Patricia Stathatou
Co-President 2019-2020
Patricia is a visiting scholar performing Post-Doctoral research at the MIT Center for Bits and Atoms, after winning the Bodossaki Scholarship for Research. Her research focuses on the development of a novel biotechnological platform for removing heavy metals and drugs from water. She graduated from the School of Civil Engineering of the National Technical University of Athens, Greece (NTUA), in 2011, and she holds a PhD on water reuse and recycling from the School of Chemical Engineering of NTUA (2017). She has valuable research experience from numerous EU-funded research projects mainly focusing on integrated water resources management, water purification and wastewater treatment and reuse. She likes collaborating and building relationships with people of different nationalities and disciplines, while she enjoys communicating science to the general public. Furthermore, she loves water skiing and year-round swimming.
Andrew Bouma
Co-President 2019-2020
Andrew received his bachelor’s degree in engineering with a mechanical concentration from Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and his S.M in mechanical engineering from MIT. He is now working on his PhD at MIT, studying the energy efficiency and thermodynamics of desalination and brine concentration technologies. “I’ve enjoyed working with all the passionate and curious people involved with the Water Club. Thinking about and working on water issues that go far beyond the scope of my research topic has helped me to better understand the bigger picture and context in which I’m working and helped me to make valuable connections outside my own research area.”
Adrian Mikhail Garcia
MIT Water Summit Director 2019
Adrian is a PhD student in the MIT-WHOI Joint Program in Applied Ocean Science & Engineering. He studies the dynamics of estuaries, with a focus on understanding transport mechanisms which affect the length of salinity intrusion. Prior to joining MIT, he studied Civil & Environmental Engineering at University of Pittsburgh. Adrian is the director of this year’s Water Summit, and he would like everyone to know that his favorite fruit is the mango.
Jeffrey Tedmori
MIT Water Innovation Prize Co-Director 2019-2020
Jeff is an MBA candidate at MIT Sloan School of Management pursuing the Sustainability Certificate. Prior to Sloan, Jeff was living in Southern California, working for Patagonia in various functions including accounting, Finance, and most recently Corporate Development. As a member of the Corporate Development Team, Jeff was conducting due diligence and managing deal flow for Patagonia’s Corporate VC, Tin Shed Ventures. At MIT, Jeff plans to focus on impact-driven startups in the water space that address global issues related to fisheries and marine plastic pollution. Jeff is an avid outdoorsman with a passion for backpacking (John Muir Trail, 2018) and all hobbies related to the ocean: fishing, diving, surfing, and sailing. Jeff’s internal mission is to use business to preserve the world's oceans.
Javier Renna
MIT Water Innovation Prize Co-Director 2019-2020
Javier is a first-year MBA candidate at MIT Sloan School of Management. Javier started his career in investment banking at JP Morgan in Argentina and New York, where he covered clients in the retail and consumer space. After four years, he decided to follow his passion for water sports and sustainability, and partnered with a friend to build a startup making bags and backpacks out of reused kitesurf and boat sails. At MIT, Javier wants to get involved with the water community and find innovative startups that are helping to solve different problems in this space. He graduated with distinctions from McGill University (Montreal, Canada), receiving a Bachelor of Commerce in Finance and Entrepreneurship. Javier loves the outdoors and has a passion for water sports, mainly surfing and waterskiing.
Quantum Wei
Co-President 2018-2019
Quantum is a PhD candidate in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at MIT, studying energy-efficient water desalination. His current work focuses on batch reverse osmosis systems. He is also interested in science & technology policy and public outreach. He earned his SM and SB at MIT in mechanical engineering.
Yvana Ahdab
Co-President 2018-2019
Yvana is a PhD candidate in the MIT Mechanical Engineering Department, working with Professor John Lienhard. Her research focuses on increasing the water, energy and fertilizer savings of brackish groundwater desalination for hydroponics and greenhouses.
Yasmin Zaerpoor
Lecture Series Co-Chairman 2018-2019
Yasmin Zaerpoor is a Core Fellow/Visiting Assistant Professor in the Environmental Studies Program at Boston College. Her research interests include collective action, negotiation/mediation, sustainable urban development (global context), and transboundary water governance. She is currently working on a book comparing two negotiations on the use of the Nile River - the 10 year negotiations on the Cooperative Framework Agreement and the ongoing negotiations on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam. She holds a Ph.D. in Environmental Policy and Planning from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, M.S. in Urban Planning from Columbia, and a B.S. in Animal Physiology and Neuroscience from the University of California, San Diego.
Gualtiero Spiro Jaeger
Co-President 2017-18, Director MIT Water Summit 2016
Gualtiero is currently working in Washington DC at the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration headquarters on both wet- and dry-side strategic issues, with support of a Knauss Marine Policy Fellowship. In awe of the sea and the blue planet’s beauty, and intrigued by society’s dependence on and management of ocean and water resources. He completed a PhD at MIT/WHOI, researching connections between monsoon rainfall and upper-ocean dynamics in the Indian Ocean.
