Panagiota (Yiota) is a Ph.D. candidate in Environmental Engineering at the Environmental Microbiome Engineering Research Group (EMERG). Prior to joining UVM, she did her MESc at Western University in Canada, where she studied processes for sustainably removing nitrogen from wastewater. She is originally from Greece, where she did her undergraduate studies in Environmental Engineering at the University of Patras followed by a MSc in Environment and Development, where her research focused on the Municipal Solid Waste Management, at the National Technical University of Athens.

Her research at UVM focuses on the biological production of valuable medium-chain carboxylic acids from the residuals of food systems, specifically pre- and post-consumer food wastes and agricultural wastes. Her work aims to increase farmer revenue from wastes and provide more equitable alternatives for biorefining of organic wastes by expanding the products derived from on farm waste bioprocessing. There are a lot of farms across Vermont and her aim is to develop bioreactors that can be implemented on farms across Vermont, the United States, and the world.

Advisor:
Dr. Matthew J. Scarborough