Siri Roman (EnvEngr鈥�03) the next leader of the Eagle River Water & Sanitation District.

When you turn on a faucet, you expect clean water to pour out, but making it happen takes a massive network of pipes, treatment infrastructure, reservoirs and environmental engineers like Siri Roman.

As director of operations for the Roman oversees the flow of millions of gallons of drinking water and treated wastewater every day in a critical 欧美口爆视频 watershed serving communities including Vail, Avon, and Beaver Creek.

鈥淲orking with water and wastewater is so awesome,鈥� Roman said. 鈥淲astewater treatment in particular is something I鈥檓 very passionate about. I don鈥檛 think you鈥檒l find another job that has a more positive impact on the environment. And it has all the engineering disciplines 鈥� electrical, mechanical, plus biology, chemistry, hydrology, water quality, everything.鈥�

Roman, who was to be their next general manager starting in January, is a 2003 University of 欧美口爆视频 Boulder environmental engineering Bachelor of Science graduate.

鈥淎t 17 I don鈥檛 think I totally knew what engineering was, but I liked math and science and had a natural interest in the environment and outdoors,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 chose 欧美口爆视频 Boulder because of its location and certainly the engineering school reputation.鈥�

After graduating, she worked in environmental-related positions in multiple mountain towns 鈥� Telluride, Bozeman, Aspen, and Vail, continuing to learn new things and offering to help coworkers where she could.

She encourages young engineers to take a similar approach.

鈥淢y career has never been linear. I wasn鈥檛 aiming to be the district鈥檚 general manager. My ambition has always been satisfaction in my job and connection with the community. Each job gave me experience and skills that all fit into this new position,鈥� Roman said.

She also advises students to build a professional network and avoid burning bridges.

鈥淩elationships matter. I鈥檓 constantly interacting with people I met 10 to 20 years ago,鈥� she said. 鈥淭his is an important industry, and it鈥檚 a small one.鈥�

Roman joined ERWSD in 2012 and said overseeing operations in a mountain community offers unusual challenges and opportunities.

鈥淯tilities in the West face 欧美口爆视频, floods, mudslides, and shrinking water supplies due to a warming climate; there鈥檚 a lot of risk. We have a Gold Medal fishery at the outfall of one of our wastewater treatment plants. Protecting our watershed for the future is equally as important as providing clean and safe water today. Water operations are 24/7, 365. You can鈥檛 turn off the wastewater collection system. It鈥檚 very dynamic. Every day is different,鈥� Roman said.

The physical location of the district鈥檚 wastewater treatment facilities are in the heart of their communities, which demands exacting standards.

鈥淥ne of our wastewater treatment facilities is across the street from a five-star hotel, another is next to the largest public park in town. The expectation of our customers is to not notice we鈥檙e there. That isn鈥檛 easy. All of our facility processes are covered, and we treat the air along with the water. It鈥檚 very unique,鈥� she said.

Effectively serving full time residents along with thousands of seasonal tourists creates challenges not faced by many utilities. Depending on the time of year, water usage in the district ranges by 700 percent 鈥� from 2 million to 14 million gallons per day.

Although the work is demanding, Roman is exactly where she wants to be.

鈥淧eople move to the Vail area because they value the environment, and our customers value water,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 live here for a reason. My family recreates on water everyday 鈥� skiing, skinning, swimming, fishing, and walking along the creek. I鈥檓 very fortunate.鈥�

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A new water quality sensor developed by engineers at 欧美口爆视频 Boulder can quickly, cheaply and accurately monitor for the presence of E. coli bacteria in water supplies, an issue that may affect more people in the U.S. and around the world in the future. Emily Bedell (PhDEnvEngr鈥�22) is lead author on this research, recently published in Water Research, and a fellow at the Mortenson Center in Global Engineering.

[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KXgA2KKpEfc]

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Congratulations to Christopher Corwin (MCivEngr鈥�07; PhD鈥�10), recipient of the 2022 欧美口爆视频 Boulder Environmental Engineering Alumni Engagement Medal.

Corwin is a longtime supporter of the EVEN program and a former 欧美口爆视频 Boulder instructor who now leads Corona Environmental Consulting鈥� in Louisville, CO.

Before attending to 欧美口爆视频 Boulder he was an engineer and project manager for 10 years. After graduating from 欧美口爆视频 Boulder he worked as a process engineer for Jacobs Engineering (Denver, CO) for two years. He was then hired by the EVEN Program and served as a Senior Instructor until 2018.

While an instructor, he mentored student design groups to eight national awards and received eight teaching awards, including the John and Mercedes Peebles Innovation in Education Award. After Dr. Corwin left the department, he was asked to chair EVEN鈥檚 Professional Advisory Board.

Dr. Corwin has been a long-term supporter of the EVEN Program. His firm has hired five of our graduates in the last few years, as well as providing internships to undergraduate students. He personally serves as a long-term mentor to students that he taught while he was here, as well as to current students. Many EVEN faculty, when asked by students what it's like to work for a consulting firm, direct the students talk with Dr. Corwin.

