Graduate Student (S.M. May 2014)
Current Position: Senior Environmental Engineer at Gradient Corporation, Cambridge, Massachusetts
kondzi (at) gmail.com, jkondziolka (at) gradientcorp.com
My research at MIT investigated the fluid mechanics of flow through and around patches of vegetation. I approached this first from an experimental perspective in the laboratory with my research partner Dieter Meire, who has since returned to Ghent University. We studied how finite patches of vegetation might grow into larger, cohesive structures through their own biogeomorphic feedbacks. I then expanded on this research by building a numerical model to evaluate how entire landscapes, such as wetlands, might evolve as a result of the underlying feedbacks we identified in the laboratory. The image shown at left is an example of channel formation that occurred organically in the model. As an environmental engineer at Gradient, I work with an environmental science team to model transport processes and understand the histories of contaminated sites, such as those covered under Superfund (CERCLA). With this information, we can suggest the most productive remedial measures for contaminated sites, or determine who is responsible for leading the cleanup of a site.