Our Research Team
The AQMEL research team comprises bright and innovative scholars who bring a diversity of experiences and perspectives to our group. Scroll below to learn more about our specialists, graduate research assistants, and undergraduate contributors.
Dr. Cesunica E. Ivey
Principal Investigator
Dr. Ivey is an Associate Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at UC Berkeley, and she is a graduate of the Georgia Institute of Technology.
Alisha Mahajan
Assistant Director of Operations
Alisha is a UC Berkeley alumna with a double major in environmental economics and legal studies, with a minor in public policy. She manages AQMEL research operations and leads extramural and department service activities. She also supports operations for the Collective for Inclusive Engineering.
Sumukhi Prasad
Ph.D. Student
Sumu is Ph.D. student in the environmental engineering program at UC Berkeley. She also is an NSF GRFP awardee. She is leading research on personal air pollution exposures and measurement biases. She is an H2H8 research grant awardee and a participant in the Faculty Diversity Internship Program.
Akirah Epps
Ph.D. Student
Akirah is Ph.D. student in the environmental engineering program at UC Berkeley. She is an ARCS Fellowship recipient and the lead author on a recent paper in ES&T. Her research interests lie at the intersection of atmospheric sciences, sustainability, and environmental justice.
URAP Researchers
Spring 2026
Sofia Afzal, B.S. Chemical Engineering
Aaron Chang, B.S. Urban Studies
Lucy Compton, B.S. Environmental Economics and Policy
Gabrielle Diroll, B.S. Environmental Engineering Science
Chelsea Lam, B.S. Conservation and Resource Studies
Nathan Oberoi, Berkeley City College
Irene Park, B.S. Environmental Sciences
Isabelle Wang, B.S. Environmental Engineering Science
Albert Wong, B.S. Data Science
Fall 2025
Sofia Afzal, B.S. Chemical Engineering
Lucy Compton, B.S. Environmental Economics and Policy
Gabrielle Diroll, B.S. Environmental Engineering Science
Chelsea Lam, B.S. Cognitive Science
Leland Li, B.S. Environmental Engineering Science
Mallory Mihm, B.S. Neuroscience
Nathan Oberoi, Berkeley City College
Irene Park, B.S. Environmental Sciences
Albert Wong, B.S. Data Science
Spring 2025
Garima, M.S. Environmental Engineering
Lauren Kim, B.S. Society & Environment
Alisha Mahajan, B.S. Environmental Economics & B.S. Legal Studies
Mallory Mihm, B.S. Neuroscience
Sydney Rowe, B.S. Physics
Tanvi Sagaonkar, M.S. Environmental Engineering
Undergraduate Volunteers
UC Riverside and Riverside City College volunteers support the CARB Community Air Grant research efforts. UC Berkeley undergraduates support our EPA STAR research.
Alumni
2026
Dr. Yi Ji, Ph.D. Environmental Engineering
Dr. Duncan Quevedo, Ph.D. Environmental Engineering
Lauren Kim, B.S. Society and Enviroment
Carly Schinhofen, B.S. Environmental Sciences
2025
Dr. Jennifer Ofodile, Ph.D. Environmental Science, Policy, and Management; now Principal Air Quality Specialist at Bay Area Air District
Dr. Cam Phelan, Ph.D. Environmental Engineering
Sophie Castillo, M.S. Environmental Engineering
Stessie Chounoune, M.S. Environmental Engineering
Srishti Hazra, M.S. Energy, Civil Infrastructure, and Climate
Tanvi Sagaonkar, M.S. Environmental Engineering
ivette torres, M.S. Environmental Engineering
Christopher Devlin, B.S. Environmental Sciences, B.S. Business Administration
Ishaan Gupta, High School Volunteer
2024
Ayah Hassan, M.S. Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
Grace Contreras, B.S. Linguistics, UC Berkeley
Isabelle Goebel, B.S. Civil Engineering, UC Berkeley
Peri Muftuoglu, B.S. Environmental Engineering Science, UC Berkeley
Parker Yang, B.S. Civil Engineering, UC Berkeley
2023
Dr. Khanh Do, Ph.D. Chemical and Environmental Engineering, UC Riverside; now Postdoctoral researcher at Northeastern University
Prof. Abiola Lawal, ASEE eFellows Postdoctoral Scholar; now Assistant Professor at University of Connecticut
Andrea Delgado, B.S. Environmental Science, UC Riverside
Zoe Haynes, B.S. Civil Engineering, UC Berkeley
Mara Lovric, Energy Engineering, UC Berkeley
Charlotte Mourad, B.S. Civil Engineering, UC Berkeley
Migdalia Sanchez, Mechanical Engineering, UC Berkeley
April Zhang, B.S. Data Science, B.S. Sustainable Environmental Design, UC Berkeley
Anusha Ladha, High School Volunteer
2022
Alexander Nguyen, B.S. Chemical Engineering, UC Riverside
2021
Sebastien Banales, B.S. Chemical Engineering, UC Riverside
Karrengton Fountain, B.S. Environmental Engineering, UC Riverside
Arash Kashfi Yeganeh, Chemical and Environmental Engineering, UC Riverside
Jasmin Velasquez, B.S. Chemical Engineering, UC Riverside
Ruoming Xu, B.S. Chemical Engineering, UC Riverside
2019
Anthony Arteaga, B.S. Chemical Engineering, UC Riverside
Aaron Garcia, Aerospace Engineering, Riverside City College
Cole Lawless, B.S. Chemical Engineering, UC Riverside
Ali Raza, B.A. Chemical Engineering, UC Riverside
Saray Rodriguez, Business Information Systems, Riverside City College
Hector Soto, Electrical Engineering, Riverside City College
Priscilla Villegas, Molecular and Cellular Biology, Riverside City College
David Wilson, Electrical Engineering, Riverside City College