Civil and Environmental Engineering

  • Michalek, Alexander

    Civil and Environmental Engineering

    Michalek’s research focuses on the prediction of flood across local, regional, and continental scales under a changing climate. His research couples statistical, climatic, and hydrologic models to improve predictions of floods and leverage web-tool frameworks to relay information to the public. He works with Gabriele Villarini who is a professor in the department of Civil and Environmental Engineering.

  • Sima, Matthew

    Civil and Environmental Engineering

    AY 24-25 PECS Group Project Coordinator

    Sima aims to investigate the biodegradation of PFAS coupled with the Feammox reaction by the bacteria Acidimicrobium sp. Strain A6 on both a fundamental mechanistic and natural system level. His research uses models and experimental research to determine the role of different proteins in and the kinetics of this coupling process for use in in-situ remediation of polluted soils and wastewater treatment plant byproducts. Sima is also a 2023 HMEI-STEP Environmental Policy Fellow. He is advised by Peter Jaffé, professor in the department of Civil and Environmental Engineering.

  • Leininger, Aaron

    Civil and Environmental Engineering

    Leininger engineers electrochemically-active microbiomes towards applications for sustainable anthropogenic carbon cycling with a focus on making water treatment cheaper and more efficient. He is a member of professor Jason Ren’s Water-Energy-Technologies (WET) Lab in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and the Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment.

  • Maxwell, Reed

    Civil and Environmental Engineering
    Headshot of Reed Maxwell

    Reed Maxwell focuses his research on understanding connections within the hydrologic cycle and how they relate to water quantity and quality under anthropogenic stresses. He joined Princeton in 2020 as a professor of civil and environmental engineering and the High Meadows Environmental Institute (HMEI), and is director of the Integrated Groundwater Modeling Center (IGWMC) based in HMEI. Maxwell has authored more than 140 peer-reviewed journal articles and teaches classes on integrated hydrology, fluid mechanics and modeling terrestrial water flow. He came to Princeton after 11 years as a professor of hydrology at the Colorado School of Mines. Maxwell was a postdoctoral researcher and then physicist in the Hydrologic Sciences group at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. He received his Ph.D. in environmental water resources from the University of California-Berkeley in 1998.

  • Li, Nathan (‘21 - ‘23)

    Civil and Environmental Engineering
    Headshot of Nathan Li

    AY 22-23 Faculty Dinner Coordinator

    Li researches and develops sensors for quantifying emissions of methane and other air pollutants. He is a member of the Princeton Atmospheric Chemistry and Composition Group led by Mark Zondlo, associate professor of civil and environmental engineering.

  • Anand, Shashank (‘20 - ‘22)

    Civil and Environmental Engineering
    Headshot of Shashank Anand

    Anand focuses his research on understanding the emergence of complex networks in natural ecosystems, such as drainage networks in the landscape, xylem-phloem networks in the plant, etc. He is particularly interested in analyzing the evolution and organization of topographic features and their effects on sediment and water transport, as well as ecosystem regulation. His adviser is Amilcare Porporato, the Thomas J. Wu ’94 Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering and the High Meadows Environmental Institute.

  • Hajirezaie, Sassan (‘19 - ‘21)

    Civil and Environmental Engineering
    Headshot of Sassan Hajirezaie

    Hajirezaie works with Professor Catherine A. Peters, Chair of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering where he focuses on developing approaches to control the migration of fluids in subsurface technologies such as geothermal energy production, subsurface remediation, oil and gas production, and energy storage. Hajirezaie is investigating the conditions that could lead to the precipitation of minerals in underground fractures, and the impacts of precipitation on fracture hydraulic properties and carbon dioxide leakage.

  • Su, Yibing (‘19 - ‘21)

    Civil and Environmental Engineering
    Headshot of Yibing Su

    Su is in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering where she studies hydrometeorology. Her research focuses on addressing the question of how hard it can rain at time durations critical to urban watersheds. Su develops hydrometeorological procedures to analyze the physical mechanisms and variables producing extreme short-duration rainfall and gain insight on the upper physical bound to rainfall intensity. A specific focus has been paid on Extratropical Cyclone systems given their destructive potential in producing extreme rainfall and flooding.

  • Tao, Yiheng (‘19 - ‘21)

    Civil and Environmental Engineering
    Headshot of Yiheng Tao

    Based in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Tao works  with Professor Michael Celia. Tao is interested in analyzing energy development and climate change mitigation from engineering, policy, and economic perspectives. Specifically, his research focuses on numerical modeling of carbon dioxide injection into deep geological formations, carbon emissions implications of China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative, and the viability of carbon capture and storage technologies in the U.S. and China.