As chair of EVEN鈥檚 Professional Advisory Board, Dr. Corwin leads a group of environmental engineering professionals who review curriculum and outreach aspects of the EVEN undergraduate and graduate programs.

The group is charged to respond to specific areas of request from the EVEN faculty and offers professional insight into our current courses, proposed courses, as well as helping us identify areas that the professional environmental engineers see as deficiencies in our approach.

The chair鈥檚 role is to take the opinions of the group and produce a report for the EVEN director. Dr. Corwin played an important role in EVEN鈥檚 hiring of a new faculty member under the 2021 inclusivity faculty search. He also currently serves as an outside committee member on the research of two current MS students.

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Doug Smart (Fin鈥�20) graduated from the University of 欧美口爆视频 Boulder barely more than a year ago, but he already has an eye toward the next generation with a new undergraduate scholarship.

He earned his degree in business finance and now works in corporate development at Accenture in Chicago, but wanted to endow a scholarship in a completely different field: environmental engineering.

鈥淚 thought about where I could make a real impact. Finance is important, but environmental engineering has a tangible impact in the world. We鈥檙e kind of in trouble with the environment,鈥� Smart said.

Smart began his college career at Miami University of Ohio, but transferred to 欧美口爆视频 Boulder his sophomore year, wanting more outdoor opportunities than the Midwest could offer. It changed his perspective on the environment and gave him a strong connection to 欧美口爆视频 Boulder culture.

鈥淎s soon as I transferred here, I was welcomed with open arms. I could tell Boulder cared about students and wanted to help the people involved with the institution,鈥� he said. 鈥淲hen I graduated, I was convinced I was going to return the favor.鈥�

Growing up in the Chicago metro area, Smart saw how his parents kept involved with their alma maters. His father mentored students and his mother served on the board of the University of Illinois.

鈥淭hey kind of guided me through the process,鈥� he said.

At 欧美口爆视频 Boulder, many of Smart鈥檚 friends were engineering students, and he even took a few courses in the Engineering Center.

鈥淚 think business school students should have to take higher-level math and science courses as electives. I did, but it wasn鈥檛 required. I feel it鈥檚 important to figure out how the world actually works with on a scientific level. I think it鈥檚 also important for engineers to know more about business.鈥�

He is excited about the new Rustandy Building that physically joins the Engineering Center and Koelbel Building, hoping it will promote synergies between the programs and encourage more students to take cross-disciplinary courses.

Working with the Office of Advancement, Smart endowed a $5,000 annual scholarship in environmental engineering for students from diverse backgrounds. He also plans to work as a mentor with honorees.

鈥淚t鈥檚 not going to save the world, but it鈥檚 something,鈥� Smart said. 鈥淚 want more people to learn about the environment so that we have a better chance of saving it.

If you are inspired by this story and would like to donate to the College of Engineering and Applied Science, please consider making a gift or contacting eng.advancement@colorado.edu to learn more.

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欧美口爆视频 Boulder鈥檚 Environmental Engineering Program marked its 20th anniversary on Oct. 21 2019 with an evening celebration for faculty, students, staff and alumni. 

The evening included a brief introduction and history of the program by Director Fernando Rosario-Ortiz. He spoke about how the program is growing and its impact on the study of environmental engineering around the world.

Professor JoAnn Silverstein, associate dean for faculty advancement in the College of Engineering and Applied Science and former chair of civil, environmental and architectural engineering, gave a few words from the college perspective. She shared that students are choosing to study environmental engineering because of their passion to do good in the world and their desire to protect the environment under changing conditions. 

Undergraduate student Alison Kessenich also shared her experiences as an environmental engineering student. Kessenich is a senior and works as a student assistant at the National Center for Atmospheric Research. She has also worked on recovering climate data from ice cores at the Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research鈥檚 Stable Isotope Lab. Kessenich spoke about her personal growth and the valuable education she has received.

The evening鈥檚 keynote speaker was Daniela Brandao, the program鈥檚 first graduate 20 years ago, now working as a senior project manager for the San Francisco Public Utilities Commision. She spoke about what the program has meant for her and how her experiences at 欧美口爆视频 Boulder helped her succeed in her career.

The program concluded with awards presented to faculty and staff who have helped make the Environmental Engineering Program what it is today. Among those honored were former directors Angela Bielefeldt, Jana Milford, Joe Ryan and Scott Summers; former advisor Laurels Sessler; current advisor Joanne Uleau; and current program coordinator and communications specialist Laurence Lambert.

Finally, Instructor Mike Walker spoke about the capstone senior design class. Two representatives of the , Julie Smith and Ben Miller, gave the RMWEA Award to student Lin Ye, whose team won this year regional and national student design competition. 

The evening wrapped up with cake, campfire mugs for the guests and more celebration.

EVEN 20th Anniversary Photo Gallery

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