Assistant Professor
Affiliated Faculty
Dr. Andrea Silverman is an Assistant Professor of environmental engineering in the Department of Civil and Urban Engineering, and is also affiliated with the Center for Urban Science and Progress (CUSP). Dr. Silverman’s research is centered on water quality, wastewater treatment, and urban flooding, with an overarching goal to protect public health and environmental quality. Within the broad topics of water and wastewater treatment, she focuses on the detection and disinfection of waterborne pathogens, wastewater-based epidemiology, the design of natural wastewater treatment systems (e.g., treatment ponds and constructed wetlands), and the safe reuse of human waste. Dr. Silverman works in both high- and low-income settings, and has conducted field research in New York City; California; Accra, Ghana; and Nairobi, Kenya.
In addition to laboratory-based research, Dr. Silverman works on applied urban projects. Dr. Silverman co-directs the FloodNet project, with a goal to design, build, and deploy low-cost sensors to measure and report hyperlocal urban flooding in real time. She also partnered with the NYC Department of Environmental Protection to develop and implement NYC’s wastewater surveillance program for COVID-19. Through these projects she has collaborated with local and federal government agencies, as well as community-based organizations in NYC.