Linking diverse datasets to models of microbial communities: case studies from wastewater treatment systems

Amidst growing challenges such as urban densification, climate change, aging infrastructure, and pandemics, engineers must develop an equitable, environmentally sustainable, and resilient urban water cycle. I will highlight results that aim to link various types of mathematical models with lab- and full-scale datasets from wastewater treatment processes. Modeling insights helped uncover microbial interactions within wastewater treatment systems and develop frameworks for analysis of resiliency of wastewater treatment. I will also discuss emerging and ongoing work on modeling microbial signaling, both between bacterial populations and between bacteria and the viruses that infect bacteria (phage) and on modeling denitrification in wastewater treatment systems. Integrating modeling and experimental approaches across multiple scales, I uncover unique insights into microbial processes in our urban water system.