people

Shannay Rawal is pursuing a PhD in Environmental Engineering at West Virginia University and is passionate about advancing sustainable solutions to global environmental challenges. His research focuses on resource recovery, leveraging data science, life cycle modeling, and stakeholder engagement to promote sustainable, context-sensitive recovery of energy and nutrients from organic waste.

With a background in Mechanical Engineering, Shannay is dedicated to bridging the gap between cutting-edge research and practical implementation of environmental technologies. Beyond the lab, he is committed to science communication, community engagement, and fostering interdisciplinary collaboration to drive impactful change.

Caroline Damron is an undergraduate student researcher in Environmental Engineering at West Virginia University, with plans to graduate with an M.S. in Civil Engineering in Spring 2028. She is interested in sustainable approaches to transportation systems, with a focus on transportation routing, urban planning, terrain modeling using ArcGIS, and environmental quality.

Caroline has contributed to early-stage research on computational modeling of freight movement for non-time-sensitive goods in hilly terrain, where her work has included conceptualization, methodology, and analysis. Looking ahead, she plans to take a haitus for AY 2026-27 before rejoining the research group during her master’s year, where she intends to further specialize in transportation modeling and its applications to complex, real-world environments.