Our team

Dr. Carol Miller, Director

Professor in Civil and Environmental Engineering at Wayne State University. Water resources research in sustainable and green energy technologies, hydraulic modeling, and water supplies.
Direct Link to CV
Link to Hydraulics Laboratory

Dr. Tracie Baker, Co-Principal Investigator
Associate Professor, University of Florida. Research in developmental biology, environmental toxicology, genetics, and animal health

Link to Baker Water Lab

Lab Directors

Dr. Jeffrey Ram, Palmer Park Lab Director

Professor in Physiology at Wayne State University School of Medicine. Research and development of new technologies for detecting invasive and pathogenic organisms in urban water resources, and investigation of invasive species physiology.
Direct Link to CV

Staff

Jamie Steis Thorsby

Jamie Steis Thorsby, Program Coordinator

Professional Civil Engineer. Coordinates multifaceted projects that includes topics related to green infrastructure, sewer infrastructure, and water quality analysis.

Adrian Vasquez

Dr. Adrian Vasquez, Post-Doctoral Fellow

Post-Doctoral Fellow working with Health Urban Waters. Investigation of state of biodiversity and ascertain the impact of pests that carry human pathogens.

Students

Kate Ekhator, Graduate Student

Kate is currently a PhD student in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Wayne State University. Her research interests are in ground water movement, stormwater control and treatment measures using
green infrastructure, contaminant transport and phytoscreening studies. She was recently admitted into the Transformative Research in Urban Sustainability Training (T-RUST) program.

Brendan O'Leary, Graduate Student

Brendan O'Leary is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Wayne State University. His research interests include groundwater in the Great Lakes Basin, volatile organic compound subsurface movement, and environmental justice. Currently, Brendan is a Thriving Earth Exchange Community Science Fellow and researching urban groundwater with Healthy Urban Waters (HUW) and Transformative Research in Urban Sustainability Training (T-RUST) programs at Wayne State University.

Sadaf Teimoori, Graduate Student

Sadaf Teimoori joined Civil and Environmental Engineering at Wayne State University as a Graduate Research Assistant and started her Ph.D. degree in Civil and Environmental Engineering since 2017. In the Healthy Urban Waters team, she is currently working with groundwater quantity and quality data, modeling and analysis of groundwater, specifically in the Detroit region, and contaminant transferring in saturated and unsaturated zones. Her research interests include hydrological data analytics, modeling and analysis of groundwater quantity and quality, green stormwater infrastructure (GSI), and application of machine learning in water resource management.

Team members

	Dr. Yongli Zhang Assistant Professor in Civil and Environmental Engineering. Investigation of clean and sustainable water and energy resources, including research on bio-energy, water system management, wastewater treatment, and emerging contaminants. Web Site Direct Link to CV Link to Sustainable Water Environment-Energy Technologies (SWEET) Lab website
	Dr. David Pitts Associate Professor in Pharmaceutical Sciences at Wayne State University Eugene Applebaum College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences. Research in ecotoxicology, neurotoxicology, exposure effects on brain development, and emerging contaminants in urban water supplies and wastewater.
	Dr. Donna Kashian Associate Professor in Biological Sciences at Wayne State University. Multidisciplinary research addressing complex environmental issues through science, policy, engineering, sociology and business. Direct Link to CV Link to Kashian Aquatic Ecology Lab Website
	Dr. Mark Baskaran Professor in Geology at Wayne State University. Investigation of environmental geochemistry and problems associated with radioactive materials and nuclear waste management. Direct Link to CV
	Dr. Omer Bilhan Visiting Professor in Civil and Environmental Engineering at Wayne State University; Assistant Professor at Nevsehir HBV University, Turkey. Research in hydraulic design and modeling, sediment transport. Direct Link to CV
	Dr. Thomas E. Dowling Professor in Biological Sciences at Wayne State University. Research addressing management of threatened and endangered species, particularly freshwater fishes in both the Great Lakes region and American Southwest. Direct Link to CV
	Dr. John Barkach Senior Program Manager and Hydrogeologist for Great Lakes Environmental Center. Regulated community and governmental agencies with issues related to soil and groundwater quality, surface water and sediment quality, ecological risk assessment, and remediation
	Noah D. Hall, J.D. Professor of Law at Wayne State University Law School. Founder of the Great Lakes Environmental Law Center, his research addresses environmental and water law and policy, including international and Great Lakes water resource management. Currently serving as Special Assistant Attorney General for Michigan for the Flint water investigation Direct Link to CV
	Dr. Paul E. Kilgore Associate Professor in Pharmacy Practice at Wayne State University. Research on waterborne infectious diseases, exposure risk and public health interventions, particularly in the Great Lakes region.
	Dr. Larry Lemke Professor and Department Chair, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences at Central Michigan University. Research on modeling contaminant fate and transport, and characterizing spatial variability in natural environments. Direct Link to CV
	Dr. Rahul Mitra Assistant Professor, Department of Communication at Wayne State University. Research focuses on the communicative implications of organizing sustainably. Topics of study include natural resource management, sustainability work norms and practices, corporate social responsibility impacts, career communication, and organizing for social change. Direct Link to CV
	Dr. Shawn McElmurry Associate Professor in Civil and Environmental Engineering at Wayne State University. Multidisciplinary research addressing transport and fate of pollutants, land use effects on water quality, water treatment and delivery effectiveness and sustainability. Link to Environmental Chemistry Research Laboratory (ECRL)
	Dr. Rayman Mohamed Associate Professor in Urban Studies and Planning at Wayne State University. Interdisciplinary research investigating behavioral, economic, regulatory and environmental drivers for urban conservation, redevelopment and planning.
	Shirley Papuga Associate Professor in Geology at Wayne State University. Interdisciplinary research focuses on the landâ€atmosphere exchange of energy, water, and carbon. Link to Papuga/Kurc Research Group
	Daryl M. Pierson Sustainability Coordinator for Wayne State University. Administrator responsible for campus-wide environmental efficiency, stewardship, education and outreach.
	Dr. Caisheng Wang Associate Professor in Electrical and Computer Engineering at Wayne State University. Research and development of innovative technologies to solve environmental challenges related to power generation and distribution, energy storage, and renewable energy systems. Direct Link to CV Website
	Dr. Yang Wang Postdoctoral Fellow in Electrical and Computer Engineering at Wayne State University. Research in power system planning, environmental protection and emission reduction. Direct Link to CV
	Dr. Judy Westrick Director, Lumigen Instrument Center. HUW Grant Award Project: A Pilot Study to Evaluate the Viability of Real-time Source Water Early Warning System for Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC). Link to Lumigen Instrument Center Website
	Dr. Yifan Zhang Assistant Professor in Nutrition and Food Science at Wayne State University. Research on the role of food, agriculture and environment in transmitting human pathogenic bacteria and antimicrobial resistance, particularly in relation to sustainable urban agriculture practices. Direct Link to CV