2025 Internship Project Overview

Our project focused on improving groundwater management in New Jersey, where increasing demand and climate change make water resources more vulnerable to depletion and saltwater intrusion. Accurate pumping data are critical for planning, but existing records are often too sparse or aggregated to capture local conditions. To address this gap, we developed a machine learning framework to estimate monthly groundwater withdrawals at fine spatial resolution. Our approach used a three-stage ensemble model that first identified whether pumping occurred, then distinguished between low and high withdrawals, and finally applied specialized models to predict pumping volumes. We trained the system on a range of environmental and demographic features, achieving strong accuracy while uncovering how local geography and climate influence water use. By providing more precise estimates of pumping, our work contributes to more effective water management and supports ongoing research in sustainable groundwater use.

ORGANIZATION/RESEARCH GROUP

Integrated GroundWater Modeling Center, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Princeton University

LOCATION

Princeton, New Jersey

 

Interns

Yousef Kassem ’27
Major: Computer Science
Minor(s): Statistics and Machine Learning
"This internship deepened my understanding of how machine learning can be adapted to complex, real-world challenges. In working with groundwater pumping data, I came to appreciate the need for approaches that balance technical rigor with practical utility. Designing an ensemble model tailored to these constraints was especially rewarding. Altogether, the experience reinforced my commitment to interdisciplinary machine learning research, which I am eager to continue through my independent work during the remainder of my undergraduate career."

Click to view the end-of-project presentation

 

Reed Maxwell
William and Edna Macaleer Professor of Engineering and Applied Science, Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering and the High Meadows Environmental Institute

Mentors

  • Lisa Gallagher, Professional Specialist, Civil and Environmental Engineering
  • Yueling Ma, Postdoctoral Research Associate, High Meadows Environmental Institute