CU Boulder faculty recognized for advancing environmental engineering
Two professors from CU Boulder’sDepartment of Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineeringhave been honored by The American Academy of Environmental Engineers and Scientists through its 40 Under 40 Recognition Program.
Associate ProfessorSherri Cookand Assistant ProfessorCresten Mansfeldtwere recognized as “talented individuals who have, either personally or as part of a team, been responsible for helping to advance the fields of environmental science or environmental engineering in a demonstrable way within the last 12 months,” according to the academy’s website.
Cook received her BS from Virginia Tech and her MSE and PhD from the University of Michigan. At CU Boulder, she pioneered three courses that teach sustainability principles to students across disciplines. Her research focuses on sustainable solutions to global drinking water and sanitation challenges, aiming to improve treatment systems while minimizing risks to human health, the environment, and financial stability. Her research has included innovative technologies such as biochar-based micropollutant removal from wastewater and advancing zero-carbon bio-cement through herco-founded company, Prometheus.
Mansfeldt earned his PhD at Cornell University, after completing his undergraduate studies at the University of Minnesota. He refined his expertise during a postdoctoral fellowship at Eawag, the Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology. Mansfeldt teaches courses on material flows, from microbial carbon cycling to urban waste management. His research focuses on the interplay between natural and built environments, emphasizing water reuse, the microbiome of built environments and the impacts of disasters, such as wildfires, on urban systems. Past projects includemonitoring SARS-CoV-2 in campus wastewater, evaluating the risk of synthetic biology products and exploring the bioethics of biological innovations in environmental engineering. His current research examinescontaminants from wildland-urban interfaces, tracking synthetic biology products in the environment and advancing water reuse.