PhD Spotlight: Sadia Khan, PhD’22 – Civil and Environmental Engineering
Originally from Dhaka, Bangladesh, Sadia Khan graduated from Bangladesh University of Engineering & Technology with a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering and served as a lecturer at the University of Asia Pacific in Dhaka. She joined the civil and environmental engineering PhD program at Northeastern in 2017.
Under the guidance of Professor Edward Beighley, civil and environmental engineering, and Assistant Professor Amy Muller, civil and environmental engineering, jointly appointed in marine and environmental sciences, Khan performed research focused on characterizing nutrient export variability from urban stormwater and developing novel diversion and treatment strategies to minimize treatment costs and maximize phosphorus removal. Leveraging this research theme, Khan took part in two collaborative research projects that included both policy and engineering stakeholders: the first with the City of Cambridge, Massachusetts and Stantec, and the second with the Boston Water and Sewer Commission and Kleinfelder.
Khan’s focus on data-driven solutions for managing urban stormwater will ultimately improve challenges associated with eutrophication in freshwater systems such as the Charles River in Boston. During her doctoral studies, she published in Science of The Total Environment and presented her findings at five conferences. From connections made through her research, Khan joined Kleinfelder as a water resources engineer in the summer of 2022, and is continuing her efforts on improving our water resources.