Introduction

I am Dr. Jagadish Torlapati, a Research Assistant Professor in the Civil & Environmental Engineering Department at Rowan University. I lead the Environmental Engineering Division at the Center for Research and Education in Advanced Transportation Engineering Systems (CREATES) and collaborate with the Arctic Domain Awareness Center (ADAC) Addressing Rapid Changes through Technology, Innovation, & Collaboration (ARCTIC), a U.S. Department of Homeland Security Center of Excellence. My research focuses on Arctic oil-spill response, bioremediation, and risk-based environmental engineering.

My work is supported by a broad network of sponsors, including the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), National Science Foundation (NSF), New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP), Kern Family Foundation (KEEN), and New Jersey American Water. Together, these partnerships enable our team to address critical challenges in energy, climate resilience, and sustainable infrastructure.

In addition to computational modeling, my laboratory is equipped with experimental capabilities to validate and extend our simulations. We are currently conducting cold-region experiments to study psychrophilic bacteria for diesel-range organics bioremediation and developing microbial fuel cells (MFCs) for metal remediation under low-temperature conditions. These efforts link fundamental microbial science with field-deployable remediation technologies.

As an educator, I teach courses in Environmental Engineering, Water Resources, Fluid Mechanics, and Civil Engineering Systems, and I mentor both graduate and undergraduate researchers. As Faculty Advisor for Rowan’s Engineers Without Borders (EWB) chapter, I guide students through community projects ranging from water resource development in Ecuador to sustainability initiatives in New Jersey.

If you are a prospective student, collaborator, or industry partner, feel free to reach out to me at torlapati@rowan.edu. Together, let’s engineer a sustainable and resilient future.