Principal Investigator
William Tarpeh
Dr. William Tarpeh is an associate professor of chemical engineering at Stanford University. The Tarpeh Lab develops and evaluates novel approaches to resource recovery from “waste” waters at several synergistic scales: molecular mechanisms of chemical transport and transformation; novel unit processes that increase resource efficiency; and systems-level assessments that identify optimization opportunities. Will completed his B.S. in chemical engineering at Stanford and his M.S. and Ph.D. in environmental engineering at UC Berkeley, supported by an NSF Graduate Research Fellowship, Ford Foundation Predoctoral Fellowship, and a UC Berkeley Chancellor's Fellowship. He conducted postdoctoral training at University of Michigan in environmental engineering. Will’s honors include a MacArthur Fellowship, an NSF CAREER Award, the Dreyfus Teacher Scholar Award, Paul Busch Award, Electrochemical Society Young Investigator Fellowship and AIChE 35 Under 35 and Environmental Division Early Career Awards. Tarpeh's CV is available here.
Postdoctoral Fellows
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Pingyu is a postdoctoral scholar in the Tarpeh lab. He obtained his PhD in materials science and engineering from Stanford University where he developed technologies for interfacing with the retina for high-acuity vision restoration. Inspired by the transformative role of sensor technologies in healthcare, Pingyu is excited to bring these technological advances to environmental sensing and monitoring. In the Tarpeh lab, he is developing a low-cost, continuous, and autonomous sensing platform for nitrous oxide, a potent greenhouse gas 300 times stronger than carbon dioxide. He uses a user-centered approach to tailor the technology development to meet the demands of the real world. Outside the lab, Pingyu enjoys thrifting and listening to old vinyl records, experimenting with various coffee-making techniques, trying new cooking recipes, and cuddling with his cat Java.
Email: pingyu(at)stanford(dot)edu
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Mike Baird is a Stanford Energy Postdoctoral Scholar working jointly between the Tarpeh and Xia labs to develop electrolytic membrane reactors for battery waste upcycling. Mike obtained Ph.D in chemistry from University of California, Berkeley in 2024, where he worked in the laboratory of Brett Helms to synthesize microporous polymer membranes and sorbents for lithium extraction from natural feedstocks which are highly dilute in the target species. Prior to his doctoral training, Mike recieved a B.S. in chemistry from University of California, Riverside. Outside the lab, Mike enjoys playing golf, snowboarding, and spending time with family.
Email: bairdm(at)stanford(dot)edu
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TJ (Taigyu) Joo is a postdoctoral scholar in the Tarpeh lab. His research involves designing membranes for separating ions and gases from wastewater, with a focus on electrochemical separations. Before joining the Tarpeh Lab, he received his B.S. degree in Chemical Engineering from Carnegie Mellon University in 2018 and his Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from MIT in 2024. His doctoral research under the supervision of Prof. Zachary P. Smith focused on post-synthetic chemical and morphological modifications of polymer membranes for gas separations. Outside the lab, he enjoys traveling, golfing, and watching EPL.
Email: tjoo(at)stanford(dot)edu
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Hannah is a postdoctoral researcher interested in electrochemical sensors and electrochemical-ion exchange processes for phosphate recovery. She received a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from Georgia Tech. Her doctoral research, advised by Profs. Ryan Lively and Matthew Realff, focused on carbon capture adsorbents. Hannah is originally from a small town in southern Illinois and received her B.S. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. While there, she researched electrochemical systems to convert carbon dioxide into value-added chemicals and fuels. Hannah enjoys hiking, camping, house plants, and playing with her cat Friday.
Email: hholmes(at)stanford(dot)edu
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Carlos is a postdoctoral researcher working in the design of electrochemical systems for converting nitrogenous species in wastewater and gaseous emissions into ammonia. He earned both his B.S. (2018) and Ph.D. (2024) in Mechanical Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology. His Ph.D. research, under the guidance of Prof. Marta C. Hatzell, focused on advancing decarbonized, decentralized, and electrified ammonia production systems and developing integrated solutions for carbon capture and conversion to fuels and chemicals. Outside of his research, Carlos enjoys cycling, skiing, and kitesurfing.
Email: carlosfo(at)stanford(dot)edu
PhD Students
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Kristen is a PhD student in Chemical Engineering. She was born and raised in Ontario, Canada and received her B.Eng.Biosciences in Chemical Engineering and Bioengineering at McMaster University. She is interested in technology development for resource recovery from waste streams to facilitate the transition to a circular economy, such as lithium recovery from battery waste. She is also interested in the holistic assessment of scaled-up processes for bridging the gap between academic research and widespread adoption of technologies. Outside of research, Kristen enjoys hiking, painting, reading, golf, and playing various intramural sports.
