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Top blue bar image Experiences from COP15
Rice takes on Copenhagen
 

About Us

 

The students:

krebs

CLAIRE KREBS
My name is Claire Krebs; I am graduating this December with a BS in Mechanical Engineering from Rice University in Houston, TX. As an undergrad, I was involved with Rice Engineers Without Borders, a student-run organization devoted to implementing sustainable engineering projects in the developing world. This experience led me to apply  to the Peace Corps as a water and sanitation volunteer, a job I will be beginning in the early spring. I am particularly interested in how climate change will affect developing communities.

meyerYVES MEYER
My name is Yves Meyer and I’m a senior at Rice University expecting to complete my B.S. in Civil and Environmental Engineering in May. Although I am Swiss by birth and heritage, I have lived abroad my entire life and have enjoyed learning from and interacting with the various cultures I have encountered over the years. The collective sum of these experiences has revealed to me the immense inequality that exists between developing and developed nations. My motivation and inspiration to study engineering derives from these experiences, and my decision to pursue a graduate degree next fall is a natural consequence of my ambition to make a positive impact. My interests moving forward lie in the sustainable generation of energy from renewable resources, as I believe integrating such sources holds the key to addressing global environmental and social issues. I am very excited about Copenhagen and hope to learn more about the economic drivers that can be used to realign or shift the market in a manner that adequately reflects the high cost of the carbon based world.
When I’m not busy pestering people about their embarrassing recycling habits, I partake in any sport I can from triathlons to soccer to yoga. I find these activities so important to my personal equilibrium and the re-establishment of mind and body sync.


petersen1RACHAEL PETERSEN

My name is Rachael Petersen.  I am currently a sophomore at Rice University in Houston, Texas, where I study both Anthropology and Environmental Policy.  I am involved in anthropological research concerning the creation and communication of wind energy in Mexico, where I will be doing fieldwork next summer.  Passionate about women’s issues, I spend my time volunteering at Planned Parenthood, the Houston Area Women’s Center, and coordinating advocacy programming at the Rice Women’s Resource Center. Last summer, I interned with an NGO in Peru’s Sacred Valley to assist domestically abused women. In my spare time, I enjoy hitting the salsa scene, performing and appreciating slam poetry, smiling at strangers, and drinking inordinate amounts of coffee.

sanchez1ROQUE SANCHEZ
Roque Sanchez is a graduate student of environmental engineering at Rice University, and also graduated from Rice with an undergraduate degree in environmental engineering.  Roque currently serves as the student lead of the Rice Solar Decathlon team, and recently returned from Washington, DC after competing in the 2009 Solar Decathlon with Rice entry, the ZE-Row.  Roque’s academic interests include renewable energy, distributed infrastructure systems, and “leapfrog” sustainable development.

FERNANDA ALVAREZ
My name is Fernanda Alvarez and I am a junior at Rice University. My major is Religious studies and my minor is Sociology. I love volunteering especially at homeless shelters and with handicapped children. I am interested to see how developing countries (more specifically China) will be effected in their progress based on how much pollution they are permitted to emit.

The organizers:

rosa
ROSA DOMINGUEZ

Rosa Dominguez is a Ph.D. candidate at the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department at Rice University and a graduate fellow with the Energy Forum of the Baker Institute for Public Policy. Rosa’s current research focuses on the water-energy-climate nexus. Rosa has co-authored scientific peer-reviewed papers, commentaries and policy analysis white papers focused on the water implications of biofuel production. In the past, she has participated in a variety of research projects such as air pollution modeling, control technologies for gaseous emissions from thermoelectric power generation, and molecular biomarkers use in aquifer bioremediation. She holds a M.Sc. in Environmental Engineering from Rice University (2007) and a B.Sc. in Environmental Sciences from the University of Girona, Spain (2001).

Prof. PEDRO ALVAREZ
Pedro J. Alvarez is the George R. Brown Professor of Engineering at Rice University. He previously taught at the University of Iowa, where he also served as Associate Director for the Center for Biocatalysis and Bioprocessing and as Honorary Consul for Nicaragua. Dr. Alvarez received a B. Eng. degree in Civil Engineering from McGill University and MS and Ph.D. degrees in Environmental Engineering from the University of Michigan, and was a visiting professor at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EAWAG). His research interests are related to the applications and implications of biological processes in natural and engineered systems, including bioremediation and phytoremediation of sites contaminated with hazardous wastes, and environmental nanotechnology. Dr. Alvarez currently serves on the editorial boards of Environmental Science and Technology, Biodegradation, and the European Journal of Soil Biology. He is also an honorary professor at Nankai University in China and adjunct professor at the Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina in Florianopolis, Brazil, and UNAM in Mexico City.