PhD Students

Maddie is a PhD student in environmental engineering. Her research focuses on UV inactivation of biofilm-bound bacteria and applications of UV in drinking water distribution systems. She received bachelor's and master's degrees in civil engineering from West Virginia University, where she completed research on spatiotemporal trends in microbial communities in drinking water distribution. Maddie is passionate about creating solutions for safe drinking water and wastewater in rural or underserved communities,...

Ryan graduated from the University of Vermont with his B.S. in Environmental Engineering. As an undergraduate researcher at UVM, he performed jar tests to remove nutrients from dairy wash-water using coagulation/flocculation. Currently, Ryan is a Ph.D. student in Environmental Engineering and a graduate research assistant focusing on water reuse and UV Advanced Oxidation Processes. (UV/AOP). He is interested in using water and wastewater treatment technology to address water security issues...

Emma Payne is a PhD student in Prof. Linden’s group. Her research focuses on UV advanced oxidation and how advances in UV source technology can be leveraged to make UV advanced oxidation more sustainable and cost-efficient. She is also completing a graduate certificate through the Mortenson Center in Global Engineering and Resilience and is interested in drinking water treatment for rural or low-resource communities. Emma completed her B.S. in Environmental...

Emma Wells is a PhD student researching risk management in drinking water utilities. She is particularly interested in microbial water quality and how organizations adapt to changing technologies and environmental threats. Emma is co-advised by Dr. Amy Javernick-Will and Dr. Karl Linden. Her work is funded through the NSF Graduate Research Program Fellowship. With a background in global health, Emma has worked as a program manager for an organization in...