Email: abelsk(at)stanford(dot)edu
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Edward is a PhD student in Environmental Engineering. He was born in Kumasi, Ghana and raised in the suburbs of Phoenix, Arizona. Before attending Stanford, he earned a B.S.E in Civil and Environmental Engineering from Arizona State University and received the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship. He is interested in the recovery of nutrients using electrochemical separations and polymeric materials. Outside of academics, his interests include weightlifting, environmental justice, playing volleyball, and religiously streaming Spotify to maintain his average annual streaming time of 165,000+ minutes.
Email: eapraku(at)stanford(dot)edu
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Orisa is a PhD student in Mechanical Engineering. She grew up in Aurora, Colorado and received her B.S in Mechanical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She is a Knight Hennessy Scholar and is invested in issues of equity and resource distribution. She hopes her research on the water-energy nexus will help to increase the accessibility of sanitation and clean water across the globe. Outside of school, Orisa crochets her own clothing, practices advanced yoga, running, weightlifting, roller skating, and keeps her nose in a good book.
Email: ocoombs(at)stanford(dot)edu
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Joyce is a PhD student in Materials Science and Engineering. She is from the suburbs of New Jersey and received her B.S. in Materials Science and Engineering from MIT. In the Tarpeh Lab, she is interested in selective resource recovery and regeneration using adsorbents and incorporating systems-level analysis into her work. In her free time, she enjoys reading, painting, and trying vegan recipes.
Email: anjoyce(at)stanford(dot)edu
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Uran is a PhD student in Chemistry. She was born in Michigan and raised in Japan/Belgium. She received her B.S. in Chemistry from Michigan State University. She is interested in homogeneous molecular catalyst design for understanding the nitrate reduction mechanism. In her free time, she enjoys hiking, baking, running, crocheting, and rock climbing.
Email: iwataura(at)stanford(dot)edu
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Daniel is a PhD student in Chemistry. He grew up in Madison County, Iowa raising Christmas trees on his family's tree farm. He earned a B.S. in Chemistry at Iowa State University. Because his home state is dependent on agriculture and stricken with nitrogen-polluted waterways, Daniel hopes the research he does in the Tarpeh lab can enable humans to more sustainably manage nitrogen cycles. Daniel is a self-described theatre kid, band kid, choir nerd, board game enthusiast, Star Trek fan, and plant geek.
Email: dkhowell(at)stanford(dot)edu
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Victoria is a PhD student in Chemical Engineering. She was born and raised in Tallahassee, FL, and received her B.S. in Chemical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She is interested in using process engineering to inform the efficient recovery of resources from wastewaters. Outside of the lab, Victoria enjoys thrifting, playing intramural volleyball with her cohort, and doing all of the NYT mini games.
Email: vyyang(at)stanford(dot)edu
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Peter Cruz-Grace is a PhD student in Chemical Engineering. Originally from rural South Dakota, he received his B.S. in Earth & Environmental Engineering from Columbia University in 2022. Between undergrad and Stanford, he worked in consulting building carbon accounting platforms for multinational corporations. He is interested in selective aqueous separations for applications in resource recovery and waste refining. Outside of class and lab, he enjoys cooking, reading, and occasionally running.
Email: pcruzgrc(at)stanford(dot)edu
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Lia is a Ph.D. student in Chemical Engineering. Growing up in Louisiana, Lia has always been fascinated about questions surrounding energy and sustainability. She received her B.S. in chemical engineering from MIT with a minor in political science. Her previous research experiences at MIT focused on developing the fundamental understanding of platinum catalyst electrodeposition for energy storage.
At Stanford, Professor Will Tarpeh and Dr. Adam Nielander at SLAC serve as her co-advisors. Her interests include exploring fundamental catalysis questions surrounding valuable product bond formation. In her free time, Lia enjoys running, reading about history, and sketching flowers.
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Wylie is a PhD student in Chemical Engineering. Originally from Orcas Island, Washington, he received his B.S. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Washington, in Seattle in 2020. Between undergrad and Stanford, he worked at a Seattle-based startup focused on the commercialization of perovskite materials for photovoltaic applications. He is interested in the development of technologies to make use of renewable electrons in applications spanning electrochemical energy conversion and resource recovery. Outside of the lab, he enjoys being outdoors, skiing, rock climbing, cycling, and reading.
Email: wyliekau(at)stanford(dot)edu
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Nick is a PhD student in Chemical Engineering. After growing up in Torrance, CA, he attended undergraduate near home at UCLA where he received his B.S. in Chemical Engineering. He attended EPFL in Lausanne, Switzerland, where he received his M.S. in Energy Science and Technology. His previous research experiences involved electrochemical phosphate recovery from wastewater, glycerol electrooxidation for hydrogen production, and redox-resolved cryo-EM imaging of the plant protein RuBisCO. Today, his interests lie in the electrochemical conversion between species along the nitrogen oxidation state spectrum. Outside of the lab, he is still searching for someone to discuss comic books with.
