Samantha McBride is a PhD candidate in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at MIT, where she works with Professor Varanasi researching fluid-surface interactions and interfacial engineering for environmental separations. Her passion for water sustainability began during her undergraduate work at the University of Nevada, Reno, where she studied environmental engineering and researched the environmental transport of endocrine-disrupting pollutants. She also has research expertise in renewable energy, self-assembly, and crystallization.
After completing her M.S in chemical engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Samantha joined the Mechanical Engineering at MIT due to the department’s strong emphasis on desalination and water technologies. She served as a Vice President of the MIT Water Club from 2017-2018, and helped organize the MIT Water Summit, the MIT Water Club lectures, and the 2018 MIT Water Night. With support from the Martin Fellowship, she is researching anti-fouling materials and novel techniques to recover nutrients from waste water. She hopes to apply her research broadly to help achieve global water and food security.