Ingrid Y. Padilla is a full professor in Environmental and Water Resources Engineering in the Department of Civil Engineering and Surveying and the Director of the Environmental Engineering Laboratory (EEL) at the University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez. Before this, she led the groundwater office at Greg Morris and Associates (1999-2001) and directed several hydrologic investigations while working with the U.S. Geological Survey (1988-1992). Dr. Padilla’s expertize is in contaminant and subsurface hydrology. She directed laboratory, field-scale, and modeling investigations of karst systems in the academic, government, and private sectors. Her work in karst groundwater systems includes flow modeling of the karst system of northern Puerto Rico, aquifer testing, hydraulic characterization, water quality sampling, and monitoring, spatiotemporal assessment and potential exposure of legacy and emerging contaminants, and characterization and quantification of fate and transport processes. Her current work integrates multidisciplinary efforts to assess contaminant exposure and public health impacts in karst regions. Dr. Padilla has served on several review panels for the National Science Foundation and the National Research Council. She received numerous awards, including: Distinguished Professor in Civil Engineering; Innovative Woman in Engineering Education; and a Ford Foundation Fellowship. She presented her work in many local, regional, and national conferences and has published in distinguished journals and proceedings.
