Two Civil, Architectural, and Environmental Engineering doctoral students, Lauren Smalls-Mantey (pictured left) and Kaitie Sniffen (pictured right), are recipients of this year’s Koerner Family Awards for Graduate Students in the College of Engineering.
The Koerner Family Awards for Graduate Students in the College of Engineering supports the research of Drexel Engineering graduate students. Founded by Robert M. Koerner, Ph.D. (’56, ’63) and his wife Paula Koerner, the awards fund allows graduate students to continue to pursue their research in electrical, chemical, mechanical, environmental, and biomedical engineering. Eight College of Engineering students and two students working with faculty in the A.J. Drexel Institute for Energy and the Environment (IExE) received Koerner awards this year. In order to qualify for an award, students must have completed the departmental candidacy examination toward a Ph.D., provided proof of US Citizenship, and submitted a resume and written summary of research done throughout the prior school year.
Kaitie Sniffen is from Long Valley, New Jersey. She received her B.S. in Chemistry, from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst and worked in Dow Chemical’s Electronic Materials Department before coming to Drexel for graduate school. Kaitie’s research interests involve algae as a biofuel, wastewater remediation, and coupling waste to energy processes. During the summer 2014 term she was the Teaching Assistant for Franco Montalto’s Sustainable Water Resource Engineering (CIVE 564) class and went with the class to the island of Lazzaretto Nuovo in Venice, Italy to execute an in-depth investigation of the treatment efficiency of a constructed wetland. Kaitie is advised by Mira Olson, Ph.D. and Christopher Sales, Ph.D.
Lauren Smalls-Mantey is from Upper Marlboro, Maryland. She received her B.S. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Maryland Baltimore County and her M.S. in Environmental Science from Drexel. Lauren’s research interests involve sustainable urban development, urban water resources and management, and low impact development technologies. She focuses her research on green infrastructure in New York City and how it influences the microclimate and the development of urban heat islands. Lauren is involved in the US Forest Service Smart Forest Initiative, where she collects data from selected woodlands to help scientists manage landscapes in a changing climate. Lauren is advised by Franco Montalto, Ph.D.
More information about all award recipients can be found on the College of Engineering website.