People
Leadership and Staff
Margaret Gitau
Director
mgitau@purdue.edu
Margaret Gitau's research focuses on water resources with emphasis on: water quality; integrated hydrologic and water quality modeling; and, data-driven decision-making and management, including developing strategies and solutions to enable analysis in data scarce areas. She also works on the interdependence among food, energy, and water systems with particular emphasis on water resource sustainability at the nexus. Gitau co-founded and co-leads the Alliance for Modernizing African Agrifood Systems (AMAA), a global and strategic initiative of the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (ASABE), and is Founding President of the Mentoring Network for African Women in Academia (MTAWA). She is a Carnegie African Diaspora Fellow (2020) and has served as an Expert Committee Member with the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. Gitau holds a Ph.D. in Agricultural and Biological Engineering from the Pennsylvania State University.
Lynne Dahmen
Senior Managing Director
ldahmen@purdue.edu
Lynne Dahmen has worked with research faculty at Purdue University since 2008. At the Institute for a Sustainable future, part of the Discovery Park District within the Office of Research, she works with the faculty director to develop and implement strategic initiatives and maintain internal and external partnerships. She works with affiliated faculty to develop interdisciplinary research teams and projects and with staff to develop and implement strategic communication strategies, support events and assist faculty. Lynne was previously the managing director for Purdue’s Center for the Environment. She also helped launch the College of Engineering’s Center for Brain-inspired Computing. She worked as a proposal development specialist for Purdue’s Office of Research for 10 years and taught courses in the School of Languages and Cultures. She has expertise in supporting team science and brings experience in faculty coordination, project management, training and communication.
Tara Greene
Senior Operations Administrator
greenet@purdue.edu
Tara joined the Institute for a Sustainable Future (ISF) in August of 2024, and brings a deep background in marketing, communications, project management, operational organization, risk assessment, and policy compliance. Tara has worked within private sector companies to develop brand strategy and marketing campaigns, operational restructure and training, business development, graphic and website design, and project management on a corporate level. In addition, she has served on boards and planning committees within the West Lafayette community, and is a past member of the Tippecanoe Area Plan Commission and Tri Kappa Philanthropic Organization. Tara works with multiple aspects of the institute as a solution finder with creative vision to move the mission of ISF forward.
Valentina Negri
Research Scientist
vnegri@purdue.edu
Valentina Negri joined the Institute for a Sustainable Future (ISF) as a Research Scientist in August 2024. She holds a PhD in Chemical Engineering from ETH Zurich, Switzerland, with focus on sustainable process systems engineering. During her PhD, Valentina gained experience in sustainability and climate change mitigation technologies. Her expertise lies at the intersection of mathematical modeling, optimization, and environmental assessment, developing tools to tackle challenging problems across various sectors, including industrial, transport, and complex energy systems.
Valentina has authored several academic journal papers, presented her work at international conferences, and co-invented a patented process for separating CO2 and ammonia from wastewater treatment streams. At ISF, she will primarily design and direct applied research on Purdue campus sustainability. Additionally, she will support ongoing efforts in supply chain sustainability, life cycle assessment, circular economy, and decarbonization projects across different Institutes and Departments.
Tyler Hoskins
Research Assistant Professor
tdhoskin@purdue.edu
Tyler Hoskins is a Research Assistant Professor in the Department of Forestry and Natural Resources and studies how anthropogenic stressors, especially environmental contaminants, influence aquatic species, communities, and ecosystems. Recently, most of his work has focused on bioaccumulation and effects of per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in wildlife. Ty works part-time to support the research and outreach efforts of the PFAS Strategic Research Team (https://research.purdue.edu/isf/research/pfas.php).
Kayla Gurganus
Graduate Research Assistant
kgurganu@purdue.edu
Kayla Gurganus is a PhD candidate in Political Science and Ecological Sciences and Engineering. Her research focuses on equity considerations in city-level climate action plans in the United States, with attention to participatory and inclusive planning processes. Kayla joined the Institute for a Sustainable Future in January of 2024 to advance research on university sustainability efforts.
Sandra Cordoba Renteria
2024-2025 ISF Graduate Fellow
scordoba@purdue.edu
Sandra Cordoba is a second-year PhD student in Mechanical Engineering under the supervision of Professor David Warsinger. Sandra’s interests lie in the intersection between water and energy resources. Her research involves the development of alternative water treatment methods to utilize unconventional water sources. She is focused on the development of novel reverse osmosis configurations to make water desalination less energy-intensive and facilitate its integration with renewable energy sources such as solar or wave energy. Sandra has published her work in academic journals such as desalination and 2 full patents applications have been submitted for the technology she has helped developed.
Prior to starting her PhD program, Sandra was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship to pursue her Master's Studies at Purdue University. Beyond her academic pursuits, Sandra enjoys participating in triathlon races and salsa dancing.
Pragathi Jha
Graduate Student Liaison
jha44@purdue.edu
Pragathi is a PhD student in the Edwardson School of Industrial Engineering and has been associated with ISF since 2024. She got her MSIE from Purdue in 2023. Her research revolves around development of risk methods and decision analysis tools for climate change adaptation. Within ISF, Pragathi coordinates outreach to graduate students to foster continued engagement.
Cori Lollis
Communications Intern
tlollis@purdue.edu
Cori joined as a Communications Intern at the Institute for a Sustainable Future in the summer of 2023. She is a sophomore majoring in marketing and minoring in communications. In the future, she would like to pursue a career in social media marketing.