Sierra-Alvarez Among First Craig M. Berge Fellows

CHEE professor Reyes Sierra-Alvarez was recently named as one of six researchers in the inaugural cohort of Craig M. Berge Dean’s Fellows. Craig M. Berge, who earned his bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Arizona in 1957, had a successful career in the automotive industry and stayed involved with his alma mater throughout his life. When he passed away in 2017, his wife, Nancy Haddad Berge, made a gift to the college that established a four-year design program and an endowed chair for the dean of engineering. David W. Hahn, the college’s Craig M. Berge dean, created an additional fellowship in 2020 to further the Berge family’s vision of the college leading the way in solving 21st century engineering challenges.

The fellowship, funded at $8,000 annually to support educational and research efforts, is for a three-year term. The first six recipients include faculty members from multiple departments working in areas ranging from quantum computing and biomedical device development to wastewater treatment.

"I'm thrilled to be able to directly support this group of faculty members with the Berge deanship. They were selected from a truly outstanding pool of applicants," said David W. Hahn, the college’s Craig M. Berge dean. "While they come from a variety of disciplines and experience levels, they share a commitment to excellence that makes our college a better place to work and learn."

Sierra-Alvarez researches wastewater treatment, soil and groundwater bioremediation, nanotoxicity and environmental technology for semiconductor manufacturing. Sierra-Alvarez has served on the Fulbright Commission and received an NSF ADVANCE Fellows Award. She is associate editor of the Journal of Industrial Microbiology and Biotechnology and for Reviews in Environmental Science and Bio/Technology.