Amy Mueller
Associate Professor,
Civil and Environmental Engineering
Associate Professor,
Marine and Environmental Sciences
Vice Chair for Graduate Studies,
Civil and Environmental Engineering
Affiliated Faculty,
Electrical and Computer Engineering
Center Member,
The Plastics Center
Office
- 459 SN
- 617.373.8131
Research Focus
Physics-informed ML-driven sensor and sensor network approaches for understanding and optimizing urban and urban-coastal environmental systems
Education
- 2012 PhD in Civil and Environmental Engineering (Environmental Chemistry) at MIT
- 2003 MEng in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at MIT
- 2002 SB in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at MIT
Honors & Awards
- Excellence in Mentoring Award (2026)
- Faculty Research Team Award – iSUPER Impact Engine (2025)
- Faculty Fellow Award (2024)
- AEESP Distinguished Service Award (2023)
- Northeastern University CEE Excellence in Teaching Award (2021)
- National Science Foundation, Ocean Sciences Postdoctoral Research Fellowship (2015-2016)
- MIT-Xerox Fellowship (2009)
- Geological Society of America, Graduate Research Grant (2009)
- National Science Foundation, Graduate Research Fellowship (2004-2007)
Professional Affiliations
- American Geophysical Union
- American Society of Civil Engineers (Boston Chapter BSCES)
- Association of Environmental Engineering and Science Professors (AEESP)
- Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)
- New England Water Environment Association (NEWEA)
- Water Environment Federation (WEF)
Research Overview
Physics-informed ML-driven sensor and sensor network approaches for understanding and optimizing urban and urban-coastal environmental systems
Environmental Sensing Laboratory
The Environmental Sensing Lab develops new sensors, instruments, field study strategies, and data science approaches to optimize our ability to study the natural and built environments with a deep focus on urban and urban-coastal environments where human systems have a large impact. Our interdisciplinary team brings together engineers and scientists with different interests, perspectives, and expertise to tackle important challenges in science, remediation, energy, and manufacturing processes: characterizing nutrients in natural systems at high spatial and temporal frequency, enabling next-generation wastewater treatment (and resource recovery) strategies, understanding the connectivity between infrastructure, air quality, and the human experience of urban spaces, and more. Partnerships with municipal governments, community-based organizations, local and regional agencies, and others is critical to grounding the work in near-term solution development and implementation, and our work directly supports design of new options for city infrastructure and underpinning policy development in the context of budgetary constraints.
In these projects we combine a deep understanding of environmental chemistry and collaborative process characterization with unique use of embedded systems, electronic and electrochemical sensors, wireless sensor networking, data science and machine learning, and closed-loop controls. The lab has both an electronics/sensors development space, housed at the Northeastern Marine Science Center in Nahant, MA, and a chemistry lab (general chemistry and trace-metal clean) on Northeastern’s Boston campus, welcoming contributions from many dimensions of expertise in tackling these challenges!
Selected Research Projects
- SCC-IRG Track 1: Common SENSES (Standards for ENacting Sensor networks for an Equitable Society): Community-Led, Science-Driven Climate Resilience in Boston, MA
- – Co-Principal Investigator, National Science Foundation
- Ventilation Air Methane Abatement via Catalytic Oxidation (VAMCO) with Machine-Learning Enhanced Sensing and Feedback Controls
- – Co-Principle Investigator, Department of Energy (ARPA-E)
- Latrobe Prize: Common SENSES (Standards for ENacting Sensor networks for an Equitable Society)
- – co-Principal Investigator, American Institute of Architects College of Fellows
- Boston Water and Sewer Commission Monitoring Phosphorous Removal at Harambee Park BMP
- – Principal Investigator, Boston Water and Sewer Commission
- Toxic-Free Footprints to Improve Community Health against Respiratory Hazards
- – Co-Principal Investigator, National Science Foundation
- Implementation of Innovative Biological Nutrient Removal Processes through Improvement of Control Systems and Online Analytical Measurement Reliability and Accuracy
- – Principal Investigator, Northeastern University (Prime: Woodard & Curren), Water Research Foundation
- Printed Multi-sensors for Coastal Nitrate Monitoring and Source Identification,
- – Principal Investigator, Schmidt Marine Technology Partners (Schmidt Foundation)
Research Centers and Institutes
- iSUPER Impact Engine – core faculty
- Institute for Experiential AI – affiliated
- Global Resilience Institute – affiliated
Department Research Areas
Selected Publications
- Castro, E., Eckelman, M., & Mueller, A. (2025). Use of a multihazard sensor system for understanding rider experience and environmental conditions on urban rail. Environmental Research: Infrastructure and Sustainability, 5(4), 045009.
