Center Infographic
Leadership & Faculty
The Mortenson Center brings together faculty from Civil, Mechanical, Aerospace, and Environmental Engineering, as well as Environmental Studies.
Evan Thomas, PhD, PE, MPH
Director & Mortenson Endowed Chair. Professor in CEAE and Aerospace.
Laura MacDonald, PhD
Managing Director. Water quality & climate finance research.
Denis Muthike, PhD
Associate Director, Global Engineering RAP. Hydroclimatology.
Karl G. Linden, PhD
Associate Director & Mortenson Professor. WASH Systems.
Rita Klees, PhD
Associate Director, Outreach. Professor of Engineering Practice.
Carlo Salvinelli, PhD
Faculty Fellow. Associate Teaching Professor.
Zia Mehrabi, PhD
Faculty Fellow. Asst. Professor, Environmental Studies.
Grace Burleson, PhD
Faculty Fellow. Asst. Professor, Mechanical Engineering.
Gunārs Platais, PhD
Adjunct Associate Professor.
Faculty & Staff
John Edem Ecklu, PhD
Postdoctoral Associate. Climate finance & water insecurity.
James Harper, PhD
Faculty Fellow. Asst. Professor, Mechanical Engineering.
Styvers Kathuni
Affiliate. PhD Candidate, Civil Engineering.
Lars Schobitz
Faculty Fellow. Data Science Instructor.
Sarah Goodroad
Program Coordinator.
Nancy Wright, MS
Financial Manager.
Chantal Iribagiza, PhD
Research Associate. WASH & clean energy, East Africa.
Arnold Bugingo
Professional Master’s Student. Bridges to Prosperity.
Whitney Knopp, MS, EI
PhD Candidate. Water security, Horn of Africa.
Our Advisory Board
Guided by leaders from the Gates Foundation, Engineers Without Borders, MIT, Emory, UNC, and other institutions working at the intersection of engineering and global development.
Jenny Frankel-Reed
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
Senior program leader in global development, health, and equity.
Mark Mortenson
Mortenson Family
Represents the Mortenson family’s commitment to engineering education.
Boris Martin
CEO, Engineers Without Borders-USA
Community-driven infrastructure in low-income settings.
Amos Winter, PhD
MIT
Professor of Mechanical Engineering; Global Engineering and Research Lab.
Iana Aranda
President, Engineering for Change / ASME
Human-centered engineering for global development.
Avery Bang
Managing Director, Mulago Foundation
High-impact social ventures. Former CEO of Bridges to Prosperity.
Tom Clasen, PhD
Emory University
Gangarosa Professor. WASH and household air pollution. WHO advisor.
Joe Brown, PhD, PE
UNC Chapel Hill
Professor, Environmental Sciences & Engineering. UNC Water Institute.
John Simon (visiting)
Total Impact Capital
Former U.S. Ambassador to the African Union; EVP, OPIC.
Community & Connection
The Mortenson Center program has been the highlight of my academic experience. The community is very supportive, the classes prepared me for a career in global development, and the practicum is a unique opportunity.— J. Darby '24
Students in the Field
Students in the Field
Transformative Student Journeys
Mortenson Center students come from around the world and go on to careers in engineering, development, and research.
Manjeet Pandey
Nepal. First Online Certificate cohort on Mortenson scholarship. MS in Civil Eng. 2024. ASCE Top 10 New Faces of Civil Engineering. Now PM at Mortenson Construction, Denver.
Fatma Köroğlu
Turkey. Full tuition scholarship. Professional MS 2024. Continuing work on the USAID-funded Mortenson Center Armenia Project.
John Edem Ecklu
Ghana. Professional MS → PhD student. Climate financing for water insecurity. 4 years WASH experience at TREND Group.
What I treasure most about the Mortenson Center is the community—both faculty and students foster an environment ripe for meaningful discussions on pressing global issues.— Diego Valdivieso
Food, Water & Infrastructure
2.3 billion people face food insecurity (FAO SOFI 2025). 2.1 billion lack safely managed drinking water (WHO/UNICEF JMP 2025).
Food Security
Food Security Modeling
Data science mapping food production, transport, and consumption networks. FarmGeek platform analyzing agricultural interventions worldwide.
Ceres2030
Evidence-based analysis determining the cost and strategies needed to end hunger by 2030. World Bank World Development Report contributor.
Climate Adaptation Atlas
Mapping climate adaptation for agriculture across E. & S. Africa. Dangerous heat, drought/flood extremes. NASA, USGS, NSF funded.
Water Research
Water Security Monitoring
Tryptophan-like fluorescence and ML to detect E. coli in real time. Deployed in 10+ countries.
Water Quality & Climate Finance
Performance-based financing and carbon credit revenue. 10M people drinking clean water, 45M carbon credits issued.
DRIP — Drought Resilience
Satellite-connected borehole monitoring. 276M m³ water pumped, 2M+ runtime hours across Kenya.
Infrastructure Research
Impact Evaluation
Trail bridge impact in Rwanda—health, wealth, and education via remote sensing and geospatial analytics.
Hazard-Resilient Infrastructure
Design and assessment for climate resilience, natural hazards, and sustainability in the built environment.
Geospatial Analytics & ML
ML tools for resource identification and management. Workforce maps, development planning, remote sensing.