Yashodhara (Yash) Chowdhury www.linkedin.com/in/yashodharachowdhury

Chowdhy@clarkson.edu 30 ½ Maple Street, Apt G7 +1-334-494-9000 Potsdam, NY- 13676, USA

SUMMARY OF QUALIFICATIONS

Environmental engineer with expertise in wastewater engineering (planning, design and conveyance), process

engineering, water quality, remediation, environmental safety and health.

Experienced in wastewater treatment modeling and design, remediation of contaminated landfill, leachate treatment, bio-

solids treatment, wastewater engineering processes such as flocculation, sedimentation and such as air stripping,

chemical oxidation.

Design experience- pilot-scale air-stripping treatment process, wet scrubbing and chemical oxidation for ammonia absorption and recovery.

EDUCATION

Clarkson University, Potsdam, New York, USA

M.S. Environmental Science and Engineering Expected graduation: August 2015 Thesis: Nutrient/materials recovery from anaerobic sewage sludge

P.E.S College of Engineering, Karnataka, India

Baccalaureate in Environmental Engineering Graduation: June 2013

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

NYSP2I Project, G.R.A, Potsdam, NY May 2014-present

Nutrient Recovery from Anaerobic Sludge and subsequent Re-use as an alternative to Commercial Fertilizer

Design and planning of bench-scale treatment system

Analyzed designs and trial feasibility studies for a packed-type countercurrent air-stripper and wet-

scrubbing column for ammonia removal and recovery from anaerobically digested sludge.

Operations were upgraded to a continuous-type treatment.

Implemented a batch-type chemical oxidation system that would convert recovered ammonium-N to nitrate.

Reduced suspended solids content of sludge by 20 % and prevented subsequent fouling between packing

materials of the stripping column through feasibility testing of centrifugation.

A continuous source of Data-acquisition for temperature inside stripping column was programmed using

LabView (Visual Data Language).

Process engineering and application

Analysis of various parameters of the digestate sludge, such as- pH, TS, BOD, COD, N-P-K and other

trace nutrients were done periodically.

Efficiency of the air stripping treatment process stood at ̴ 85-90 %.

Efficiency of chemical oxidation of ammonia to plant-usable nitrate stood at an average of 70-75 %.

The nitrate solutions were recombined with the stripped effluent to produce a by-product fertilizer for the

pilot-scale greenhouse plants.

Crop yields increased over 5 % when fertilized using treated sludge.

Cost-effectiveness analysis and life-cycle studies for the entire bench-scale production system of alternate

sludge fertilizer are still underway.

Greenhouse Operation and Maintenance

Operated the greenhouse for plant cultivation under controlled environment conditions and using

processed digestate as fertilizer.

Installed and maintained the water distribution system- reservoir tanks, piping, pumps, drainage tube

during each experimental cycle.

Optimized the operational time intervals for pumps in each room to ensure maintenance of a smooth water

pressure throughout the distribution system.

Local Living Venture, Volunteer, Potsdam/Canton, NY May 2014-November 2014

Association with the LLV mainly involved outreach and education to local communities

Managed workshops for cleaner highways, bee-keeping, rainwater harvesting.

RELATED PROJECTS

Treatment of leachate from a Class 2 Inactive Hazardous Waste Site Potsdam/Salina Township, NY January 2015-April 2015

This design project, with collaboration from CHA Companies required Environmental Engineering majors at

Clarkson to develop a remediation process and design a treatment plant for contaminated groundwater underlying

the Salina Town Landfill.

Analyzed annual average leachate infiltration rates along different sections of the trench into the underlying

groundwater table.

Designed a pump station that would convey contaminated groundwater leachate into the wastewater treatment

plant.

Based on characterization of contaminants, evaluated a wastewater treatment matrix.

Diffused tray stripping towers and Granular Activated Carbon Bed vessels were chosen for treatments of VOCs

and PCBs respectively.

Analyzed cost-rubric for the entire project, which included capital costs for installation and construction of

pipelines, submersible pumps, wastewater treatment plant (Air strippers and GAC vessels), grading, laying,

trenching etc.

Assessment of the efficiency of microfiltration in conjunction with different pretreatment strategies for treating Raquette

river water, Potsdam, NY March 2014-June 2014

Team of 4 graduate students investigated different treatment strategies and their efficiencies in removal of Natural

Organic Matter in Raquette River water samples. Conducted feasibility studies for three types of treatment methodologies: Coagulation and Sedimentation;

Microfiltration; Coagulation-Sedimentation in conjunction with Microfiltration. Determined optimal values of coagulant dose of coagulation-microfiltration system.

Use of coagulation and sedimentation as a pre-treatment strategy prior to microfiltration was found to

have maximum removal efficiency for NOM. It also improved the performance of the low pressure

membranes as compared to the situation where only microfiltration was being used to remove NOM.

The performance of low pressure membranes were defined in terms of water quality

Determined factors that affect methane production in a bench-scale food waste digester Mandya, Karnataka, India December 2012-May 2013

Design of a bench scale digester for degradation of food waste samples from school (P.E.S College of

Engineering) cafeteria.

Tested various parameters such as pH, temperature and VOC concentration and studied their effects on

methane percentage of the biogas. Seeding (cow manure) was added in order to investigate effects on biogas quality. Determined that food wastes in conjunction with seeding yield a higher percentage of methane in the biogas than just

using food waste as a substrate.

Workplace hazard and safety assessment at Bengal Non-Resident Indian Urbana Project construction site Kolkata, West Bengal, India September 2013-November 2013

Conducted detailed assessment of working conditions and the necessary level of safety measures and

practices in place. Examined safety measures for workers involved in hot works; work at height, and conditions at the cement

batching plant.

Analyzed the layout of pedestrian routes, vehicle routes and minimization of possible traffic conflicts.

Recorded observations also included adherence to wearing personal protective equipment.

CERTIFICATION

NEBOSH (National Examination Board in Occupational Safety and Health) International General Certificate in

Occupational Health and Safety

Management of International Health and Safety

Control of International Workplace Hazards

International Health and Safety Practical Application

COMPUTER PROGRAMS

Microsoft Office 2010

BIOWIN v. 4.1

AutoCAD 2D, 3D

Visual Minteq 3.0

PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATIONS

New York Water Environment Association

Environmental Health and Safety Professionals

Water Environment Federation

Graduate Student Association

Clarkson Sustainability Initiative