Leadership
212.650.6679
Dr. Marco J. Castaldi
Director
Dr. Marco J. Castaldi is the Director of EEC|CCNY and is a Professor of the Chemical Engineering Department at City College of New York. Dr. Castaldi is a globally recognized expert in the field of waste to energy and specializes in the field of combustion and catalysis. Prior to academia, Dr. Castaldi worked in industry for 8 years as an R&D engineer and then as a manager at Precision Combustion Inc. Dr. Castaldi has a Ph.D in chemical engineering from the University of California and to date, he has approximately 60 peer-reviewed research articles, 32 peer-reviewed conference papers, 3 book chapters, and 11 patents in the fields of catalysis, combustion, and gasification.
Dr. Michael Lugo
Associate Director
Dr. Micheal A. Lugo has a background in catalyst evaluation, and a PhD in lignocellulosic waste valorization and unit operation development. He holds industrial experience, having served as a development engineer for scramjet technology, as a contractor for uncertainty evaluation in catalyst development, and as a consultant for the waste-to-energy, cement, and plastic recycling industries. He also participated in producing the technical backbone of two NYC local laws, and contributed to the CERESiS international collaboration. Currently he is interested in waste valorization, especially organic wastes.
Resident Research Associates
Erica Razook
Tricia Marchese
Yehudis Gottesfeld
Yehudis Gottesfeld is a Research Associate at EEC|CCNY. She obtained her M.S. in Earth and Environmental Engineering at Columbia University and her B.Eng. in Chemical Engineering at The City College of New York. She is currently involved in mineral processing and waste utilization projects along with life cycle analyses for the extraction and refinement of ore and waste mineral streams and is working at the Earth and Environmental Engineering Center at Columbia University.
Lauren Creadore
Lauren Creadore is a Research Associate at EEC|CCNY. She obtained her B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Stanford University and her M.Eng. in Mechanical Engineering at The City College of New York. Her research interests include combustion, alternative fuels, waste to energy, internal combustion engines, and air emissions. Her research involves greenhouse gas emissions and performance of an internal combustion engine operating on landfill gas blends as fuel. More recently, her work has been oriented toward detonations. Her various projects will develop an experimentally derived understanding that spans from the generation of complex hydrocarbon mixtures from solid fuel sources to the conditions of high energy release events from such mixtures.
Alumni of EEC|CCNY
Dr. Snehesh S. Ail
Former Associate Director
Snehesh S. Ail managed the applied research programs at EEC|CCNY sponsored by operating companies and industry consortia in the field of sustainable waste management and conversion. He has published numerous peer-reviewed articles in topics ranging from biomass gasification to the Fischer Tropsch process. His experimental work focused mainly on combustion diagnostic investigation, catalysis, and waste valorization and waste characterization.
He completed his PhD in the Combustion Gasification and Propulsion Laboratory at the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore. His doctorate thesis was on Combustion synthesized cobalt catalysts for liquid fuel generation via Fischer Tropsch reactions. Previously, he obtained a BE in Chemical Engineering from Manipal University. Prior to his appointment to EEC|CCNY, Snehesh has held several positions such as Project Engineer at CGPL of the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore and Research Associate at the Biomass and Biofuels Laboratory of the Free University of Bolzano.
Michelle Ley
Michelle Ley is a Research Associate at EEC|CCNY. She holds an M.Sc. in Biosystems Engineering from Fluminense Federal University in Brazil, where her thesis focused on evaluating mathematical models and simulation programs for estimating landfill leachate generation. Prior to that, she earned a Bachelor’s degree in Bioprocess Engineering from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, where her thesis explored the potential of municipal solid waste in the production of chemical inputs. During her B.Sc., she was awarded a one-year full scholarship grant to study Biochemical Engineering at the University of California, Irvine. Her expertise lies in strategic planning for solid waste management and the application of technological, prospective, and computational analyses in the field of solid waste. With a passion for sustainable solutions, Michelle continues to contribute significantly to the advancement of waste management practices.
Golam Chowdhury
Golam Chowdhury is a Research Associate at EEC|CCNY. He obtained his B.Sc (Eng) in Chemical Engineering and Polymer Science from Shahjalal University of Science and Technology, Bangladesh. He also graduated with a Master’s degree in Chemical Engineering at The City College of New York. His current research involves pyrolysis of waste plastic and biomass. His previous research experience was preparing biosorbent from black gram husk. His research interests include waste to energy and renewable energy.
Ann Tangsamphan
Ann Tangsamphan is a Research Associate at EEC|CCNY. She obtained a Bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering at The City College of New York. Her interest is in Material Science. Ann is currently involved in a corrosion project with Covanta and Magotteaux, testing various alloys for corrosion resistance in combustion environments.
Tasnuva Moutushi
Tasnuva Moutushi is a former Research Associate at EEC|CCNY. She obtained her B.E. in Chemical and Molecular Engineering from Stony Brook University and completed a PhD from The City College of New York. During her doctorate studies, she was involved in landfill gasification and waste-to-energy ash utilization projects. Her research interests include catalysis and sustainable waste management. Tasnuva began a job as a TD Mod & Integr Yield Engineer at Intel Corporation.
