Our Team

Directors

Brian Stoner

Director and Principal Investigator

Brian Stoner, Ph.D.; Principal Investigator (PI), is Director of Duke’s Center for WaSH-AID (Water, Sanitation, Hygiene and Infectious Disease). He is a Research Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Duke University with a secondary appointment with Duke's Global Health Institute, and has been a Visiting Distinguished Fellow in Global Health Technologies at RTI International. He is a materials scientist with expertise in the synthesis, processing, and characterization of materials using electrical, electrochemical and plasma techniques. At Duke, he leads multidisciplinary programs in Global Health Technologies with an emphasis on integrating expertise across engineering, social science, economics and policy to address complex global challenges. He holds 28 U.S. patents related to novel microelectronic materials and systems, and has authored or co-authored two book chapters and more than 200 scientific publications. Visit Scholars@Duke for more information.

stoner@duke.edu

Jeffrey T Glass

Co-Director & Entrepreneurship Lead

Jeffrey T. Glass, Ph.D., M.B.A.; Co-PI & Entrepreneurship Lead, is the Senior Associate Dean for Education and Learning Innovation, a Professor in the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department, and the Hogg Family Director of Engineering Management and Entrepreneurship in the Pratt School of Engineering at Duke University. He has been a member of advisory boards for several start-ups, the interim CTO of a start-up during a leadership transition, conducted due diligence for venture capital firms, consulted for fortune 500 companies, and testified as an expert witness in patent litigation. He has published over 140 papers and book chapters, edited six books, is a co-inventor on 15 patents and is an ISI Highly Cited Researcher in Materials Science. Visit Scholars@Duke for more information.

jeff.glass@duke.edu

Team Members

Sonia Grego

Associate Director and Associate Research Professor

Sonia Grego, Ph.D., directs the global field testing of transformative sanitation technologies prototypes, particularly in India, and leads the diagnostics and sensor technology programmatic area. She has been developing engineering innovation for health for 15 years with expertise in sensors, systems miniaturization and tissue bioengineering. She is also the Director of the Smart Toilet Lab. Her research interests include sensors for digital sanitation solutions and technologies for early detection of disease, with emphasis on smart toilets for diagnostics at the individual and community level. She has served on NIH review panels for 10 years, served as co-chair of multiple symposia, co-authored more than 50 scientific publications and has been awarded four patents. Visit Scholars@Duke for more information.

sonia.grego@duke.edu

Sebastian Acosta-Calle

Postdoctoral Associate

Sebastian Acosta-Calle, Ph.D., joined the WaSH-AID team in November 2023 as a Postdoctoral Associate. His research is dedicated to tackling critical environmental challenges, with a specific focus on nutrient removal from stormwater. Sebastian holds a Ph.D. in Inorganic Chemistry from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a B.S. in Chemistry from the University of Florida.

sebastian.acostacalle@duke.edu

Julia Darcy

Assistant Research Professor

Julia Darcy, Ph.D., joined the WaSH-AID team in March 2023 and is an Assistant Research Professor. Prior to joining the team, Julia spent 3 years at AxNano, a cleantech venture studio, developing water remediation technologies. Julia’s research interests include nutrient remediation, groundwater remediation, and water reuse. She is particularly interested in the technology development cycle and transitioning technologies from the bench to the field. Julia holds a Ph.D. in Inorganic Chemistry from Yale University as well as a B.S. in Chemistry and B.A. in Environmental Studies from Worcester Polytechnic Institute.

julia.darcy@duke.edu

Graham H. Miller

Associate in Research

Graham Miller joined the WaSH-AID team in November of 2019 as an Associate in Research. Prior to joining the team, he spent three years working on sanitation related projects at Duke University, primarily the Supercritical Water Oxidation plant and the Anaerobic Digestion – Pasteurization Latrine. Graham’s expertise in these projects ranged from installation and operations of systems to data analysis. He earned a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Florida.

graham.h.miller@duke.edu

Mara Shurgot

Communications Strategist

Mara Shurgot, M.A., joined the Center in 2018 and leads outreach and communications. Prior to joining WaSH-AID, she worked at the Duke University Talent Identification Program (Duke TIP), the last seven years as director of international programs leading educational initiatives in India and China. She earned a Master of Arts in Writing from the University of San Francisco and an undergraduate degree in English from the University of California, Los Angeles.

mara.shurgot@duke.edu

Jin Zhou

Graduate Researcher

Jin Zhou is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering in the Pratt School of Engineering at Duke University. His current research interests include machine learning, medical image analysis, and sensor data interpretation.

jin.zhou@duke.edu

Previous Students

Mariana Vasquez Sanchez, PhD Student, Duke University (2018-2022)
Caitlin Niven, Research Assistant, Duke University (2018 - 2020)
Peter Coggan, Research Assistant, Case Western Reserve (Summer 2018 and 2020)
Thandolwethu Dlamini (Shakes), Pratt Fellow, Duke University (2018 - 2020)
Kayana Tyson, Research Assistant, Duke University (2019-2020)
Michael Dryzer, Research Assistant, Johns Hopkins University (2017 - 2019)
Jimmy O. Thostenson, PhD Student, Duke University (2018)
Angad Ozarkar, MEM student, Duke University (2018)
Samuel Phiri, REU student, Michigan State University (Summer 2018)
Abhyudaya Adulkar, REU student, IIT Bombay (Summer 2018)
Brielle Januszewski, REU student, Arizona State University (Summer 2018)
Mikayla Stoner, Research Assistant (2018)
Riley Luettgen, Summer Intern, Univeristy of Wisconsin (2018)