Last summer, when the City of Atlanta declared a state of emergency following multiple water main breaks that left parts of downtown without water, Iris Tien provided commentary to news outlets such as GPB. Tien, the Williams Family Associate Professor in the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, said the aging infrastructure is “something we see in Atlanta and other cities across the U.S. Most water systems are designed for 50 years.” Much of Atlanta is well past that mark.

Now in her 11th year at Georgia Tech, Tien considers Atlanta an ideal environment for her work. “Being in a large metropolitan area has been great for collaborating with municipalities and utility providers,” says Tien, who has worked with the Georgia Department of Transportation, the City of Atlanta’s Department of Watershed Management, and Atlanta’s Emergency Response Department.