Jasmine Navarrete
Jasmine holds a bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering at CCNY. She is currently involved in a combustion project in which she is testing and characterizing two reactors.
Anjeza Arapi
Anjeza Arapi was a Masters student in the Environmental Engineering program at The City College of New York. She most recently worked as a Resident Research Associate at the Earth Engineering Center and the Combustion Catalysis Laboratory. Her previous projects include collaboration with the American Society of Mechanical Engineers on how pollution emissions limits should be established and studying the mitigation effects of sulfur compounds on the formation of halogens in waste to energy plants. Her previous research experience includes climate change studies at the National Aeronautic and Space Agency and urban atmosphere profiling with NOAA-CREST. Her work with NOAA-CREST resulted in a published paper entitled “Intra-continental wildfire smoke transport and impact on local air quality observed by ground-based and satellite remote sensing in New York City” featured in Atmospheric Environment journal.
Dominik Galazka
Dominik Galazka obtained his B.E. in Chemical Engineering from at The City College of New York. Since then, he has worked as a Research Associate at EEC|CCNY on a thermo-kinetic reactor analyzing its thermodynamic behaviors and performance and was involved in a corrosion project with Covanta, testing various alloys for corrosion resistance in combustion environments. Interested in renewable energy, Dominik now works at Nuvera Fuel Cells, LLC working on hydrogen fuel cell stacks.
Sandrine Biot
Sandrine, was a chemical engineering student at the City College of New York. She was investigating methods for stack opacity reduction in waste-to-energy plants. Her main area of interest is the conversion of biodegradable waste into useful resources through hydrothermal treatment.
Comlan Alawoe
Comlan, was a chemical engineering student at CCNY. He is interested in bio-waste to energy, more specifically on how to treat municipal and agricultural wastes to reduce environmental waste.
Connie Y. Aleman
Connie, was a chemical engineering student at the City College of New York. She was most recently working on Hydrate testing with Methane and Carbon Dioxide, high pressure testing up to 700 psi, and the use of DAQ and gas chromatographer to observe methane-hydrate formation.
Demetra Tsiamis
Former Associate Director
Ms. Tsiamis managed the applied research programs at EEC|CCNY sponsored by operating companies and industry consortia in the field of sustainable waste management and conversion. She was the lead engineer on several technical due diligences and has led research programs on waste conversion for companies and organizations such as Covanta and the American Chemistry Council. Ms. Tsiamis was also involved in the development of waste education and public outreach efforts of EEC|CCNY and has helped form research partnerships with government agencies and municipalities, one of which is the Department of Sanitation in the City of New York.
Ms. Tsiamis received an M.S. in chemical engineering from Columbia University and a B. E. in chemical engineering from The Cooper Union with a minor environmental engineering. Her Master’s thesis at Columbia University under the co-advisement of Professors Nickolas Themelis and Marco Castaldi investigated the technical feasibility of commercial pyrolysis technologies in the treatment of New York City’s non-recyclable plastics. Prior to joining EEC|CCNY, Ms. Tsiamis worked as a field engineer for Langan Engineering and Environmental Services in New York. Her expertise is in thermal conversion of waste with a focus on gasification and pyrolysis of non-recyclable plastics.
Valentina Rappa
Ms. Valentina Rappa was a Research Associate at EEC | CCNY. Ms. Rappa majored in Earth System Science and Environmental Engineering at the City College of New York. She has previous experience with remote sensing techniques through her work with NOAA, while Ms. Rappa’s more recent work has focused on optimizing energy consumption within the activated sludge process at wastewater treatment plants. Ms. Rappa’s work with the EEC focused on analyzing the potential of the reuse sector in New York City.
Nannette Hernandez
Nannette was a chemical engineering student at the City College of New York. She was investigating methods to repurpose processed ash waste in construction market products. Her main area of interest in sustainable waste management is to reduce the environmental impact of landfills through pyrolytic conversion of waste into useful resources.
Grace Correa
Grace Correa holds a Bachelor’s degree from the City College of New York. She attended the Grove School of Engineering and was studying in the field of mechanical engineering. She was conducting research regarding plastic waste fuel efficiency and emissions in a gas turbine engine at EEC|CCNY. Her interests include renewable energy in internal combustion engines, as well as armament research and development.
Yaye Anta Diallo
Yaye Anta was a chemical engineering student at The Grove School of Engineering at CCNY. Her love for chemistry dates back to her early years of highschool in Senegal, West Africa, Her passion for engineering led her to the United States three years ago. Yaye Anta is very interested in new ways of creating energy and natural gas. She was previously working in the EEC|CCNY lab where she helps with analyzing gas samples via Micro-GC and GCMS. Yaye Anta was also involved in the DSNY Reuse Assessment Project.
