CEEM graduating senior Yunus Kovankaya received the Engineering School's 2023 Jaffe Prize, which recognizes a graduating student who exhibits exceptional qualities of curiosity towards the engineered world and problem-solving for the betterment of the human condition.
Yunus served as a Course Assistant for Engineering for Community Development (CIEE3260), undergraduate researcher at the Columbia Water Center, and co-program manager for Engineers Without Borders (EWB) Ghana. His research, influenced by his experiences in North Florida, focuses on improving access to wastewater treatment in the Deep South. Additionally, his work for EWB has centered around increasing awareness of domestic water problems, by starting a project in rural California, and learning problem-solving techniques from Ghanaian engineers, professors, and development practitioners. He is excited to continue learning about water issues in the U.S. and abroad through a policy and engineering lens.
This summer Yunus will continue his work at the Columbia Water Center to develop a web tool which will allow towns and cities across the United States to optimize the performance and the costs of wastewater treatment networks for their communities. In the fall, he will be moving to San Francisco to work on water engineering projects in the Bay Area for Arup.
