
Rob Nerenberg
Principal Investigator
Rob is a professor in Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Notre Dame. His research addresses biofilms in a range of environments, from wastewater treatment systems, potable water systems, and clinical infections.
Graduate Students

Alejandro Martin Linares
Alejandro is a doctoral student studying fungal biofilm in environmental and clinical systems. He has a degree on Mechanical Engineering from the European University of Madrid, and Masters degrees from Imperial College London and European University of Valencia.
Contact: amarti77@nd.edu

Gabriela Andrino
Gabby is a doctoral student studying the microbial water quality of reusable water bottles. Gabby has a degree in Biology from Nevada State University.
Contact: gandrino@nd.edu

Enso Torres Alegre
Enso Torres Alegre is a doctoral studying biofilm dynamics and detachment, with an emphasis on understanding how environmental and physical stresses influence biofilm structure, stability, and particle release.
Contact: etorresa@nd.edu

Undergraduate Researchers






Visiting Scholars

Yan Yang
PhD student
Chongqing University, China

Bruno Garcia Silva
PhD student
University of Sao Paulo, Brazil

Eduardo Leiva
Assistant professor
Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Chile

Claudia Sanchez Huerta
PhD student
KAUST, Saudi Arabia

Minmin Jiang
PhD student
Guiling University of Technology, China

Erika Espinosa Ortiz
Assistant Research Professor
Montana State University, USA

Francisca Schiaffino
Undergraduate student
Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Chile
Alumni
Postdocs

Patricia Perez Calleja
Current position: Manager of R&D at Cimico, Spain

Aura Ontiveros Valencia
Current position: Assistant professor at IPICIT, San Luis Potosi, Mexico
Doctoral Students

Yanina Nahum (2024)
Current position: Post-doctoral researcher, Boston University

Emily Clements (2023)
Current position: Post-doctoral researcher, Southern Nevada Water Authority

Bumkyu Kim (2022)
Current position: Post-doctoral researcher, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Mengfei Li (2021)
Current position: Wastewater Engineer, Jacobs Engineering, Detroit, MI

Marcela Vega Muñoz (2019)
Current position: Post-doctoral researcher, UIUC

Fabrizio Sabba (2016)
Current position: Process Engineer, Black & Veatch, New York, NY

Marcelo Aybar (2016)
Current position: Associate Professor, Universidad San Sebastian, Santiago, Chile

Yue Wang (2015)
Current position: The IFCE, China

Juan Pablo Pavissich (2014)
Current position: Associate Professor, Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez, Chile

Kelly Gordon (2013)
Current position: Process Engineer, Black & Veatch, Leawood, KS

Brenda Read-Daily (2011)
Current position: Associate Professor, Elizabethtown college, Elizabethtown, PA

Caitlyn Shea Butler (2009)
Current Position: Associate Professor, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA

Leon Downing (2008)
Current Position: Global Practice & Technology Leader for Nutrient Removal and Recovery, Black & Veatch
Masters Students

Cason Wilburn (2024)

Isaiah Murrell-Thomas (2024)

Sarajane Roenke (2022)

Meenu Garg (2019)
Current position: Jacobs, Hampton Roads, VA

Lara Sisman Grotz (2018)
Current position: HDR, Charlotte, NC

Andrew DeVries (2015)
Current position: Stantec, Ventura, CA

Samuel Bruce (2015)
Current position: HDR, Columbia, SC

Brenda Read-Daily (2011)
Current position: Associate Professor, Elizabethtown college, Elizabethtown, PA

Margaret Dudley (2007)
Current position: unknown

Anna Salamone (2006)
Current position: unknown

Francisca Schiaffino (2025)
