February 2023 – Dr. Butler is featured as a UMass Spotlight Scholar
January 2023 – The Butler Research Group attends New England Water Environment Association Annual ConferenceOctober 2022 – Lauren Kelly selected at a UMass Rising ResearcherAugust 2022 – Dr. Butler selected as and ELATES Fellow and will participate in a full year of leadership training and leadership project development July 2022 – Dr. Butler attend the HERS Leadership Institute 10-day Intensive in Philadelphia June 2022 – Dr. Butler travels to St. Louis, Missouri for Association for Environmental Engineering and Science Professors Conference and present two posters on Wastewater-based epidemiology and Nanoparticles in biofilms June 2022 – Ella Quinn joins the Butler Research Group to study biofilm wastewater treatment processes as part of the NIH Environmental Health Fellow
May 2022 – Timothy Onuh joins the Butler Research Group!May 2022 – Dr. Butler is awarded Civil and Environmental Engineering Research Award May 2022 – Isaac Reyes and Pat Acer defend their Masters Theses! Fall 2021 – Dr. Butler travels to University of Sheffield as a Fulbright Scholar to do research with Dr. Vanessa Speight on biofilms in distributions systems. September 2021 – Joann Rodriguez successfully defends her Dissertation: Nanoparticles and Polymer-Crosslinking in Biofilms! June 2021 – Dr. Butler delivers an Across the Pond Series talk with Dr. Alex Best at the University of Sheffield for the UK-US Fulbright Commission 2020 & 2021 – With the COVID-19 pandemic, updates to the Butler Group Webpage were halted so Dr. Butler good be more present for her students, her family, her research group’s service to UMass Amherst COVID response with wastewater surveillance of SARS-CoV-2. Internally, we celebrated awards, graduations, publications, personal successes and grieved losses, set-backs, and hardships together. We look forward to recording our future
successes here in this space.September 2019 – Butler Research Group present at the Northeast Graduate Student Water Symposium. Joann presents on NP and biofilm interaction and Bryan presents on 3D printed biofilm supports. Bryan places 2nd in the poster competition!
July 2019 – Ian Graham joins the group as a Masters Student. Welcome, Ian!
June 2019 – Dr. Butler presents an invited talk: Engineering Biofilms for Treatment of Environmental Systems, at the New Frontiers in Bioinspiration: A Center for Evolutionary Materials Symposium June 2019 – Dr. Butler travels to IWA LET Conference in Edinburgh, UK to present on oxygenic photogranules
May 2019 – Sam and Dr. Butler travel to AEESP Conference in Tempe, AZ. We reunited with former Butler Group Members, Cynthia Castro and Varun Srinivasan. It was a busy conference:
- Dr Butler also wins AEESP Outstanding Teaching in Environmental Engineering and Science Award.
- Sam presents a poster: The Role of Light on the Success and Morphology of Oxygenic Photogranules
- Dr. Butler give a presentation: Simulation of oxygen consumption and diffusion in phototrophic-chemotrophic granular biofilms used in wastewater treatment,
April 2019 – Sam successfully defended his Master’s Thesis and Isabella Cobble defended her honors thesis! March 2019 – Sam Downes receives the Berger Award from the EWRE program in CEE at UMass! January 2019 – Dr Butler and Dr. Simos Gerasimidis from the CEE Structure Group win a Massachusetts Technology Transfer Center ACORN Grant to study 3D Biofilm Supports for wastewater treatment.
January 2019 – Bryan Ovelheiro joined the Butler Research Group! Welcome, Bryan!!
January 2019 – The Butler Research Group attend the NEWEA annual conference. Isabella Cobble and Sam Downes present posters on their research
December 2018 – Isabella Cobble is awarded another an Honor Research Grant for her senior thesis on the Short-Chain Fatty Acids and Power production in Microbial Fuel Cells
November 2018 – Joann Rodriguez successfully defends her prospectus on nanoparticle transport in biofilms. Congratulations, Joann!
October 2018 – A new publication from the Butler group and coauthors from the Park group and INRA: Investigation of the fate and dynamics of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) during sludge-based photogranulation under hydrostatic conditions
September 2018 – Congrats to Sam Downes who place first in the Northeast Graduate Student Water Symposium poster competition and Joann Rodriguez who placed third in the oral presentation competition!
