Trina Mcmahon

Trina Mcmahon is a Professor in the Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, College of Engineering. Her research program focuses on microbial ecology in natural and engineered systems to advance water quality prediction and engineering applications.

Education:

• PhD, University of California-Berkeley (2002)
• MS, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (1997)
• BS, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (1995)

Her research spans microbial community dynamics in freshwater lakes and wastewater treatment systems, with emphasis on phosphorus, nitrogen, and carbon cycling. She employs molecular tools, metagenomics, and high-frequency sensor networks from the Global Lake Ecological Observatory Network to investigate bacterial contributions to eutrophication and nutrient removal processes. Current work integrates multi-omics approaches to model microbial behavior in engineered and natural environments.

Analysis of her recent publications reveals a dominant focus on long-term microbial dynamics using twenty-year time series from Lake Mendota. Her work bridges environmental engineering and microbial ecology, addressing mercury methylation, viral ecology, and climate change impacts through interdisciplinary collaborations.

Scientific Awards:

• Women Faculty Mentoring Program Schlesinger Award for Mentoring, University of Wisconsin-Madison (2021)
• IWA/ISME BioCluster Award (Grand Prize) (2018)
• Elected Fellow, American Academy of Microbiology (2018)
• Kellett Mid-Career Award, University of Wisconsin-Madison (2018)
• AEESP Frontier in Research Award, Association of Environmental Engineering and Science Professors (2017)
• James G. Woodburn Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching, College of Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison (2017)
• Elected Member, Teaching Academy, University of Wisconsin-Madison (2016)
• Vilas Distinguished Achievement Professor, University of Wisconsin-Madison (2015)
• Vilas Associate, University of Wisconsin-Madison (2013)
• Honored Instructors Award, University Housing, University of Wisconsin-Madison (2010)
• Outstanding Instructor Award, Polygon, College of Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison (2010)
• Benjamin Smith Reynolds Award for Excellence in Teaching, College of Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison (2009)
• Class of 1955 Distinguished Teaching Award, University of Wisconsin-Madison (2008)
• NSF CAREER Award, National Science Foundation (2007)
• Science to Achieve Results (STAR) Graduate Fellowship, U.S. EPA (2000)
• Kirt Brooks Scholarship, California Water Environment Association (2000)
• Robert A. Canham Scholarship, Water Environment Federation (1999)
• Graduate Division Scholarship, University of California at Berkeley (1998)
• Graduate Fellowship, National Science Foundation (1996)
• Ira O. Baker Prize and A. Epstein Award, Civil Engineering Department, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (1995)
• Melih T. Dural Undergraduate Research Award, Civil Engineering Department, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (1995)
• Barry M. Goldwater Excellence in Education Scholarship (1993)

Dr. Mcmahon mentors graduate students in environmental engineering and microbiology, with research spanning activated sludge systems and freshwater ecosystems. Her work is supported by competitive grants including the NSF CAREER Award and EPA STAR Fellowship, enabling long-term studies of microbial community responses to environmental change.

Her laboratory utilizes the Global Lake Ecological Observatory Network for adaptive sampling in lakes and maintains genomic facilities for metagenomic and transcriptomic analyses. She collaborates with interdisciplinary teams to develop predictive models of nutrient cycling and water quality, with current projects examining mercury methylation pathways and viral impacts on biogeochemical processes.