Bethany Brinkman

Dr. Bethany Brinkman, associate professor of engineering, holds degrees from the University of Minnesota and Virginia Tech in civil engineering. Prior to teaching, she worked as a environmental engineer for the national consulting firm HDR, Inc. where she managed water treatment projects.  Her research focuses on the interaction of small-scale (e.g. sorption on filter materials and nutrient uptake by plants) and large-scale systems (e.g. watershed hydrodynamics and biodegradation reactors) with the goal of developing engineered systems that mimic and respect natural processes and materials.  She is currently working on characterizing the engineering soil properties of historic battlefields, designing permeable paver systems, studying the persistence of women in engineering, and investigating permeable concrete as a point-of-use water filtration medium.  She has also established a total organic carbon analyzer research lab to evaluate carbon cycling in the environment.  Her research is student-driven, resulting in over 25 publications and presentations.  She enjoys teaching introductory engineering courses, civil/environmental electives, and a core curriculum class focused on sustainability.