August 2018 – Isabella Cobble is awarded an Honor Research Grant for her senior thesis on the Short-Chain Fatty Acids and Power production in Microbial Fuel Cells
May 2018 – Farewell to all the Butler Research Group graduates: Cynthia (PhD), Megan (Master’s), and Katelyn Evan (UG). Best of luck in your new jobs! Dr. Butler awarded the Goldstein Outstanding Junior Faculty award at College of Engineering Senior Recognition Ceremony
April 2018 – Dr. Butler attends the Biofilm Mechanical Properties Workshop at Notre Dame
March 2018 – Congratulations to Megan on the successful defense of your Master’s Thesis: Factors Impacting the Cultivation, Structure, and Oxygen Profiles of Oxygenic Photogranules for Aeration-Free Wastewater Treatment
February 2018 – Farewell to Cynthia! And best wishes as postdoc in Daniel Yeh’s group at University of South Florida
January 2018 – Megan Hann presents on her oxygenic photogranule work at NEWEA!
December 2017 – A new publication for the Butler Group with co-authors from the Park Group at UMass and INRA: The importance of filamentous cyanobacteria in the development of oxygenic photogranules
September 2017 – Megan Hann presents at NEGSWS at UMass
September 2017 – Welcome to new Butler group members, Sam Downes and Salimar Cordero!
July 2017 – Many congratulations to Cynthia for successfully defending your dissertation: Microbial Dynamics and Design Consideration for Decentralized Microbial Fuel Cell Applications!
July 2017 – New publication from the Butler Research Group: The role of inorganic nitrogen in successful formation of granular biofilms for wastewater treatment that support cyanobacteria and bacteria
June 2017 – The Butler Research Group travels to the AEESP Research and Education Conference in Ann Arbor, MI. Joann, Varun and Camilla all gave great presentations!
June 2017 – Farewell, Anbu! We very much enjoyed having you visit our lab this spring. Best wishes as you finish your Ph.D. at Malardalen University!
May 2017 – Graduation! It was a big year for Butler Group Graduates. Congratulations to Varun for officially completing your Ph.D. and to undergrads, LeighAnn, Christa, Davis and Dan!
May 2017– Dr. Butler travels to Dublin, Ireland to present the Butler Research’s group work on Oxygenic Photogranules and Competition in Microbial Fuel Cells at the IWA Biofillm Reactor Conference at UCD.
March 2017 – New publication from the Butler Research Group! Ecological and Transcriptional Responses of Anode-Respiring Communities to Nitrate in a Microbial Fuel Cell by Srinivasan and Butler – Environmental Science & Technology
February 2017 – Congratulations to Varun for successfully defending your dissertation! Best wishes for new adventures as a postdoc with Professor April Gu’s group at Northeastern
January 2017 – The Butler Research Group welcomes visiting Ph.D. from Malaraden University in Sweden, Anbarasan Anbalagan. Welcome, Anbu!!
January 2017 – Congratulations to Joann Rodriguez for receiving the Berger Award from the Environmental and Water Resources Engineering program at UMass for excellent academic achievement and departmental citizenship!
January 2017 – The Butler Research Group travels to the New England Water Environment Association Annual Meeting in Boston, Ma. Congratulations to undergrads, Dan Clasby and LeighAnn D’Andrea, for delivering fantastic presentations!
November 2016 – Dr. Butler co-edits an special edition of Environmental Engineering Science: Innovative Solutions for Global Bioenergy Production
November 2016 – Kristie Stauch-White successfully defended her Master’s thesis: The Role of Nitrification and Denitrification in Successful Cultivation of Oxygenic Photogranules for Wastewater Treatment. Congratulations, Kristie!
November 2016 – Dr. Butler and Dr. Derek Lovley’s paper – How to Sustainable Feed a Microbe is out!
November 2016 – Congratulations, Cynthia for successfully completing your prospectus defense!
October 2016 – Congratulations to Cynthia, Varun and Josh! Their paper: Decentralized wastewater treatment using a bioelectrochemical system to produce methane and electricity is in press in the IWA Water, Sanitation and Hygiene for Development.
October 2016 – Dr. Butler sits on a Wastewater panel at the Water Innovation Forum at WPI.
September 2016 – Cynthia Castro presents “Evaluating the Robustness of Anode Biofilm: The Feasibility of Using Nitrate as an Inhibitor of Methanogenesis” at WEFTEC in New Orleans!
September 2016 – Kristie Stauch-White and Joann Rodriguez present at the New England Graduate Student Water Research Symposium at UMass Amherst
September 2016 – Dr. Butler presents a poster “Nitrogen cycling in the cultivation oxygenic photogranules for wastewater treatment
at IWA MEWE Biolfilms in Copenhagen, Denmark.
August 2016 – Butler Research Group welcomes a new member: Megan Hann from SUNY Buffalo!
July 2016 – Drs. Park and Butler were awarded a NSF GOALI in collaboration with Chris Wilson from Hampton Roads Sanitation District for continued work on Oxygenic Photogranules
April 2016 – Kristie Stauch-White was the recipient of UMass’s EWRE Noga Award. Congratulations, Kristie!
March 2016 – Joann Rodriguez received an Honorable Mention from the Ford Foundation Predoctoral Fellowship: Congratulations, Joann!
