People

In alphabetical order by last name.

Graduate Students and Postdoctoral Researchers

Headshot and Biography
Aanand Aggarwal, Data Science, Graduate Researcher \| Aanand Aggarwal is a researcher with Dr. Roy’s lab and a Master of Information in Data Science candidate at Rutgers University, where he also earned dual bachelor’s degrees in Computer Science (B.S.) and IT & Informatics (B.A.). His research, which began in the Aresty program, utilizes Python and AI/ML techniques to automate the classification of corrosion images. He plans to apply this background in the health tech sector, aiming to address challenges in medical diagnostics and health equity.
Eve Butterworth, Environmental Science, PhD student \| I am Eve Butterworth, a first-year PhD student in the Roy Lab. I graduated from Wellesley College in 2025 with a BA in Geosciences, focusing on environmental geochemistry and environmental justice. In the Roy Lab, I research urban water contamination in New Jersey, including lead in schools and contaminants in tap and flood waters following natural disasters. I am passionate about environmental justice and health equity. Throughout my PhD, I aim to build relationships between the Roy Lab and nearby environmentally at-risk communities, mentor within the lab, and contribute to making water safer for people in New Jersey and around the world.
Gael (Jennie) Fleurant, Environmental Science, PhD student \| Gael (Jennie) Fleurant is a PhD student in Environmental Science at Rutgers University. Her research focuses on drinking water quality, with an emphasis on corrosion, metal leaching, and safe material use in decentralized water systems such as private wells, borehole handpumps, and small community supplies. Her work aims to improve understanding of corrosion processes and inform safer material choices for drinking water systems in low- and middle-income countries. She previously earned her master’s degree in environmental engineering at the University of Colorado Boulder, and a Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Science at Metropolitan State University of Denver. Jennie’s broader research interests include water treatment, contaminant fate and transport, and sustainable approaches for ensuring safe drinking water access. Outside of research, she enjoys hiking, playing volleyball, and exploring local coffee shops.
Emily Newton, Environmental Science, Masters student \| My name is Emily Newton, and I am a master’s environmental science student with a bachelor’s in forensic science. I am looking to work in the forensic environmental science field, including contamination and ecological crimes. Additionally, I am passionate about entomology and its relevance in these topics. My experience is in connecting entomology and molecular biology laboratory work, and investigating environmental site contamination. This year, I will focus on one contamination event to give it the attention it did not receive.

