About me 

I am an Assistant Professor in the Department of Civil Engineering at The State University of New York (SUNY) Polytechnic Institute. Previously, I was a School of Engineering Distinguished Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at MIT working with Dr. Desiree Plata. Using analytical and computational skills, my current research focuses on understanding the transformation and fate of contaminants in the environment. I earned a BS in agricultural engineering from Makerere University, an MS in civil engineering from San Diego State University working with Dr. Natalie Mladenov, and a Ph.D. in civil engineering from Syracuse University working with Dr. Teng Zeng. I also obtained a Certificate of Advanced Study in Sustainable Enterprise (CASSE) in 2021 from the Martin J. Whitman School of Management at Syracuse University. 

During my Ph.D., I also trained as an NSF-NRT EMPOWER fellow at Syracuse University, a program that prepares students with the technical knowledge and professional skills needed to compete for careers in energy, environmental consulting, government, nonprofits, academia, and beyond. In 2021, I was selected for the inaugural class of Black Trailblazers in the Engineering (BTE) program at Purdue University, workshops that aim to prepare future trailblazing faculty in engineering with a focus on preparing outstanding scholars who are also committed to increasing the success of underrepresented communities of engineers.  Besides my Ph.D.research, I initiated and led collaborative research with Makerere University which aimed at characterizing and quantifying the spatial and temporal distribution of organic contaminants in Kampala waters. 

Current Position

Assistant Professor, Departmenet of Civil Engineering, SUNY Polytechnic Institute.

Education

Postdoctoral Research Associate, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (M.I.T), postdoctoral fellow for engineering excellence, School of Engineering, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.                 Sept 2022 - Aug 2024

Advisor: Desiree Plata

Ph.D. Civil Engineering, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY                                     Aug 2017 - Aug 2022

Dissertation title: Exploring the Roles of Organic Matter Source and Transformation for Photochemical Characterization of New York Lake Waters.

Advisor: Teng Zeng

Certificate of Advanced Study in Sustainable Enterprise (CASSE)

 Syracuse University, Martin J. Whitman School of Management.                             Aug 2018 – Dec 2021

Consultancy Project: Developing set of tools (training, framework, KPIs) to embed the SDGs into CEMEX’s team day-to day work and help employees understand why SDGs are important. 

Advisor: Todd Moss

MS Civil Engineering, San Diego State University, San Diego, CA                         Aug 2015 – Aug 2017

M.S Thesis title: Application of Fluorescence Spectroscopy to Track Membrane Fouling, Failure, and Contaminants in Water and Wastewater Systems.

Advisor: Natalie Mladenov  

BSc Agricultural Engineering, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda                  Aug 2008 – Jan 2013

Thesis tittle: Feasibility study for the construction of a subsurface dam on River Kanyagareng in Amudat, Karamaoja.

Advisor: Noble Banadda and Micheal Iwadra