Our Team
Founded in 2005, AguaClara Cornell pioneers research in community-scale water treatment technologies. AguaClara Cornell has partnered with AguaClara Reach and other local organizations to build more than 24 AguaClara plants that provide safe water on tap to over 96,000 people, with the flagship plant in Ojojona, Honduras, India, and Nicaragua.
Team Leads
Camden Wehrle
cw566@cornell.edu
Environmental Engineering '25
Dora Weng
cw749@cornell.edu
Computer Science '26
Kayla Stephenson
ks929@cornell.edu
Chemical Engineering '26
Research Advisors
UASB
Alex Hende
ajv85@cornell.edu
Environmental Engineering '24
Lab
Jiaming Yuan
jy729@cornell.edu
Environmental Engineering '26
Apps & Algo
Shreehari Srinivasan
ss2732@cornell.edu
Computer Science '24
PR
Sarah Bae
ssb238@cornell.edu
Environmental Engineering '25
RaFTT & Floc Modeling
Lily DuPlooy
led92@cornell.edu
Biological Engineering '24
Ram Pump & DOM
Zach Marshall
zdm6@cornell.edu
Chemical Engineering '25
Chairs
Community
Alex Hende
ajv85@cornell.edu
Environmental Engineering '24
Community
Arron Chang
ac2787@cornell.edu
Environmental Engineering '25
Webmaster
Kelly Tran
kt457@cornell.edu
Computer Science '25
Recruitment
Sunny Liu
kl797@cornell.edu
Data Sci & Econ '27
Recruitment + Onboarding
Sweksha Mehta
sm2593@cornell.edu
Mechanical Engineering '27
Onboarding
Isabel Crovella
isc25@cornell.edu
Materials Science '25
MNC
Kaitlyn Canivel
kgc44@cornell.edu
GDev & EnvE '27
Subteams
Dissolved Organic Matter
DOM (dissolved organic matter) is dedicated to improving the removal process of organic matter from water sources. DOM naturally forms as organic materials, such as feces and decaying leaves, break down. When DOM reacts with coagulants, the contaminants aggregate into larger clusters known as flocs, making them easier to separate during the filtration stage. Currently, at the AguaClara Gracias plant, maple leaves break down in water and create issues with taste and visual appeal.
Subteam Lead
Johan DeMessie
jd2294@cornell.edu
Statistics '27
Subteam Member
Noyonima Masud
nsm89@cornell.edu
Chemical Engineering '27
Subteam Member
Sarvesh Prabhu
sp2572@cornell.edu
Environmental Science '28
Subteam Member
Chloe Tseng
ct685@cornell.edu
Chemical Engineering '28
Subteam Member
Ayesha Abdiel
asa253@cornell.edu
Computer Science '27
Subteam Member
Youyou Xie
yx645@cornell.edu
Chemical Engineering '28
Ram Pump
Ram Pump focuses on the research, design, and fabrication of the AguaClara Vertical Ram Pump (ACVRP), a proprietary, open-source technology developed within AguaClara. The team designs experiments and fabricates parts to test different pump optimization methods. Its purpose within the AguaClara plant is to pump filtered water from the bottom to chemical stock tanks located at higher elevations without using electricity and minimizing clean water waste. This eliminates the need for operators to move clean water themselves manually.
Subteam Lead
Alma Meili Ren
arr254@cornell.edu
Mechanical Engineering '27
Subteam Member
Christopher Miranda Soto
cm2233@cornell.edu
Mechanical Engineering '27
Subteam Member
Sweksha Mehta
sm2593@cornell.edu
Mechanical Engineering '27
Subteam Member
Katie Kim
kdk85@cornell.edu
Civil Engineering '28
Upflow Anaerobic Sludge Blanket (UASB)
The UASB subteam is testing a gravity-powered reactor for wastewater treatment at the Ithaca Area Wastewater Treatment Facility (IAWWTF). Transportation to the plant has been provided by students on the team with personal vehicles. The team also has a contract (contact Professor Ruth Richardson for more information) with IAWWTF to conduct COD, BOD, phosphorous, and fecal coliform tests in the IAWWTF lab space, under the close supervision of IAWWTF lab technicians.
Subteam Lead
David Rha
dgr79@cornell.edu
Environmental Engineering '26
Subteam Member
Kaitlyn Canivel
kgc44@cornell.edu
GDev & EnvE '27
Subteam Member
Evan Sims
ems452@cornell.edu
Environmental Engineering '26
Subteam Member
Fiona Chen
fc379@cornell.edu
Environmental Engineering '28
ACDC
The Automated Coagulant Dosing Control (ACDC) subteam focuses on developing an algorithm to determine optimal coagulant doses given fluctuating turbidity conditions, as well as beginning the integration of the software and hardware for an automated dosing system.
