People

Susan W. Brown, Ph.D.
Pre-College Education Director

Susan Brown is a Research Associate Professor at New Mexico State University (NMSU) and currently is the Director of the STEM Outreach Center for the NMSU College of Education.  She is the Principal Investigator/Co-Investigator of a NSF grant, several foundation grants, three NASA projects (including the Southern New Mexico Science, Engineering, Mathematics, and Aerospace Academy on the campus of New Mexico State University) and other state/federal grants.  Her K-12^th grade after school programs touch the lives of over 5,000 students each year as well as her work with K-12^th grade teachers in providing high quality professional development opportunities that include increasing the teachers’ content knowledge and use of brain researched teaching strategies.  Her outreach focus is increasing student participation and achievement in the STEM fields.    Her research focus is science education and the underrepresentation of minority students and females in the fields of science, math, and engineering.  She joined the University after teaching 16 years in middle and high school science classes.

Martha Mitchell, Ph.D., P.E.
Assistant Director for Diversity

Martha Mitchell is the Associate Dean for Research and Professor of Chemical Engineering in the College of Engineering at New Mexico State University (NMSU. As Associate Dean for Research, she oversees the NMSU College of Engineering Research Center, which assists faculty and research staff in pre- and post-award sponsored projects activities. She was the principal investigator for an NSF ADVANCE PAID grant that was a collaborative effort among New Mexico State University, New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, the University of New Mexico, and Los Alamos National Laboratory. She currently serves on the ASEE Engineering Research Council Board.  Dr. Mitchell’s research interests are in computer modeling and simulation of adsorption and transport in nanoporous materials. She has used Molecular Dynamics, Grand Canonical Monte Carlo simulations, and Molecular Density Functional Theory to study molecular-level adsorption and transport of fluids confined to nanoporous materials. She has collaborated with researchers from NMSU, Sandia National Laboratories, Los Alamos National Laboratory and NASA-White Sands Test Facility.

Nasser Hamdan, Ph.D.
CBBG Industry Collaboration and Innovation Director

Nasser Hamdan is an Assistant Research Professor in the School of Sustainable Engineering and the Built Environment at ASU. His expertise is in biogeotechnical engineering and biogeochemical processes for ground improvement and remediation. His research activities involve experimentation and analytical testing related to induced mineral precipitation using biological processes and macromolecules such as enzymes and biopolymers. He is currently involved in various projects directed towards the improvement of the bulk mechanical properties of soil, surficial soil stabilization, sustainable building materials, facilitated mineral precipitation and environmental remediation. Prior to pursuing his graduate degree in civil engineering, Dr. Hamdan spent nearly 10 years in the electrical and plumbing service industry. He also has experience operating retail and self-service businesses, and experience in negotiating and drafting contracts related to these businesses.

Phone: (480) 965-2277, Email: nasser.hamdan@asu.edu

Jean Larson, Ph.D.
Education Director

Jean Larson, Ph.D., is an Assistant Research Professor in both the School of Sustainable Engineering and the Built Environment and the Division of Educational Leadership and Innovation at Arizona State University. She has a Ph.D. in Educational Technology, postgraduate training in Computer Systems Engineering, and many years of experience teaching and developing curriculum in various learning environments. She has taught technology integration and teacher training to undergraduate and graduate students at Arizona State University, students at the K-12 level locally and abroad, and various workshops and modules in business and industry. Dr. Larson is experienced in the application of instructional design, delivery, evaluation, and specializes in eLearning technologies for training and development. Her research focuses on the efficient and effective transfer of knowledge and learning techniques, innovative and interdisciplinary collaboration, and strengthening the bridge between K-12 learning and higher education in terms of engineering content.

Robert Brier
Administrative Director

Robert (Bob) Brier, Administrative Director, started at CBBG in August 2018 and brings with him years of sponsored research administration experience, including grant and financial management, human resources oversight, proposal and budget development, operational support, and strategic planning. Prior to joining CBBG, he was Director of Strategic Affairs as Arizona State University. He also served as the Senior Financial and Administrative Officer at the National Academies of Sciences as well as the Financial and Administrative Director at the Brookings Institution, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and the Harvard School of Public Health. He also lead the pre-award grants office at the Georgetown University’s Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center.

Michelle R. Walker
Project Coordinator

Michelle Walker brings to CBBG a strong background in fiscal, database and records management, business operations, communications, report preparation, event coordination, and customer service. She is completing her B.S. degree in Graphic Information Technology at ASU, which has benefitted CBBG as she designs and produces all Center collateral materials (newsletters, brochures, fliers, reports), and manages the CBBG web site. Ms. Walker joined CBBG after working at the ASU QESST ERC, the Center for Nanotechnology in Society at ASU, and the ASU Alumni Association.

Caitlyn Hall
CBBG Student Leadership Council President

Caitlyn A. Hall is the President of the CBBG Student Leadership Council.  She is a graduate student at Arizona State University, seeking a PhD in Environmental Engineering.  Her topic is Biogeochemical Reactive Transport Modeling of Microbially Induced Desaturation and Precipitation via Denitrification (MIDP).  Her advisors are Dr. Bruce Rittmann and Dr. Ed Kavazanjian. 

Student Research Summary:  The primary objective of my work is to develop a predictive model to consider environmental biochemical effects and subsurface flow patterns on the delivery of substrate and MIDP product formation to the soil at risk of liquefaction.  Though MIDP has been shown to be effective in mitigating liquefaction in laboratory conditions, little has been done to investigate up-scaling of this technology for near-term applications.  Environmental conditions found in the field will introduce engineering challenges and affect process deployment and outcomes.  These should be investigated further and considered to improve prediction accuracy and process optimization.  Therefore, the substrate components and their interaction with biogeochemical and hydromechanical properties in the soil need to be explored and understood.  These developments are to be implemented in the developed predictive tool, such that field deployment of this treatment strategy and its subsequent mechanical effects can be estimated.  The resulting multiphase reactive transport biogeochemical model will then be validated using experimental data.