Team
Dr. Anjali Mulchandani
Principal Investigator, Assistant Professor, Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering, University of New Mexico
Dr. Anjali Mulchandani is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering at the University of New Mexico. She leads the Environmental Resource Sustainability group, which studies themes related to environmental and water resources engineering, atmospheric water harvesting, waste-to-energy technologies, and environmental remediation. Her work integrates and highlights science communication and needs-based research from the perspectives of industry and impacted communities. She directs the UNM Grand Challenge Undergraduate Water Science Communication Fellowship. Her passions include designing hands-on learning tools and leading public outreach initiatives for STEM awareness and engagement among all levels of learners.
Dr. Mulchandani was a postdoctoral research scholar at Stanford University. She earned her M.S. and Ph.D. from Arizona State University (ASU) and B.S. from UCLA. She is the recipient of several awards, including the ASEE Civil Engineering Division Gerald R. Seeley Early Career Faculty Award, UNM Faculty Mentored Student Research Award, UNM School of Engineering Junior Faculty Teaching Excellence Award, the UNM ADVANCE Women in STEM Award, the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship, and the ASU Engineering Dean's Dissertation Award.
Erin Elder
Graduate Student Lead and Principal Interviewer
Erin Elder is a PhD student in Geography and Environmental Studies. She returns to school after 25 years in the art world where, as a curator, artist, and writer, she develops interdisciplinary projects in and about specific places. With an MA in Curatorial Practice from California College of the Arts, Erin cooperatively founded and directed PLAND, an off-the-grid residency program near Tres Piedras, NM and was the Visual Arts Director at the Center for Contemporary Arts in Santa Fe. In addition to various DIY initiatives, she has produced curatorial projects with institutions such as the Museum of Capitalism, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, Württembergischer Kunstverein, Creative Time, the Center for Land Use Interpretation, International Symposium on Electronic Arts and the City of Albuquerque.
Guided by a passion to recognize and appreciate overlooked waterways, her dissertation project uses creative methods to consider the Pecos River from source to mouth and from every angle possible, resulting in an exhibition of research materials and creative interpretations. Erin also works as an RA with the Southwest Environmental Finance Center where she is collecting oral histories from the operators of small water systems throughout the US. More info about her work at erinelder.com.
Mikayla Ranspot
Web Design, Transcription
Mikayla Ranspot recently graduated from the University of New Mexico with a double major in Biology and Earth & Planetary Science. She is currently acting as the Student Coordinator for Accelerating Resilience Innovation in Drylands (ARID), as well as the Project Assistant for the Community Health Allied Network for Geospatial and Environmental Science (CHANGES) Research Center.
She is developing a research project through the Center for Stable Isotopes focusing on Marine Ecology, titled "Assessing the Nutritional Stress of Gray Whales in Response to Mortality Events." She plans on pursuing an M.S. in Environmental Policy and Ecology.
Jay Kramer
Transcription
Jay Kramer is a Civil Engineering student at the University of New Mexico, concentrating in Environmental Engineering and expecting to graduate in 2028. After beginning his engineering studies at Fort Lewis College, he joined UNM's Center for Water and the Environment as an undergraduate research assistant, where he studies fouling and wetting in Janus membranes for membrane distillation, tests polydopamine and polyethyleneimine membrane coatings, and runs long-term water quality studies on atmospheric water harvesting samples.
He also contributed experimental work to a peer-reviewed ACS journal article on metal mobility in acid mine drainage–affected sediments. Jay is active in the water profession as President of UNM's student chapter of RMSAWWA and RMWEA, having previously served as Treasurer and helped organize the 21st Annual RMSAWWA/RMWEA Student Conference.
