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Meet the Team

Mike Hannigan

Mike is a professor of Mechanical Engineering at CU and is currently the chair of that department.  Mike is also faculty in the CU Environmental Engineering program.  He earned his PhD in Environmental Engineering Science at Caltech in 1997 and then did stints at MIT Environmental Health Sciences, CSU Atmospheric Sciences, and DU Chemistry before finally landing at CU.  Mike has been teaching engineering core classes like Statics and Measurements as well as electives like Cookstove Assessment and Project Based Learned in Rural Schools.  His research interests focus on improving human and environmental health through improving air quality.  He likes to develop and apply novel measurement tools to these research interests.  In his spare time, Mike likes to play with his three boys, Galileo, Calder, and Darwin, and go for hikes with his wife.

Ricardo Piedrahita
Kira Sadighi

Ricardo Piedrahita is a PhD candidate in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Colorado Boulder.  His research focus is on low-cost air quality monitoring, cookstove adoption, and exposure assessment.  Ongoing research includes REACCTING, a project in Northern Ghana performing personal, microenvironmental, and regional air quality measurements as part of a cookstove intervention study.  In addition to cookstove research, he is interested in quantification and uncertainty estimation for low cost air quality sensors, as well as engineering solutions for widespread adoption of ubiquitous air quality monitoring.  Before starting his PhD work, he received a BS in Mechanical Engineering at the University of California San Diego, and later a MS in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Colorado Boulder.  His Master’s thesis covered source apportionment of fine particulate matter in Denver Colorado, and non-parametric regression using high frequency coarse particulate matter measurements in urban and rural locations in Colorado.  Outside of work, he enjoys soccer, cycling, running, reading, and most of all spending time with his wife, daughter, and two rambunctious dogs

Kira Sadighi is a student at the University of Colorado Boulder in the Mechanical Engineering department. She is planning to pursue a masters in the Environment and Energy track this year. She joined the lab in 2014 and has since worked on the LA Ozone project, South Boulder Creek project, and some community-based projects. When she’s not studying air quality, Kira enjoys hiking, backpacking, and sewing.

Lucy Cheadle

Lucy Cheadle is a graduate student in environmental engineering pursuing a master’s in the air quality track. She received her BS from Washington University in St. Louis in chemical engineering and is originally from Seattle, Washington. Her research is focused on the small scale spatial variability of ozone in Boulder and in addition she is involved with coordinating the AQIQ program. When she’s not in the lab, Lucy loves running around in circles as fast as she can, reading, and adventuring with friends and family.

David Pfotenhauer

David Pfotenhauer, who always enjoys a celebratory beer after peaking a mountain top, is a graduate student pursing a PhD in Mechanical Engineering with a focus on Energy and Environment. Originally born and raised in Madison Wisconsin, David studied Physics and Mathematics in undergraduate, receiving his BA degree from Luther College in Decorah Iowa. He is currently working on the group’s Cookstove Project and will soon be performing airborne particulate matter filter analysis from various sampling sites, including Navrongo, Ghana and Denver, CO. In addition to hiking, camping, running, and reading, David enjoys following the NFL and can be found at The Attic any Sunday in the fall cheering on The Packers, his favorite team. (Few Boulder residents can claim to be a bigger Packers fan than David).

Joanna Casey

Joanna Casey is generally curious and enjoys learning about our planet’s atmosphere and its interfaces with human exploits. She is interested in air on scales ranging from the small volumes of molecules enclosed by the walls of our homes, to community and regional scale airsheds, on up to the global scale atmosphere and how its constituents interact with the earth system. Pursuing her PhD, she is utilizing emerging low-cost sensor technology to characterize the spatial variability of some atmospheric trace gases in oil and gas production basins, and to investigate how heating fuel type can impact indoor air quality on the Navajo Nation. Joanna relishes clean mountain air, soft snow, deep blue desert skies, the wild flowers alongside the trail, and following the flow of rivers.

Ashley Collier

Ashley Collier is a graduate student at CU Boulder, pursuing her PhD in Environmental Engineering. She has been working with this lab since 2011. Her work focuses on air quality sensor quantification and research applications. For example, one of her projects involves using a low-cost sensor network to examine the spatial variability of methane and non-methane hydrocarbons at the neighborhood scale in order to better understand potential exposures for the residents of that neighborhood. Other areas of interest include working to support community-based science and facilitate effective STEM education/outreach. Outside of the lab (in addition to of course enjoying the wonderful Colorado scenery via hiking, biking, etc...) she enjoys fancy coffee, reading, traveling, and the occasional ballet class.

Evan Coffey

Evan Coffey is an environmental engineer who joined the group in 2013 researching ties between energy, air quality, human activity and climate. As the field engineer on the REACCTING project, he has made frequent trips to Ghana and once to Rwanda measuring air pollution sources to inform global emission inventories as well as develop low cost exposure monitoring tools to be used in developing communities and beyond. He is also involved in the Los Angeles project looking deeper into what extent ground level pollutants such as ozone and nitrogen oxides vary on small intra-urban scales. Like most Colorado natives, he is infatuated with the outdoors. He enjoys roadtrips in the southwest and plans to live off-grid someday down the road.

Kyle Karber

Kyle Karber is a Mechanical Engineering PhD student at the University of Colorado Boulder. He is interested in renewable energy in developing communities – specifically the drivers and barriers to adoption of small scale solar lighting products as replacements for smoky kerosene lamps. Why aren’t more off-grid households using solar products which are cleaner, brighter, money-saving, and locally available? Kyle recently spent 8 months in The Arusha and Kilimanjaro regions of Tanzania learning Swahili and performing research in an attempt to shed light on the answers to this question. He is currently using various econometric techniques to explore the data collected in Tanzania. Despite growing up in Phoenix, he enjoys winter weather since it enables him to go snowboarding and to drive like a maniac on the ice of Georgetown Lake in organized racing events. He also enjoys the bountiful outdoor endeavors provided by residing in the Front Range.

Katya Hafich

Katya is a recovering biogeochemist, who currently works at CU in two capacities as the Education and Outreach Coordinator for the AirWaterGas Sustainability Research Network, and as the program coordinator of the Learn More About Climate initiative at the Office for Outreach and Engagement. She focuses on developing and sharing resources to translate science research into meaningful tools for public engagement and on building mutually beneficial partnerships between Colorado communities and CU science faculty. She frequently travels around the state for work and play to explore the spectacular scenery and vibrant communities that Colorado has to offer.  

Elise Mesenbring

Elise Mesenbring is a graduate student in the Mechanical Engineering PhD program at CU Boulder. She grew up near Minneapolis, Minnesota and decided to continue braving those arctic winters while obtaining her BA in Physics and Mathematics at Gustavus Adolphus College in Saint Peter, MN. When Elise started at CU, she worked on the group’s previous cookstove project, REACCTING, and is transitioning to current cookstove research, the P3 project. In her spare time, Elise enjoys boosting her endorphins at the gym, reading various crime/suspense novels and spending entire Sundays engrossed in football (Fly, Eagles Fly!).

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