Rainiel Baez
Rainiel was majoring in chemical engineering and minoring in chemistry and math at CCNY. He was involved in the DSNY reuse sector assessment project, corrosion investigation, and plastics pyrolysis research at EEC|CCNY. His areas of interest in sustainable waste management are: corrosion (material science), landfills, and biomass.
Joseph Figueroa
Joseph was a chemical engineering student at CCNY. He is interested in bio-waste to energy, more specifically on how to treat municipal waste in large metropolitan areas to reduce the waste’s environmental impact.
Riliwan Sanni
Masters Candidate, University at Buffalo, USA
Riliwan Sanni is a former Research Associate at EEC|CCNY. He obtained his B.E. in chemical engineering at the City College of New York. He is interested in practices that will make earth more sustainable and that led him to join EEC|CCNY. He was part of the SWPS research team that is studying a process that will convert wet waste to useful energy.
Michael Lugo
PhD Candidate, University of Sherbrooke, Canada
Mr. Michael Lugo is a former Research Associate at EEC|CCNY. Mr. Lugo obtained his BS and MS in Chemical Engineering from the City College of New York. His thesis project involved the characterization of the kinetics of the steam – methane reforming reaction performed using a new type of catalyst. Mr. Lugo has experience with facility design, building and characterization.
Deepak Sharma
PhD Candidate, University of Perugia, Italy
Mr. Deepak K. Sharma is a former Research Associate at EEC|CCNY and is currently pursuing a PhD at the University of Perugia in Italy. Mr. Deepak Sharma obtained his B.E. in Chemical Engineering from University of Pune, India and M.E. in Chemical Engineering from City College – CUNY. During his master’s he worked on a thesis focused on Municipal Solid waste (MSW) Diversion from Landfills: Recycling and Waste to Energy facilities. His research interests include analyzing ash from multiple WTE facilities and developing suitable treatment methods for ash utilization, analyzing and testing alloy formulations for high temperature corrosion resistance in various corrosive environments. He was also heavily involved in various projects with the EEC|CCNY team.
Shalmali Bapat
Shalmali Bapat is a former Research Associate at EEC|CCNY. She obtained her B.E. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Mumbai and MS in Chemical Engineering from the Columbia University. During her time at EEC|CCNY, she was involved in corrosion and gasification projects. Shalmali is now pursuing her doctoral studies at the Institute of Combustion and Gas Dynamics – Reactive Fluids, University of Duisburg, Germany.
Dr. Stephen Crowley
Scientist I, Analytical and Material Science R&D, Sun Chemical
Dr. Stephen Crowley completed his Ph.D. in chemical engineering at CCNY with a focus on the catalytic reforming of oxygenated fuels in 2016. Prior to joining the team at CCNY he performed analytical chemistry research at Takeda Pharmaceuticals after completing bachelor’s degrees in chemistry and mathematics at the College of the Holy Cross in 2009. His research interests include the development of novel catalytic materials for increased efficiency in the production of renewable fuels, specifically in waste-to-energy (WtE) applications. During his time at EEC|CCNY, Dr. Crowley conducted numerous gas and liquid characterizations for EEC|CCNY collaborators and oversaw daily laboratory activities.
Dane Fearon
Process Engineer, Corning Inc.
Dane Fearon graduated in 2017 from the chemical engineering program at CCNY with Magna Cum Laude distinction. Dane joined EEC|CCNY in February 2015 and his research included analysis of plastic waste for energy recovery and gasification reactor design. Dane attended the Tokyo Institute of Technology (Titech) in Japan as part of the EEC|CCNY international research collaboration program to conduct research on converting debris from natural disasters into energy. Dane now works as a process engineer in the Management, Technology, & Engineering Division of Corning Inc.
Jeffrey LeBlanc
Instructor, Chemical Engineering Department, University of Louisiana
Dr. LeBlanc is an instructor in the Chemical Engineering department at the University of Louisiana. His area of expertise is in the field of thermal conversion technologies, such as pyrolysis and gasification. Dr. LeBlanc has worked on a variety of industry-funded and federal government research projects, examples of which can be found published in peer-reviewed journal articles or conference proceedings. In addition, Dr. LeBlanc has professional experience in both process design and product development. Dr. LeBlanc received his Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the City College of New York in 2016.
Annette Scotto
Solid Waste Coordinator, HDR Inc.
Annette is a recent graduate of the environmental engineering program at the CCNY and had been a member of EEC|CCNY since April 2016. Annette worked on various projects at EEC|CCNY including landfill waste characterizations and market analysis on the reduction of sulfur emissions from marine vessels. Annette now works at the engineering consulting firm, HDR, as an environmental consultant focused on landfill gas recovery.
Melissa Torres
Process Engineer, Corning Inc.
Melissa Torres is a recent graduate of the chemical engineering program at CCNY and was a member of EEC|CCNY since August 2015. Her research at EEC|CCNY included the use of non-recyclable plastic as an energy source and metal recovery from multi-layer plastics packaging. Melissa also was involved in the pilot scale and prototype testing of the SWPS wet waste gasifier. Melissa now works at Corning.