Communities program and has been very active in organizing the CU WASH Symposium the past two years. His experiences in refugee resettlement, relief, and development have led him to conduct research in sustainable water treatment in the developing world. Matt is researching biochar, a low-cost alternative to activated carbon, for the removal of trace organic contaminants in the environment, and his research has been funded initially through the NSF GK-12 Fellowship and currently by a NSF Graduate Research Fellowship. Matt also works with Yunnan Coffee Traders, a specialty coffee company committed to developing communities in rural Yunnan, China. When he is not in the lab, you would most likely to find him rock climbing in the Flatirons, backpacking a remote trail, or enjoying a quality cup of coffee.