February 2016 – Drs. Lau and Butler published a commentary in Frontiers in Microbiology:Censored at the Nanoscale
February 2016 –Congratulations Varun who successfully defended his prospectus!
January 2016 – Congratulations to Varun and Jake, their paper “Nitrite Accumulation in a Denitrifying Biocathode” was accepted for publication in Environmental Science: Water Research and Technology!
December 2015 – Joshua Jack successfully defends is his on start up time and methanogenic activity in the anodes of a microbial fuel cell – Congratulations, Joshua! Good luck with your Ph.D. at UC Boulder.
September 2015 – Joshua Jack, Kristie Stauch-White, Varun Srinivasan, and Cynthia Castro all present at the New England Graduate Student Water Research Symposium at UMass Amherst
August 2015 – Butler Research Group welcomes new members: Lark Washington from UVA and Joann Rodriguez Suarez from University of Puerto Rico!
August 2015 – Varun Srinivasan presents his research on competition in anode biofilms at ACS General Meeting in Boston
May 2015 – Dr. Butler is awarded the Africa Ministers’ Council on Water AfricaSan Research and Technical Innovation Award for the development of the Green Latrine. Thank you to our team, Brad Rogers, Mark Henderson, Cynthia Castro and Joe Goodwill for your work on this project!
May 2015 – Dr. Butler and former Post-doc Cloelle Giddings-Danforth’s manuscript, co authored with Derek Lovley and Kelly Nevin, was published in Frontier in Microbiology:‘Simplifying Microbial Electrosynthesis Reactor Design’
April 2015 – Varun Srinivasan awarded the Berger Award from the EWRE group at UMass. Congratulations, Varun!
April 2015 – Kristie Stauch-White was awarded a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship. Congratulations, Kristie!
March 2015 – Kristie Stauch-White presents ‘Filamentous cyanobacteria in granular biofilms containing microalgae and bacteria’at American Chemical Society Meeting in Denver, CO
February 2015 – Kristie Stauch-White travels to Unisense in Denmark for a microsensor workshop
January 2015 – Dr. Butler received a National Science Foundation CAREER award for ‘Fundamental Studies of Cross-Kingdom Aggregate Biofilms for Energy-Efficient Wastewater Treatment’.
December 2015 – Dr. Butler and Dr. Kaoru Ikuma are awarded funding by the Massachusetts Water Resouce Research Center to study Microbial Attenuation of non-point source pharmaceutical and personal care products pollution from antiquated septic systems
November 2014 – Cynthia Castro, Joe Goodwill and Dr. Butler’s paper ‘Deployment of the Microbial Fuel Cell Latrine in Ghana for Decentralized Sanitation’ was accepted for publication in IWA Water Sanitation and Hygiene.
October 2014 – Cynthia Castro and Brad Rogers from ASU return to the Green Latrine in Ghana to close out the project. We look forward to future work!
October 2014 – Dr. Butler travels to WEFTEC in New Orleans, LA to present ‘Determining Kinetic Parameters of a Nitrite-accumulating, Denitrifying Cathode Oxidizing Biofilm.
September 2014 – Kristie Stauch-White and Varun Srinivasan present their research at the New England Graduate Student Water Symposium in Amherst, MA
September 2014 – Joshua Jack joins the Butler Research Group. Welcome, Joshua!
August 2014 – Varun Srinivasan and Dr. Kaoru Ikuma lead a Microbial Fuel Cell workshop at the Young Women in Science Summer Camp at Bard College at Simon’s Rock
August 2014 – Varun Srinivasan completes Biofilm Summer School at Washington State University
June 2014 – Cynthia Castro was awarded an NSF Grow Fellowship to work at Pontificia Universidad Catholica de Chile with Dr. Ignacio Vargas. She will be exploring the use of some of his research group’s bioelectrochemical cultures that operate in high conductivity environments. Have fun and work hard, Cynthia!
May 2014 – In conjunction with FTL Labs, Inc., Dr. Butler was awarded a Phase I SBIR grant to developed a Bioelectric Septic System for Cape Cod.
May 2014 – Kristie Stauch-White received the Boscov Fellowship from the UMass Graduate School. Congratulations, Kristie!
May 2014 – Cynthia Castro, Varun Srinivasan, Michelle Ly and Dr. Butler travel to the North American International Society for Microbial Electrochemistry and Technology Conference at Penn State University. Varun and Cynthia presented their most recent research
May 2014 – Cynthia Castro is awarded a travel fellowship to present on a potential alternative septic system at the Cape Cod Commission Smarter Economy Workshop
May 2014 – Dr. Butler attends the “Sustainable and Resilient Water Solutions for Rural Communities” in Glasgow, Scotland.
