Aayushi Mishra Joins Northeastern CEE PhD Program as Inaugural Lizzy Warner Fellow
Aayushi Mishra, a new student in the Interdisciplinary PhD program in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, was awarded the inaugural Mary Elizabeth “Lizzy” Warner ’22 Fellowship. Established by the department in conjunction with a generous donation from alum Evan Kodra, PhD ’18, the fellowship honors the late Lizzy Warner, a former department student. The fellowship supports PhD study within Professor Auroop Ganguly’s Sustainability and Data Sciences Laboratory (SDS Lab). Mishra, who was awarded the GreenBiz Emerging Leader Award in 2021, will be attending their VERGE conference in California later this month.
Mishra, who holds a bachelor’s in biology and environmental studies from Mount Holyoke College and a master’s in environmental science and policy from Columbia University, joins Northeastern following a few years’ work in industry as an environmental scientist and proposal writer at a consulting firm. She plans to focus her Interdisciplinary Engineering PhD study on the intersection between environmental engineering & policy. “My research interests are quite broad, and I am excited to refine these as I take some courses in my first two years,” said Mishra. “At the moment, I am passionate about drinking water contaminants, particularly “forever chemicals” such as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). I am also interested in water infrastructure degradation, environmental justice, and climate policy. I chose Northeastern because of the vast number of facilities it provides to its students, ranging from a comprehensive course catalogue (I had trouble choosing which courses to shortlist!) to initiatives like AI4CaS, the Roux Institute’s work, the Global Resilience Institute, and of course, the SDS Lab. Meeting other students in the program was exciting because our interests are quite interdisciplinary but we are unified by a common goal – climate change. Some of us are engrossed in machine learning, while others are working on policy analysis. My advisor and lab mates have been extremely welcoming.”
While keeping an open mind about her future career, Mishra is leaning towards re-entering industry upon completion of her program. “I found it fulfilling to contribute to environmental solutions and hope to specialize my skills further,” she explained. “My journey at Northeastern has a lot of possibilities, and I look forward to embracing whatever lies ahead.”