Email: snydern(at)stanford(dot)edu
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Diana is a PhD student in Chemical Engineering. She was raised in the suburbs of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and her family is originally from Guadalajara, Mexico. She earned her B.S. in Mechanical Engineering with a minor in Chemistry from Temple University. Before beginning her PhD, she conducted research at the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Energy Conversion as a Fulbright fellow.
Diana is interested in coupling fundamental chemistry and community-oriented engineering to design and integrate electrochemical catalysis and separation systems that convert resources in wastewater into value-added products. She hopes to implement these technologies to expand access to sanitation, advance responsible waste management while promoting resource recovery, and foster sustainable growth and development in communities.
Outside of the lab, Diana enjoys cooking, boxing, fencing, hiking, running, and dancing salsa and bachata.
Masters/Undergraduate Students and Research Assistants
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Tyler is a freshman majoring in Chemical Engineering. He is from Minnetonka, MN, and is interested in environmental water chemistry and catalysis. He is currently working with Nick and Uran on nitrogen electrochemistry and catalysis for the selective interconversion of nitrogen oxidation states. Outside of the lab, he enjoys rock climbing, exploring San Francisco, and traveling to new countries.
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Jaden is a sophomore majoring in chemical engineering. He was born and raised in Santa Barbara, CA, and is interested in batteries and battery recycling. He is currently working with Wylie and Kristen on developing ligand-functionalized membranes for key mineral separations in battery waste and brines. Outside of the lab, he enjoys going to the gym, playing video games, and road biking.
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Tooba is a senior majoring in Molecular and Cellular Biology and a coterminal master’s student in Sustainability, and will begin medical school in 2027. Born in Istanbul, Turkey, she was raised across multiple countries. She is currently working with Pingyu on developing and testing an ECS-based total ammonia nitrogen sensor for optimizing wastewater treatment processes and water quality monitoring. Outside the lab, she enjoys designing and making clothes and jewelry, as well as horse riding.
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Arden is an undergraduate majoring in Chemical Engineering. They’re currently working with Mike to develop polymer membranes to separate rare earth elements from mixed-metal feedstocks, including e-waste and mine tailings. Outside the lab, they care deeply about politics and enjoy spending time in nature and fossil hunting.
Lab Administrator
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Email: thao89(at)stanford(dot)edu
Room: Shriram Center 091
Phone: 650-498-1648
Lab Pets
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Friday is a three-year-old cat. He was born on the streets of Opelika, Alabama, where he lost most of his tail, and he was later adopted from the Atlanta Humane Society by Hannah. Friday's diverse research interests include ornithology (bird behavior when a cat is nearby), food science (sensory analysis of wet food, preferably chicken flavor), and sleep psychology (how early he can wake his human up). In his free time, Friday enjoys giving headbutts, sitting by open windows, sleeping on his cat tower, and eating.
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Born on the streets of San Jose, Java had a mobile childhood moving from the city shelter to a foster home, and then to the humane society before being adopted by Pingyu and Chen. His name Java is borrowed from the pronunciation of a dialect word “喳哇” from Pingyu and Chen’s hometown, which describes his chatty personality – nothing to do with coffee or the programming language! As a feline researcher, his primary projects include the dynamics of rolling spherical objects (as depicted in the photo), and the “prey-akinness” of domestic surfaces when excited by 630–670 nm red lasers–aka cat laser pointers. When off duty, Java indulges in a pinch of catnip, embarking on a journey to the euphoric realms of beta-endorphins. He also has the reputation of being a rigorous peer reviewer of human petting skills.
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Vicky (left) and Piper (right) are collaborative research assistants and ever the best of friends, at least Vicky thinks so. Piper’s research interests are in energy conservation (sleeping) while Vicky has a true passion for technological applications (automatic feeder). They bring a paws on approach to the sciences, with Vicky bringing two extra thumbs to the table. Together they are exploring new ways to untangle the mysteries of yarn balls and how best to mitigate the deleterious encroachment of birds on their windows.
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Postdog Koa Terrell-Perica Tarpeh was born in Oregon, but has received all of his training here at Stanford. Koa is a labradoodle known for his love of humans and dogs, and tends to show that love by jumping up and licking ears. He is a cuddly presence at lab socials, and has been known to be the most sought after guest at group parties.
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Enoki is a three-year-old Calico named after the Japanese mushroom, Enokitake. Her time as a stray garden cat has helped develop her scientific specialty in botany and horticulture. She is currently researching the different effects that flower pigmentation and scent have on the feline desire for consumption. Her collaborator, undergraduate researcher Danna, tirelessly works on ensuring that all of Enoki’s experimental samples are feline friendly.
