Kelsey Pieper
Assistant Professor,
Civil and Environmental Engineering
Affiliated Faculty,
School of Public Policy and Urban Affairs
Contact
- k.pieper@northeastern.edu
- 400 SN
360 Huntington Avenue
Boston, MA 02115
Office
- 467 Snell Engineering Center
Research Focus
Applied environmental chemistry; corrosion; drinking water quality, treatment, and infrastructure; post-disaster drinking water recovery; public health engineering
Education
- PhD, Biological Systems Engineering, Virginia Tech, 2015
- MS, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Virginia Tech, 2011
Research Overview
Applied environmental chemistry; corrosion; drinking water quality, treatment, and infrastructure; post-disaster drinking water recovery; public health engineering
Selected Research Projects
- Dynamical Coupling of Physical and Social Infrastructures: Evaluating the Impacts of Social Capital on Access to Safe Well Water
- – Principal Investigator, National Science Foundation
- Inequity in access to Safe Drinking Water after Natural Disasters in North Carolina
- – Principal Investigator, NASA
- Equity in Access to Well Water Recovery Resources after Hurricanes
- – Principal Investigator, NU TIER 1
- Untapping the Crowd: Consumer Detection and Control of Lead in Drinking Water
- – Co-Principal Investigator, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Department Research Areas
Selected Publications
- Khaksar Fasaee, M.A., Berglund, E., Pieper, K.J., Ling, E., Benham, B., Edwards, M. (2021). Developing a Framework for Classifying Water Lead Levels at Private Drinking Water Systems: A Bayesian Belief Network Approach. Water Research, 189, 116641. 10.1016/j.watres.2020.116641
- Pieper, K.J., Jones, C.N., Rhoads, W.J., Rome, M., Gholson, D.M., Katner, A., Boellstorff, D.E., Beighley, R.E. (2021). Microbial Contamination of Drinking Water Supplied Private Wells after Hurricane Harvey. Environmental Science and Technology, 55(12), 8382–8392. 10.1021/acs.est.0c07869
- Wait, K. Katner, A., Gallagher, D., Edwards, M., Mize, W., Pow Jackson, C.L., Pieper, K.J. (2020). Disparities in Well Water Outreach and Assistance Offered by Local Health Departments: A North Carolina Case Study. Science of the Total Environment, 747, 141173. 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.141173
- K.J. Pieper, W.J. Rhoads, L. Sauicer, A. Katner, J.R. Barrett, M. Edwards, Improving State-Level Emergency Well Disinfection Strategies in the United States, Science of the Total Environment, 720, 2020 137451
- K. Mapili, K.J. Pieper, D. Dai, A. Pruden, M.A. Edwards, M. Tang, W.J. Rhoads, Legionella pneumophila Occurrence in Drinking Water Supplied By Private Wells, Letters in Applied and Environmental Microbiology, 70(4), 2020, 232-240
- K.J. Pieper, A. Katner, R. Kriss, M. Tang, M.A. Edwards Understanding Lead in Water and Avoidance Strategies: A United States Perspective for Informed Decision-Making, Journal of Water and Health, 17(4), 2019, 540-555
- K.J. Pieper, M. Tang, C.N. Jones, S. Weiss, A. Greene, H. Mohsin, J. Parks, M.A. Edwards, Impact of Road Salt on Drinking Water Quality and Infrastructure Corrosion in Private Wells, Environmental Science & Technology, 52(24), 2018, 14078–14087
- K.J. Pieper, M. Tang, M.A. Edwards, Flint Water Crisis caused by Interrupted Corrosion Control: Investigating “Ground Zero” Home, Environmental Science & Technology, 51(4), 2017, 2007–2014
Nov 22, 2024
Northeastern Research Team Aids North Carolina Hurricane Relief
A student and faculty research team, led by CEE Assistant Professor Kelsey Pieper, is assisting hurricane relief efforts in North Carolina by creating databases to determine what buildings and wells have been affected by the storm. Working alongside Pieper are Professor Edward Beighley, Cassidy King, E’26, chemical engineering and environmental engineering, and Kyla Drewry, PhD’26, civil and environmental engineering
Oct 07, 2024
NC Health Officials Issue Guidelines for Thousands of Potentially Flooded Private Wells
In response to the recent hurricane in North Carolina, CEE Assistant Professor Kelsey Pieper was featured in the following news outlets urging people to test their well water after the flooding: NC Newsline, Inside Climate News, British Water Filter, Common Dreams, Nation of Change, and Newsweek.
Sep 05, 2024
Testing Well Water To Help Owners Manage Water Quality
Kyla Drewry, a PhD civil and environmental engineering student, under the guidance of CEE Assistant Professor Kelsey Pieper, led a team of PhD students on a research trip to North Carolina where they tested private well water. One in four residents using private wells in that region is faced with contamination issues.
Jul 08, 2024
Fall 2024 AJC Merit Research Scholars
Several engineering and science students mentored by COE faculty are recipients of Northeastern’s AJC Merit Research Scholarship, which will fund a July to December 2024 co-op in the laboratory of a Northeastern University STEM faculty member.
Feb 21, 2024
Engineers Week Women in Engineering Panel Discusses Unique Challenges Facing Women in Engineering
During Engineers Week, a panel of faculty and students shared their experiences and advice on their education and career journeys as women engineers. They offered advice to future female engineers to empower them and help them grow, including the importance of faculty and peer mentors.
Nov 15, 2023
Churchill-Kanders Scholarship Nominee
Hyun Lee, E’23, environmental engineering and health sciences, was nominated for the Churchill-Kanders Scholarship, which was established in 2017 to address the growing divide between science and public policy by funding a Master’s in Public Policy at Cambridge University.
Aug 25, 2022
Ensuring Safe Supply to Drinking Water
CEE Associate Professor Ryan Qi Wang, Assistant Professor Kelsey Pieper, and CSSH Professor Daniel Aldrich, in collaboration with the University of Virginia, are leading a $750k NSF grant for “Dynamical Coupling of Physical and Social Infrastructures: Evaluating the Impacts of Social Capital on Access to Safe Well Water.”
Jun 08, 2022
Climate-driven Flooding Poses Well Water Contamination Risks
“Areas that hadn’t been impacted are now. New areas are getting flooded,” said Kelsey Pieper, a Northeastern University professor of environmental engineering. “We know the environment is shifting and we’re […]
Jan 26, 2022
Ensuring Well Water is Safe to Drink
CEE Assistant Professor Kelsey Pieper is researching private wells, which serve about 15% of the US population, to determine if they have been contaminated after events like floods.
Dec 21, 2021
Remote Sensing Could Predict Well Water Quality After Floods
CEE Assistant Professor Kelsey Pieper was featured in the EOS article “Remote Sensing Could Predict Well Water Quality After Floods,” with her research to help better inform disaster recovery efforts.