Natalie Cápiro

Assistant Professor, Biological and Environmental Engineering

About

Dr. Natalie Cápiro is an incoming Assistant Professor in the Department of Biological and Environmental Engineering at Cornell University starting in summer 2023. She is currently an Assistant Professor at Auburn University in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and holds an adjunct appointment in the Department of Biosystems Engineering. Prior to Auburn, Dr. Cápiro was a Research Assistant Professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Tufts University. Her educational background includes postdoctoral work at the Georgia Institute of Technology, M.S. and Ph.D. in Civil and Environmental Engineering at Rice University, and B.S. in Biological and Environmental Engineering at Cornell University. Dr. Cápiro’s research interests include applied environmental microbiology, bioremediation, fate and transport of legacy and emerging contaminants in natural systems, development of groundwater remediation strategies, and nanoparticle-microbial interactions in the environment. Her work is primarily supported by funding from the National Science Foundation and the Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program (SERDP), including a study that won the 2012 SERDP Environmental Restoration Project of the Year.

Recent Research

Research in the Cápiro lab focuses on the biotransformation of toxic emerging and traditional organic contaminants in the environment. We are particularly interested in resolving degradation pathways, microbial dynamics, and the interactions between biotic and abiotic processes that impact the fate and transport of these contaminants. Ongoing or recently completed investigations examine: (i) biological processes influencing natural attenuation of emerging contaminants (e.g., per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances-PFAS); (ii) secondary impacts of in-situ bioremediation (e.g., iron mineral species and low pH) on groundwater quality; (iii) benefits and shortcomings of combining biological and physical-chemical processes (e.g., thermal treatment, reactive or sorptive nanoparticles) to achieve improved contaminant treatment (detoxification or sequestration) of legacy (e.g., chlorinated ethenes) and/or emerging contaminants (e.g., PFAS and nanoparticles); and (iv) assessment of natural attenuation potential and development of predictive tools for remediation system design. These studies lay the foundation for tackling a large variety of water quality issues and have implications for protecting human health and the environment. To expand the impact of the acquired knowledge beyond the traditional academic framework, we are working to make these (and other) results accessible to practitioners and impacted communities.

The Cápiro lab will be accepting Ph.D. students for Fall 2023.

Awards & Honors

SERDP Environmental Restoration Project of the Year 2012

Eleanor and Mills Bennett Fellowship in Hydrology, Rice Univ. 2003-2005

NSF Distinguished Sci. & Engr. Fellow of the Alliances for Grad. Ed. and Prof (AGEP) 2000-2003

Courses Taught

Dr. Cápiro has taught several environmental engineering courses at the undergraduate and graduate student level. A significant motivation behind her classroom instruction has been based on student interest. Namely, bringing the latest research and examples of field applications into the classroom. Her most recent course offerings include Introduction to Environmental Engineering, Biological Principles in Environmental Engineering, and Hazardous Waste Site Remediation. She plans to teach similar courses at Cornell.

BEE/ENGRD 2510 Engineering Processes for Environmental Sustainability

Contact Information

natalie.capiro [at] cornell.edu

Natalie in the news

(L-R), Steven Mana’oakamai Johnson, Natalie Cápiro ’00, Hale Ann Tufan, Chuan Liao, Shaila Musharoff, Michael Charles ’16.

Spotlight

December 7, 2022

CALS hires faculty cohort to address grand DEI challenges

This is the fifth in a series of stories detailing actions CALS students, faculty and staff have taken over the past several years to make our community a more diverse, equitable and inclusive place for everyone. In fall 2021, CALS announced its first-ever faculty cohort initiative focused on hiring a group of scientists whose work explicitly addresses systemic challenges facing marginalized communities through transdisciplinary collaboration. The first search was received with great enthusiasm and 381 people applied for the six positions.

American Indian and Indigenous Studies Program
Biological and Environmental Engineering
Computational Biology