Subteam Lead
Claire Wang
cyw34@cornell.edu
Environmental Engineering '26
Subteam Member
Becca Jeffries
rcj63@cornell.edu
ECE '27
Subteam Member
Ananya Bansal
ab2836@cornell.edu
Materials Science '27
Subteam Member
Claire Chiu
cc2873@cornell.edu
Environmental Engineering '28
RaFTT
Rapid Fabrication Temporary Team (RaFTT) is a flexible and creative subteam working on a variety of fabrication projects in order to support other subteams in their research.
Subteam Lead
Ari Schor
aes392@cornell.edu
Environmental Engineering '26
Subteam Member
Grace Raab
gar238@cornell.edu
Environmental Engineering '26
Subteam Member
Katherine Krishtopa
kvk24@cornell.edu
Biomedical Engineering '28
Floc Modeling
AguaClara water treatment plants rely on flocculation and clarification processes for particle aggregation and removal. This subteam is developing a mathematical model of these processes that can be applied to optimize the design of treatment plants and reduce operating costs. The model we develop will then be applied by the Automated Coagulant Dosing Control (ACDC) subteam in order to automate coagulant dosing for rural communities that cannot afford a full-time plant operator. Overall, this project aims to grow our fundamental understanding of water treatment processes.
Subteam Lead
Anjali Asthagiri
aa2549@cornell.edu
Chemical Engineering '27
Subteam Member
Alex Gardocki
rag325@cornell.edu
CS & ORIE '27
Subteam Member
Lauren Hsu
lkh58@cornell.edu
Chemical Engineering '28
Subteam Member
Max Zheng
hz687@cornell.edu
Biology & Computer Science '28
Plant Operations Smartphone Tracker (POST)
POST is designing a way to streamline how water operators in Honduras monitor, record, and analyze water filtration data. Developed with Flutter, Figma and Postman, this Android application provides a user-friendly, offline-capable survey form for operators to submit various metrics and generate visual data representations. By replacing paper records, the app simplifies data management, enhances communication with AguaClara Reach and the development team, and improves overall efficiency for operators in the field.
Subteam Lead
Kelly Tran
kt457@cornell.edu
Computer Science '25
Subteam Member
George Dong
gd289@cornell.edu
Computer Science '25
Subteam Member
Patrick Egan
pje42@cornell.edu
Computer Science '27
Subteam Member
Jason Fu
jlf344@cornell.edu
Computer Science '27
Subteam Member
Caleb Kim
ck586@cornell.edu
Computer Science '26
Subteam Member
Jeffrey Wang
yw2645@cornell.edu
Environmental Engineering '27
Public Relations
The Public Relations team of AguaClara Cornell increases the project’s exposure within Cornell and globally by maintaining a consistent brand that reflects its innovative and sustainable ideals. They boost team pride and campus visibility through merchandise, social media, and recruitment efforts. Public Relations also ensures a uniform message with press kits and templates, representing AguaClara to campus, implementation partners like AguaClara Reach and APP, and managing internal logistics.
Subteam Lead
Nessa Sandoval
vss32@cornell.edu
Environment & Sustainability '26
Subteam Member
Stella Canez
smc449@cornell.edu
Animal Science '26
Subteam Member
Star Kim
bk482@cornell.edu
ILR '28
Subteam Member
Sriniketh Velagapudi
sv532@cornell.edu
Environment & Sustainability '28
Our Advisors
Our founder
Dr. Monroe Weber-Shirk is an environmental engineer who founded the AguaClara program to develop sustainable municipal scale water treatment for resource poor communities. His work has been motivated by his experiences working in Salvadoran refugee camps and his investigations of the widespread failure of automated and mechanized water treatment plants. AguaClara has invented a series of technologies that make it possible to produce safe drinking water without using any electricity.
Our Advisors
Dr. Ruth Richardson is a professor of civil and environmental engineering at Cornell University. Her research is focused on the application of molecular biological tools to improve basic understanding of microbes relevant to bioremediation, sustainable wastewater treatment and sustainable bioenergy and apply this understanding to the deployment of microbial processes in environmental and reactor systems.
Professor James Hwang graduated from the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Cornell University with a PhD degree. He has published approximately 400 refereed technical papers and been granted eight U.S. patents. He has researched electronic, optical, and micro-electromechanical devices and circuits. His current research interest includes scanning microwave microscopy, two-dimensional atomic-layered materials and devices, and electromagnetic sensors for individual biological cells.