Senior Personnel

Raghava R. Kommalapati

Raghava R. Kommalapati, PhD, PE, BCEE, F.ASCE is the Director and PI for the NSF CREST Center for Energy and Environmental Sustainability (CEES) which recently received a Phase II award from NSF. He is a Honeywell Endowed Professor, and professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering in the Roy G. Perry College of Engineering. In addition, he serves as group leader for the Environmental Sustainability research thrust area. Dr. Kommalapati’s research interests include membrane processes for treatment of produced water from fracking operations and poultry wastewater, life cycle analysis, air quality modeling, environmental impacts of energy technologies and co-digestion of waste materials. Dr. Kommalapati received 47 grants totaling over $17.5M from agencies including NSF, USDA, USDOT, DOE, NRC and US Department of Education Title III Program. He co-edited 1 book, and published 127 peer reviewed publications including 8 book chapters, 73 journal articles, and 46 peer reviewed conference proceedings. Additionally, he and his group has 184 conference presentations. Dr. Kommalapati also serves as the graduate program coordinator for Civil and Environmental Engineering concentrations in the MS in Engineering Program.

Ananda Amarasekara

Ananda Amarasekara, Ph.D. is a Professor in the Department of Chemistry at Prairie View A&M University in Texas and Co-PI and group leader for the Bioenergy subgroup in the Center for Energy and Environmental Sustainability (CEES). He received his Ph.D. in organic chemistry from the City University of New York in 1985. His research interests include cellulosic ethanol, renewable fuels, catalysis in biomass processing, and renewable polymeric materials. For his current research projects, he has received funding from numerous funding agencies including; NSF, USDA, DoE and ACS-PRF. He has supervised 32 graduate students and published more than 130 research publications in peer–reviewed journals. Since 2010 he has served as the biofuel research group leader at NSF–CREST funded Center for Energy and Environmental Sustainability. He serves on the editorial boards of the Journal of Renewable Energy, Current Catalysis and the Open Catalysis Journal. Professor Amarasekara has given a number of invited presentations and keynote addresses at recent International Renewable Energy Conferences in Europe and Asia. He is the author of the book “Handbook of Cellulosic Ethanol” published by John Wiley, New York, 2014.

Hongbo Du

Hongbo Du, PhD, in Mechanical Engineering, is a Research Scientist and Technical Coordinator in the Center for Energy and Environmental Sustainability (CEES) and a group member for the Environmental & Sustainability subgroup. He received his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from Colorado State University in 2011. His research interests include the treatment of shale oil & gas produced water, poultry processing wastewater, industrial wastewater with various membrane technologies (e.g., ultrafiltration, nanofiltration, forward osmosis, and reverse osmosis), carbon capture, energy & environmental sustainability, and biomass processing. For his current research projects, he has received funding from NSF, USDA, and Tran-SET. He has published one book and 37 research publications in peer-reviewed journals and book chapters and has given about 80 oral and poster presentations in local, regional, national, and international conferences. He is the editor of the book “Osmotically Driven Membrane Processes: Approach, Development and Current Status” published by InTechOpen. The electronic version of the book has been downloaded more than 15,000 times since it was published in March 2018.

Ziaul Huque

Ziaul Huque, PhD, is a professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering and is a Co-PI in the Center for Energy & Environmental Sustainability (CEES). In addition, he serves as group leader for the Wind Energy subgroup. His research is in the aerodynamic load calculation, structural analysis and fluid-structure interaction of wind turbine blades. He is also involved in the design optimization of the blades. Dr. Huque is also the Director of a Center for High Pressure Combustion in Microgravity (CHPC), a NASA funded research center. He was involved with several research grants from NSF, NASA, DOE and Air Force.

Sheena Reeves, Ph.D.

Sheena Reeves

Sheena Reeves, Ph.D.  is the Education and Outreach Coordinator and Co-PI for the Center for Energy & Environmental Sustainability (CEES) until Spring 2022.  She now serves as the Interim Department Head of Chemical Engineering at PVAMU.   Her research includes the formation and characterization of nanomaterials, the production, performance, and characterization of pharmaceuticals, the synthesis of catalytic materials, and the investigation of catalytic reactions.

Peter Ampim
Assistant Professor

Peter Ampim

Peter Ampim, Ph.D.  is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Agriculture, Nutrition and Human Ecology of the College of Agriculture and Human Sciences at Prairie View A&M University and a team member in the area of Bioenergy in the Center for Energy & Environmental Sustainability (CEES). Dr. Ampim’s current research activities span specialty crops, including specialty leafy greens, microgreens and small fruits, sustainable organic crop production, bioenergy crop production using reclaimed produced water and LED light applications for improving the growth and nutritional quality of leafy greens. His research is supported with grants from various funding agencies including USDA-NIFA.

Ripendra Awal

Ripendra Awal, Ph.D.  is an Associate Professor in the College of Agriculture and Human Sciences and is a team member in the Center for Energy & Environmental Sustainability (CEES) working in the Bioenergy group. His research focuses on agricultural water management; irrigation scheduling and crop modeling; climate-smart agriculture; soil health; water-energy-food nexus; climate change and climate extremes; watershed management and modeling; and water-related hazards.

Sherri Frizell

Sherri Frizell, Ph.D.  is a Professor in the Computer Science Department. She also serves as an Education and Outreach team member for the Center for Energy & Environmental Sustainability (CEES). She also serves as Director and PI for the NSF S-STEM Engineering Scholars Program in the Roy G. Perry College of Engineering. Her research areas include human-centered computing, computer science education, and the persistence of African-Americans and women in STEM. Her research has been supported by grants from various funding agencies.

Nabila Shamim

Nabila Shamim, PhD. is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering at Prairie View A&M University and a team member of environmental sustainability group in the Center for Energy & Environmental Sustainability (CEES). Dr. Nabila Shamim’s research focuses on the physics and chemistry of polymers and small molecule glass-forming materials. Her research laboratory elucidates fundamental questions in materials properties at the nanoscale and crystallization in energetic materials and polymeric nanofibers using calorimetry, mechanical experiments, and rigorous analysis. The highly marketable skills gained through this research open the door for the students to expose to cutting-edge research and enable them to enter STEM careers critical to the national interests.