Lecturer

• Nov 2022 - Present

I'm the principal instructor of the course Environmental Microbiology for the Environmental Sciences Bachelor. I'm the principal instructor of the course Environmental Microbiology for the Environmental Sciences Bachelor.

Management Professional

• Dec 2019 - Present

The Great Lakes Water Authority (GLWA) is a water authority responsible of providing water and sewer services to the Southeast of Michigan. At GLWA, I am exposed to the real-world complexities of a water resource recovery facility and I use research to solve environmental problems. I am responsible for the biosolids management research program and I run projects related to anaerobic digestion, the hydrothermal liquefaction of sludge, PFAS destruction in biosolids, SARS-COV-2 monitoring, and biological phosphorous removal. My role has also given me the opportunity to write new manuscripts, to write a grant as the Principal Investigator and to lead and collaborate in projects with different stakeholders (practitioners in consulting companies and utilities, university professors, researchers from national labs, etc.).

Lecturer

• Sep 2021 - Dec 2021

Principal instructor for the undergraduate and graduate course Environmental Engineering (CEE 482/582) Principal instructor for the undergraduate and graduate course Environmental Engineering (CEE 482/582)

Postdoctoral Researcher

• Dec 2015 - Dec 2019

I developed new anaerobic technologies to recover resources from wastes by the means of microorganisms. My work specially focused on using molecular tools to understand which reactor design and conditions are suitable for the growth of microbes of interest. During my job, I have developed interdisciplinary collaboration with other researchers from the Environmental Biotechnology group (https://envbiotech.engin.umich.edu/) at the University of Michigan and from other universities as well with practitioners from the private sector and researchers at national labs. My roles were:1- Designing and operating new lab-scales bio-reactors for the transformation of wastes into energy or chemical products.2- Writing grants for funding.3- Organizing outreach activities like workshops on anaerobic digestion. 4- Mentoring students in the field of Environmental Engineering.5- Developing molecular tools for the analysis of different groups of microorganisms (e.g. Anaerobic fungi, Fibrobacter...).

Research Associate

• Oct 2015 - Dec 2015

PhD in Engineering and Advanced Technologies

• Sep 2012 - Dec 2015

I studied anaerobic digestion (AD) as a process to transform different liquid and solid organic wastes (sewage sludge, organic fraction of municipal solid wastes, manure, and crop wastes) into methane. By the end of my Ph.D., I led a collaborative project at the University of Michigan with Prof. Lutgarde Raskin and Prof. Samir Khanal from the University of Hawaii. During my Ph.D. research, I became knowledgeable in the complexities of different organic wastes when processed through AD, advanced molecular methods, and multivariate statistics.Thesis title: Strategies to improve anaerobic digestion of wastes with especial attention to lignocellulosic substrates

Visiting Ph.D. Student in Engineering and Advanced Technologies

• Jun 2014 - May 2015

Researcher

• 2011 - 2012

I worked in the environmental biotechnology group with professor Joan Mata on a research project about the anaerobic digestion of agricultural wastes. I worked in the environmental biotechnology group with professor Joan Mata on a research project about the anaerobic digestion of agricultural wastes.

researcher

• Jan 2011 - Jul 2011

I worked as a researcher with Professor Bin Zhu to develop a fuel cell that used lignin as the main substrate. I worked as a researcher with Professor Bin Zhu to develop a fuel cell that used lignin as the main substrate.

Engineer

• Jun 2009 - Sep 2009

I worked as a engineer in the development of a co-generation project I worked as a engineer in the development of a co-generation project