Sarah Donaher
Sarah Donaher is an assistant professor in the Departments of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Nuclear Engineering at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Her research interests include 1) measuring the mobility, bioavailability, and ecotoxicity of pollutants in aquatic and coastal systems, especially radioactive and emerging contaminants, 2) promoting secure, sustainable, and safe emergency response, decontamination, decommissioning, and environmental management of nuclear facilities, and 3) improving engineering education through interdisciplinary activities and service-based learning
Donaher graduated with her PhD in environmental engineering and earth sciences from Clemson University in 2024. She earned her bachelor’s degree in environmental engineering also from Clemson in 2017 and a master’s degree in marine science from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2020. Donaher also served a six-month AmeriCorps term as a Montana Conservation Corps Fellow with the Bureau of Land Management in 2020 and is currently a member of the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) Task Group 125: Ecosystem Services in Environmental Radiological Protection.
Hunter Allen
Hunter Allen is a first year PhD student in the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. His research concerns the sorption of microplastics and radionuclides as it pertains to pollutant pathways and ecological impacts. Allen has an undergraduate degree with a major in nuclear engineering and a minor in nuclear decommissioning and environmental management. Additionally, he has a master’s degree in environmental engineering. He is interested in combining interdisciplinary concepts to contribute to the scientific understanding of how humanity interacts with the environment and how to apply engineering solutions to produce a harmonious future. Whether through academic studies or by industrial action, Hunter is eager to learn, collaborate, and communicate.
Katelyn Cohen
Katelyn Cohen is an undergraduate research assistant at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. She is pursuing environmental engineering with a minor in Nuclear Decommissioning & Environmental Management. After graduation, she hopes to work with retired nuclear fuel cells and environmental cleanup. Her research interests include long-term radioactive waste storage and impact of radioactive contaminants in the environment.