Deepa Rao
Co-Vice President 2016-2017, Lunch & Learn Chair 2015-2016
Deepa Rao is a Ph.D. candidate in Biological Oceanography in the MIT-Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Joint Program. Deepa is a microbial ecologist turned modeler who combines her insights from the lab and field into mathematical models. Her research focuses on micronutrient limitation of marine microbial communities, and in particular how co-limitation by trace metals like iron and cobalt and vitamins like B12 can affect microbial community composition and function. Her area of focus is in the microbial ecology of Antarctic coastal seas, which are currently regions of global concern due to rapid ice melt and changing ecosystem dynamics. She is interested in ecology, science policy, and entrepreneurship in the realm of ecosystem management and protection.
Email | Website | EAPS Profile | LinkedIn
Scott McArthur
Water Innovation Prize Co-Director 2016-2017
Scott is currently an Associate at McKinsey & Company in Washington D.C. working in the Operations Practice. Scott graduated from the Leaders for Global Operations (LGO) program in 2017 with his MBA and Masters in Mechanical Engineering. Scott's previous experience includes Brewing and Logistics at AB-InBev and Operations Research at Sanofi-Avantis Deutchland. He hopes to continue efforts focused on global water challenges as his career progresses.
Isadora Cruxen
Media and Communications Director 2016-2017
Isadora is a PhD candidate in urban studies and international development, focusing on urban water supply governance and sustainable water resources management in the Global South. Originally from Brazil, she holds a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science from the University of Brasília and a Master in City Planning from MIT/DUSP. Prior to MIT, Isadora worked as a research assistant at the Institute for Applied Economic Research in Brazil on projects about public participation in policy development. She has previously served as Co-Vice President (2015-2016) and Lecture Series Chair (2014-2015) of the MIT Water Club.
Alexis Fischer
Co-President 2015-2016
Alexis Fischer is a Ph.D. candidate in Biological Oceanography in the MIT-Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Joint Program. Her research focuses on harmful algal blooms (“red tides”) , and in particular how warming temperatures will affect the timing and intensity of blooms. She is interested in entrepreneurship and finding solutions to problems at the intersection of public health and water resource management.
Email | Website | WHOI Profile | Twitter | LinkedIn
Matthew Willner
Co-President 2015-2016
Peter Chamberlain
MIT Water Innovation Prize Director and Founding Member 2015-2016
Peter was a founding member of the MIT Water Innovation Prize in 2015 and became Director in its second year. While at MIT, he was a founding member of the MIT Hyperloop Team and researched microfluidic manufacturing with Dr. David Hardt. He founded WalkSmart in 2016 and is located in Grand Forks, ND. He grew up in Salem, OR and attended the University of Portland.
Leonardo Banchik
Co-President 2014-2015
Leo obtained his Ph.D. from MIT’s Department of Mechanical Engineering in 2016, where he worked on models and experiments for increasing the energy efficiency of reverse osmosis and other water treatment and desalination systems. Leo is currently an Associate at McKinsey & Co., where he aspires to help large organizations to become more environmentally sustainable.
Neha Mehta
Co-President 2014-2015
Neha is a graduate student in the Technology and Policy Program at MIT and currently pursuing research in the field of wastewater treatment in oil and gas industry. Prior joining MIT, she completed her master’s at University of California Berkeley in Chemical Engineering. Later she joined a California start-up developing membrane system for water purification. At MIT, she has been actively involved in organizing panels and lecture series related to water research and energy. She is also founder of MIT start-up Samperk, which aims to provide clean drinking water in rural India.
Liz Voeller
MIT Water Innovation Prize Founder & Director 2014-2015
Liz likes to connect people and make things happen. She founded the MIT Water Innovation Prize, with the support of the MIT Water Club, in her first year as an MBA student at MIT. In addition to her love for the MIT Water Club, Liz is an active member in MIT's energy and water entrepreneurship world, for both current students and alumni. She has served as Sector Practice Leader for energy and water with the Martin Trust Center for MIT Entrepreneurship, and was a TA for the popular course, Energy Ventures. Prior to her graduate degree, Liz lived in China for five years, adventuring and working at the engineering consultancy Parsons Brinckerhoff. She has experience in startup enablement, program management, corporate sustainability, and green buildings in China. Liz holds a Bachelors in Science from Northwestern University in Environmental Engineering, International Studies, and Engineering Design.
David Cohen-Tanugi
President 2013-2014
David Cohen-Tanugi obtained his Ph.D. from MIT’s Department of Materials Science & Engineering in 2015, where his research focused on developing novel classes of membranes for water desalination. Since graduating, David has been working as a co-founder of Embr Labs, a startup that is developing new technological solutions for thermal comfort.