Tiziana Smith is a PhD candidate in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at MIT studying water resources management under the supervision of Professor Dennis McLaughlin. Originally from San Antonio, Texas, her interest in water resources stems from growing up in a water-scarce environment where water conservation and water quality protection were critical sustainability issues. At MIT, her research focuses on understanding the tradeoffs between food security and water and land conservation. She uses hydrological modeling and remote sensing data to quantify how agriculture has already impacted the land and water resources, and to explore how we can minimize future impacts while feeding growing populations.
Tiziana holds an A.B from Harvard University in Environmental Science and Public Policy, and two S.M. degrees from MIT in Technology and Policy and in Civil and Environmental Engineering. Prior to MIT, Tiziana worked for the World Bank in Vietnam on water resources management projects. Outside of her research, Tiziana is interested in science communication, yoga, and traveling.