- Lee, S., Ioannidis, S., & Mueller, A. (2025). Comparing Spatial Interpolation Methods for PM2. 5 as Inputs to Urban Decision-Making in Greater Boston. Tackling Climate Change with Machine Learning.
- Zellner, M. L., Massey, D., Laboy, M., O’Brien, D. T., Mueller, A., & Engelberg, D. (2025). Enhancing digital twin technology with community-led, science-driven participatory modeling: A case in green infrastructure planning. Environment and Planning B: Urban Analytics and City Science, 23998083251323671.
- Mueller, Amy, M. Patricia Fabian, Madeleine K. Scammell, Bianca Navarro-Bowman, Barbara Espinosa Barrera, Yasser Aponte, Ben Cares, Karl Allen, and Roseann Bongiovanni. “The role of sensors and community engagement in the mission toward equitable, healthy cities.” Environmental Research Letters 19, no. 10 (2024): 101003.
- O’Brien, D.T. and Mueller, A.V. In Pursuit of Local Solutions for Climate Resilience: Sensing Microspatial Inequities in Heat and Air Pollution within Urban Neighborhoods in Boston, MA. Sustainability (2023) 15: 2984. https://doi.org/10.3390/su15042984
- Zhang, W., Wei, S. P., Winkler, M. K., & Mueller, A.V. (2022). Design of a Soft Sensor for Monitoring Phosphorous Uptake in an EBPR Process. ACS ES&T Engineering, 2(10), 1847-1856. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsestengg.2c00090
- Navato, A. and Mueller, A. (2021). Enabling automatic detection of anomalies in wastewater: a highly simplified approach to defining “normal” in complex chemical mixtures. Frontiers in Water, 3: 170. doi 10.3389/frwa.2021.734361
- Alam, M.M., Srinivasan, V., Mueller, A.V., & Gu, A.Z. (2021). Status and Advances in Technologies for Phosphorus Species Detection and Characterization in Natural Environment-A Comprehensive Review. Talanta, 122458
- Bokade, R., Navato, A., Ouyang, R., Jin, X., Chou, C.A., Ostadabbas, S., & Mueller, A.V. (2020). A Cross-Disciplinary Comparison of Multimodal Data Fusion Approaches and Applications: Accelerating Learning through Trans-Disciplinary Information Sharing. Expert Systems with Applications, 113885
- Zhang, W., Tooker, N.B., & Mueller, A.V. (2020). Enabling Wastewater Treatment Process Automation: Leveraging Innovations in Real-Time Sensing, Data Analysis, and Online Controls. Environmental Science: Water Research & Technology, 6(11), 2973-2992
- Mueller, A.V., Eden, M.J., Oakes, J. M., Bellini, C., & Fernandez, L.A. (2020). Quantitative Method for Comparative Assessment of Particle Removal Efficiency of Fabric Masks as Alternatives to Standard Surgical Masks for PPE. Matter, 3(3), 950-962
- Wang, Z.A., Moustahfid, H., Mueller, A.V., Michel, A.P.M., Mowlem, M., Glazer, B.T, Mooney, T.A., et al. (2019). Advancing Observation of Ocean Biogeochemistry, Biology, and Ecosystems with Cost-Effective in Situ Sensing Technologies. Frontiers in Marine Science 6, 519
- Snauffer, U., Chauhan, K., Cogert, Winkler, M.K.H., Mueller, A.V. (2019). Data Fusion for Environmental Process Control: Maximizing Useful Information Recovery for Process Control under Data Limited Constraints. IEEE Sensors Letters: Special Issue Multimodal Data Fusion, 3(1)
- Chou, C.-A, Xiaoning, J., Mueller, A.V., Ostadabbas, S. (2019). Multimodal Data Fusion-Moving from Domain-Specific Algorithms to Trans-Domain Understanding for Accelerated Solution Development. IEEE Sensors Letters, Special Issue on Multimodal Data Fusion, 3(1), 7100104