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Ollie and Neri are three-year-old lap cats who joined the Tarpeh group in 2024 as the purrfessional snack scavengers. They love to cuddle and never miss an opportunity to occupy a lap, ensuring their human colleagues are never alone when seated. Together, this dynamic duo keeps morale high and stress levels low, bringing smiles wherever they roam.
Lab Alumni
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Dr. Ekashmi Rathore
Dr. Woonghee LeeCurrent: Assistant Professor at Chonnam National University
Dr. Amilton Barbosa Botelho Jr
Current: Professor at NTNU
Dr. Elizabeth Corson
Current: Assistant Professor at The University of Kansas. Website
Dr. Xi Chen
Current: Assistant Professor at City University of Hong Kong. Website
Dr. Qianhong Zhu
Current: Senior Member of Technical Staff at QuantumScape
Dr. Hang (Lucas) Dong
Current: Assistant Professor at Georgia Tech Shenzhen Institute. Website
Dr. Linchao Mu
Current: Associate Professor, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Dr. Neha Sharma
Current: Assistant Professor in Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Auburn University. LinkedIn
Dr. Brandon Clark
Current: Co-founder of Ky-tan, Inc. LinkedIn
Dr. Kindle Williams
Current: Co-founder and CEO of Recovered Potential. LinkedIn
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Dr. Madalyn Radlauer
Current: Associate Professor of Chemistry at San Jose State University. Website
Meili Gong
Current: Master's student in Environmental Engineering at the University of California, Berkeley
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Ashley Martinez
Current: PhD student in Chemical Engineering at University of Michigan
Danna Soriano
Current: PhD student in Chemical Engineering at New York University
Amy Pham
Current: Stanford undergraduate student in material science and engineering
Nailah Donatto
Current: Stanford undergraduate student in chemical engineering
Shiloh Bolden
Current: Senior at San Diego State University
Carolina Muñoz
Current: Stanford undergraduate student in chemical engineering
Sarah Yribarren
Current: Stanford undergraduate student in chemical engineering and science communication
Diego Bustamante
Current: Stanford undergraduate student in chemical engineering
Robert Matthew Wood
Current: Master's student in Environmental Engineering at the University of Southern California
Kristy Chan
Current: Stanford undergraduate student in chemical engineering
Genesis Gilles
Current: Stanford undergraduate student in chemical engineering and computer science
Diana Tiburcio
Current: PhD Student in Chemical Engineering at Stanford University
Smiti Mittal
Current: PhD student in Bioengineering at UCSF-UC Berkeley
Chloe Marie Laguna
Current: Co-term student in Bioengineering at Stanford University
Ouriel Ndalamba
Current: PhD Student in Chemical Engineering at Princeton University
James Juma
Current: Data Analyst at Opareta
Julia Simon
Current: PhD Student in Chemical and Environmental Engineering at Yale University
Sydney Johnson
Current: PhD and MBA student in Chemical Engineering Practice at MIT
William Chow
Current: Co-term student in Chemistry at Stanford University
Yichong Wang
Current: PhD student in Chemistry at Harvard University
Naomi Ray
Current: Business Technology Analyst at Deloitte
Oluwanifemi Bankole
Current: Stanford undergraduate student in Electrical Engineering
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Dr. Anna Kogler
Current: Ion Exchange Scientist at Banyu Carbon
Dr. Matthew Liu
Current: Postdoctoral fellow at MIT Chemical Engineering
Dr. Anita Shao
Current: Consultant at Boston Consulting Group
Dr. Valerie Niemann
Current: Postdoctoral scholar at University of Bern
Dr. Dean Miller
Current: Postdoctoral scholar at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory. LinkedIn
Dr. Sam Bunke
Current: Zero Waste Specialist at UC Berkeley. LinkedIn
Dr. Jinyu Guo
Current: Co-founder and CTO of Recovered Potential. LinkedIn
Dr. Lorelay Mendoza Grijalva
Current: Senior Engineer at Trussell Technologies. LinkedIn
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Elizabeth McNally
Tyler Gogal
Yixuan Huang
Current: PhD student in Environmental Engineering at Georgia Tech
Valmik Lakhlani
Current: Process Engineer at Fluor Corporation
Ziyan Wu
Current: PhD student in Environment and Resources at the University of Wisconsin-Madison
Mikaela Williams
Current: Masters student in Environmental Engineering at Stanford University
Gradie Ngaruka
Current: Masters student in Chemical Engineering at Stanford University
Haoyan Du
Current: Masters student in Environmental Engineering at Stanford University
Shievani Upadhyay
Current: MBA student at Stanford University