Undergraduate Students

Headshot and Biography
Aniya Elliott, Public Health, Aresty RA \| Hi, my name is Aniya Elliott and I’m a senior at Rutgers University–New Brunswick majoring in Public Health with a certificate in Cancer Epidemiology and Surveillance. I’m passionate about toxicology, environmental health impacts, and mobility issues in relation to community health, and I plan to pursue a career in medicine as either a DO or DPM. Outside of research and academics, I’m a Resident Assistant, volunteer at RWJ, and serve as Community Service Chair for the Haitian Association. A few fun facts about me: I grew up between Brooklyn and Plainfield, I’m the oldest of five siblings, I have a Pomeranian named Nugget, and I love writing novels, designing graphics, and listening to Caribbean music.
Charlene Guo, Environmental Science, Honors Thesis Research \| My name is Charlene Guo, and I’m a junior majoring in Environmental Science at Rutgers University. My research interests include water quality management, heavy metal contamination, exposure science, and public health, with a focus on the intersection of environmental pollutants and human health risk. My prior research and work experiences include biosolids data analysis, environmental monitoring, and public-sector drinking water management. My current project within the lab focuses on lead exposure from contaminated spices and its implications for public health using biokinetic modeling.
Juliana Jusino, Environmental Science, Aresty RA \| I’m Juliana Jusino and I am a senior majoring in Environmental Science with a focus in Environmental Health. My professional interests include Stormwater Management and Water Quality. I have a strong interest in chemistry and have hands-on experience in the lab and familiarize myself with different instrumentation to aid in data analysis when talking about water quality. I am excited to study the impact of lead release on public water systems and contribute to this research project.
Aiman Koli, Mathematics and Computer Science, Aresty RA \| My name is Aiman Koli and I am a Junior at the Rutgers Honors College. I’m double majoring in Math and Computer Science and I’m particularly interested in Deep Learning and Reinforcement Learning research. I’m intrigued by how AI research can contribute to fields such as public health, and look forward to learning more about that this year. I can also solve a Rubik’s cube pretty fast, love talking anything Math, and am a competitive weightlifter. This year I’ll be working on Deep Learning models to improve how spectrophotometry is practiced within the drinking water field.
Sanksriti Malakar, Computer Science and Cognitive Science, Aresty RA \| Sanskriti Malakar is a third year student at Rutgers University pursuing a dual major in Computer Science and Cognitive Science. She is passionate about machine learning, artificial intelligence, and data science, and is curious about how these technologies can be used to improve everyday life. Outside of academics, she enjoys trying new cuisines and exploring different restaurants with her friends and family.
Dan Mayster, Data Science and Economics, Aresty RA \| My name is Dan Mayster. I am a third-year student at Rutgers University studying Data Science and Economics. I am interested in deriving insights from data in the fields of public health and finance. Aside from academic and professional pursuits, I am passionate about many things, including health & fitness, cooking, traveling, and music. I am excited to help track water lead remediation efforts in New Jersey public schools!
Khang Nguyen, Environmental Engineering, Aresty RA \| My name is Khang Nguyen, and I am a sophomore majoring in Environmental Engineering at Rutgers University. My vision is to address social issues by way of science and engineering, and my interests include such topics as waste and wastewater management, food systems, and land rights. I am looking forward to studying the efficacy of drinking water systems which impact the health of our communities.
Willem Weigand, Statistics and Mathematics, Aresty RA \| My name is Willem Weigand and I am a senior majoring in Statistics and Mathematics with a minor in Biology. In my free time I work with the Rutgers Formula Racing team and monitor waterways in the Central Jersey area to ensure healthy, safe, and clean water for our communities. My research project will focus on tracking recent progress on water lead remediation efforts in schools and analyzing the benefits.

Alumni

Name and Project
Olivia Ackerson, Environmental Science, Researcher \| Spring, Summer, and Fall 2024. Research Topics: 1) Policies to mitigate lead in drinking water in low- and middle-income countries, 2) Lead in Chicago’s water supply and consumer trust/public perceptions surrounding this issue.
Bobo Au-Yeung, Psychology and Criminal Justice, Aresty RA \| Fall 2024-Spring 2025. Research Topic: To identify and formulate an intervention process to alleviate the psychological effects of negative messaging (nocebo), particularly in children post-environmental crises. Poster at Aresty Research Symposium.
Ishani Bhaumik, Chemistry, Aresty RA \| Fall 2024. Research Topic: Investigate trends of lead release from pipes into potable water in New Jersey.
Daniella Mangibin, Computer Science and Data Science, Aresty RA \| Fall 2024-Spring 2025. Research Topic: To build a deep learning model focused on corrosion in potable water pipes and plumbing. Poster at Aresty Research Symposium.
Leyla Muñoz, Public Health, Aresty RA \| Fall 2024-Spring 2025. Research Topic: Wastewater and blood lead surveillance and give an update on the Flint Water Crisis. Poster presentations at Aresty Research Symposium, NJWEA Annual Conference 2025, and WPU Annual Research Symposium.