- Mueller, A.V., Hemond, H.F. (2016). Statistical Generation of Training Sets for Measuring NO3-, NH4+, and Major Ions in Natural Waters by an Ion Selective Electrode Array. Environmental Science: Processes and Impacts, 18(5), 590-599
- Mueller, A. V., & Hemond, H. F. (2013). Extended Artificial Neural Networks: Incorporation of a Priori Chemical Knowledge Enables use of Ion Selective Electrodes for In-Situ Measurement of Ions at Environmentally Relevant Levels. Talanta, 117, 112-118
Jan 29, 2026
Faculty and Staff Awards 2026
Faculty and staff were recognized at the 28th Annual College of Engineering Faculty and Staff Awards for their exceptional service and dedication in support of students, the COE community, and the university during the 2025-2026 academic year.
May 20, 2025
Patent for Robotic Aquaculture System
BioE/ECE Affiliated Faculty Joseph Ayers, MES/CEE Professor Mark Patterson, CEE University Distinguished and CDM Smith Professor Jerome Hajjar, ECE Professor Milica Stojanovic, and CEE/MES Associate Professor Amy Mueller were awarded a patent for “Robotic aquaculture system and methods.”
May 14, 2025
CEE Hosts Annual Cochrane Fellows Luncheon
The Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering hosted its annual Cochrane Fellows Luncheon to honor founder Jack Cochrane and highlight the research of current PhD students in environmental engineering supported by the prestigious fellowship.
May 08, 2025
A New Project Is Helping Chelsea Residents Better Understand Their Air Quality
CEE/MES Associate Professor Amy Mueller was featured in the CommonWealth Beacon article “A New Project Is Helping Chelsea Residents Better Understand Their Air Quality“.
Mar 06, 2025
Sustainable Decontamination of Industrial Waste
CEE Associate Professors Matthew Eckelman, Loretta Fernandez, Amy Mueller, Philip Larese-Casanova, and Professor Akram Alshawabkeh published their research on “Chromium Removal From Concentrated Ammonium-Nitrate Solution: Electrocoagulation With Iron in a Plug-Flow Reactor” in Separation and Purification Technology.
Jan 30, 2025
Faculty and Staff Awards 2025
Faculty and staff were recognized at the 27th Annual College of Engineering Faculty and Staff Awards for their exceptional service and dedication in support of students, the COE community, and the university during the 2024-2025 academic year.
Feb 26, 2024
Northeastern Among Top 100 Universities for Utility Patents
Northeastern University, recognized for its excellence in innovation and entrepreneurship, has once again been named one of the top 100 universities worldwide for securing utility patents by the National Academy of Inventors.
Feb 01, 2024
Faculty and Staff Awards 2024
The College of Engineering recognized faculty and staff at the annual faculty and staff awards event and thanked everyone for their hard work and dedication in support of our students, college, and university during the 2023-2024 academic year. View award recipients and photo gallery.
Sep 28, 2023
Patent for Developing a Robotic Aquaculture System
BioE/ECE Affiliated Faculty Joseph Ayers, MES/CEE Professor Mark Patterson, CEE Chair Jerome Hajjar, ECE Professor Milica Stojanovic, and CEE/MES Associate Professor Amy Mueller were awarded a patent for “Robotic aquaculture system and methods.”
Aug 07, 2023
Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU Pathways) Completes 10-Week Boston Program
MIE Professor Ibrahim Zeid and STEM Executive Director Claire Duggan led a 10-week NSF-funded REU program called “REU Pathways,” which mentors community college students in engineering research.