Cresten Mansfeldt

Cresten Mansfeldt is an Assistant Professor in Environmental Engineering at the University of Colorado Boulder, affiliated with the Civil, Environmental, and Architectural Engineering Department. He holds a B.C.E. from the University of Minnesota (2007) and a Ph.D. from Cornell University (2013). Previously, he worked as a Research Scientist at Eawag (Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology). His research focuses on microbial processes interacting with human-engineered systems, including wastewater treatment, riverine ecosystems, and bioremediation. Key interests include microbial community dynamics, contaminant biotransformation, and reactor design for resource recovery. Mansfeldt’s lab actively recruits students at all levels, emphasizing interdisciplinary approaches combining computational modeling, molecular microbiology, and environmental analytics.

Research highlights include developing frameworks for wastewater-based public health surveillance, analyzing wildfire impacts on water quality, and modeling microbial community responses to environmental perturbations. Awards include the 2025 '40 Under 40' recognition from the American Academy of Environmental Engineers and Scientists, and a 2008 NSF Graduate Research Fellowship. Recent work addresses ethical considerations in wastewater sampling and integrates ecological risk assessment with synthetic biology.

His publications span topics like microbial enzyme biomarkers, micropollutant fate in activated sludge systems, and lipid-accumulating algae for biofuel production. Current projects aim to optimize wastewater treatment for trace organic contaminant removal while enhancing microbial community resilience.