April 2014 – Dr. Butler presents on Microbial Fuel Cells at the Northeast Bioengineering Conference at Northeastern University in Boston, Ma
November 2013 – Cynthia Castro successfully defends her Master’s thesis: The Green Latrine: Development of a Large Scale Microbial Fuel Cell for the Treatment of Human Waste in Developing Areas. Congratulations, Cynthia!
September 2013 – Two new students join the Butler Research Group: a Ph.D. student, Kristie Stauch-White and a Masters student, Michelle Ly. Welcome Kristie and Michelle!
September 2013 – Chul Park (PI) and Caitlyn Butler (co-PI) were awarded funding from the National Science Foundation for the study of novel algal-sludge granules and their potential use in wastewater treatment.
June 2013 – Varun Srinivasan received the 2013/2014 Edwin V. Sisson Doctoral Fellowship from the College of Engineering at UMass. Congratulations, Varun!
May 2013 – Jacob Wienrich successfully defends his Master’s thesis: Determining Kinetic Parameters of a Nitrite-Accumulating, Denitrifying Microbial Fuel Cell Biocathode. Congratulations, Jake!
May 2013 – Cynthia Castro and Brad Rogers travel to Ghana to visit the MFC Latrine
May 2013 – Dr. Butler and co-PIs, Mark Henderson and Brad Rogers from Arizona State University, were awarded a Phase I Extension Grant from Gates Foundation Grand Challenges Explorations program to continue the development of the MFC Latrine. Cynthia and Brad Rogers return to Ghana for a follow-up.
January 2013 – Joe Goowill presents a platform presentation on the Green Latrine at the New England Water Association Meeting
January 2013 – Varun Srinivasan gave a presentation at the Joint NSF-GOI Workshop on the Implementation of Sustainable Technologies for Water/Wastewater Treatment and Water Reuse in Chennai, India
December 2012 – Team Green Latrine – Cynthia Castro and Joe Goodwill, along with Katie Fox and Sally Miller from Landscape Architecture and Regional Planning, were awarded an additional $1000 in the UMass Innovation Challenge ElevatorPitch CompetitionCongratulations, Team Green Latrine!
October 2012 – Cynthia Castro and Joe Goodwill, along with Katie Fox and Sally Miller from Landscape Architecture and Regional Planning WON theUMass Innovation Challenge MinutePitch by proposing a business model for the development of ‘Green Latrine’ Congratulations, Team Green Latrine!
October 2012 – Cynthia Castro, Jacob Weinrich, Dr. Danforth, and Dr. Butler travelled to North American Meeting of Microbial Electrochemistry and Technology in Ithaca, NY. Cynthia gave an oral presentation on the MFC Latrine and Jake gave a presentation on the Kinetics of Denitrifiying Bacteria in a MFC cathode.
September 2012 – Cynthia Castro and Dr. Butler travel to WEFTEC. Cynthia will present a poster on the MFC latrine.
September 2012 – Cynthia Castro received a Texas AWWA Scholarship!
September 2012 – Varun Srinivasan joins our group as PhD student.
August 2012 – The MFC ‘Green Latrine’ has received some press:
July 2012 – Dr. Butler attended the ASCE ExCEEd Teaching Workshop
July 2012 – Dr. Butler and Jacob Weinrich make presentations at the BioWET: Advance Biological Waste to Energy Technologies at the University of South Florida, Tampa, FL.
May 2012 – Dr. Cloelle Giddings joins our group as a post-doctoral scholar. She will be developing scalable reactor designs for microbial electrosynthesis in a collaboration with Derek Lovley of the Microbiology Department at UMass.
May 2012 – Dr. Butler, Cynthia Castro and Joe Goodwill, UMass CEE Ph.D. student, travel to Agona Nyakrom, Ghana to install the MFC Latrine
April 2012 – Cynthia Castro was awarded a National Science Foudnation Graduate Research Fellowship. Congratulations, Cynthia!
March 2012 – Dr. Butler was named a 2012 ASCE ExCEEd Teaching Fellow and will attend ASCE ExCEEd Workshop in July
February 2012 – Dr. Butler gives a seminar at UMass, Dartmouth
February 2012 – The MFC Latrine Project is featured on the UMass College of Engineering website: http://cee.umass.edu/news/green-latrine-purifies-human-waste-and-turns-it-into-electricity
February 2012 – Dr. Butler gives a seminar at Tufts University
November 2011 – Dr. Butler and co-PIs, Mark Henderson and Brad Rogers from Arizona State University, were awarded funding from Gates Foundation Grand Challenges Explorations program to develop a Microbial Fuel Cell Pit Latrine for Ghana, Africa.
September 2011 – Masters students – Cynthia Castro and Jacob Weinrich join the lab
September 2011 – Dr. Caitlyn Butler joins the UMass CEE faculty