Not pictured

Eva Rehman, Biotechnology, Spring 2024
Bhuvan Bugude, Biology/Pre-Med, Spring 2024

Awards and Scholarships to student advisees

National level

First Prize – Technical Poster (Tolu Odimayomi – AWWA Annual Conference and Exposition 2021), 2021
First Prize – Technical Poster - People’s Choice (Tolu Odimayomi – AWWA Annual Conference and Exposition 2021), 2021

State level

First Prize – Technical Paper (Philip Smith – ASCE Virginias’ Section), 2018
Third Prize – Technical Paper (Kristine Mapili – ASCE Virginias’ Section), 2016

University level

Rutgers Deans Graduate Fellowship (Eve Butterworth), 2025-26
Rutgers SEBS Undergraduate Scholarship (Charlene Guo), 2025-26
Third Prize – Technical Poster (Philip Smith – 7th Virginia Tech CEE Research Day), 2017
First Prize – Technical Poster (Kristine Mapili – 6th Virginia Tech CEE Research Day), 2016
First Prize – Technical Poster (Zihan Wang – 5th Virginia Tech CEE Research Day), 2015

Advising before Rutgers

UNC Chapel Hill

Kyle Rezek, MSPH graduate committee member and advisor on lead leaching experiments using NSF-61 test water and blood lead modeling projects (graduated 2024)

Virginia Tech (lead advisor Dr. Marc Edwards)

Graduate Students

Chivonne Battle, Environmental Justice, waterborne lead, and trust in drinking water in Chicago Metropolitan Area (manuscript underway), 2018-20
Kris Mapili (last known: Civil Engineer, Wood), Erosion corrosion of copper in the presence of common disinfectants: free chlorine, chloramine, chlorine dioxide, 2015-16
Frank Mazzola (last known: PhD candidate, Virginia Tech), Engineering Ethics and the Public graduate students’ perceptions survey (co-first author on peer-reviewed article under review), 2021-23
Dr. Kathryn Lopez (last known: ORISE Postdoc, US EPA) Blood lead modeling in three US cities and water sampling in the Chicago metropolitan area (co-author on peer-reviewed article in ACS ES&T Water), 2018-19
Dr. Taylor Lightner (last known: Research Associate, Quality Education for Minorities Network), Narrative Analysis of Engineering Graduate Students’ Journeys Navigating Public-Inspired Science Work (co-author on peer-reviewed conference article in ASEE Annual Conference 2021), 2020-21
Tolulope Odimayomi (last known: Ph.D. candidate, Virginia Tech), Biosolids monitoring as an independent method for tracking population-level water lead exposure (AWWA ACE national conference poster awardee; manuscript underway) and citizen science sampling for opportunistic pathogens (co-author on peer-reviewed article in ACS ES&T Water), 2020-22

Undergraduate Students

Minyoung Choi, Lead in drinking water and public trust in Chicago survey (manuscript underway), 2020-21
Fadi Hindi, Lead in drinking water and public trust in Chicago (manuscript underway), 2020-21
Gregory House, Erosion Corrosion in Copper and Nonleaded Alloys used in potable water systems (co-author on peer-reviewed article in CORROSION), 2015-17
Natalie Kinnamon, Reimagining of water quality consumer confidence reports from US water utilities, 2020-21
Grace Psenicska, Sourcing NSF graduate research fellows’ public contact information for a national perceptions survey about incentives, research misconduct, and scientific integrity in STEM academia, 2019
Sophia Lee, Misinformation around Flint Water during the Federal Emergency and water sampling for opportunistic pathogens in Flint, 2016-17
Helen Salko, Analyzing blood lead level trends in the United States using NHANES data, 2019-20
Philip Smith, Erosion Corrosion and Cavitation in Copper and Nonleaded Alloys used in potable water systems (co-author on peer-reviewed article in CORROSION), 2015-17
Brenda Velasco, Competition for engineering tenure-track faculty positions in the United States (co-author on peer-reviewed article in PNAS Nexus), 2020-21
Zihan Wang, Erosion Corrosion in Copper and Nonleaded Alloys used in potable water systems, 2014-15
Carol Yang, Whistleblowing and the Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment (co-author on popular science article in American Scientist), 2019-20

Last updated: October 2025