Dr. Getachew's research focuses on novel and responsive materials that improve the performance of water treatment technologies and enable a more resilient water infrastructure. Her group combines the fabrication and characterization of new materials with bench-scale studies to gain mechanistic understanding of how these materials perform and to use that insight to inform the design of better environmental technologies. Current efforts center on smart materials and membrane technologies, including self-healing polymers that recover from damage in complex water matrices, electrically conductive membranes that actively remove foulants from their surfaces, and vapor phase infiltration of metal oxides to tune membrane transport and stability.
Bezawit Getachew
WEBSITE(S)| GETACHEW RESEARCH LAB | NSF NEWT CENTER | GOOGLE SCHOLAR
Research Areas
• Self-healing polymers and membranes • Electrically conductive membranes for electrochemical fouling and scaling control • Vapor phase infiltration of metal oxides into polymer membranes • Ion-selective membranes and metal-organic frameworks for nutrient recovery • Electrochemical and piezocatalytic degradation of PFAS
Education
2018–2020, Postdoctoral Associate, Materials Science and Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
2018 Ph.D., Yale University, New Haven, CT, Chemical and Environmental Engineering
2015 M.S. Yale University, New Haven, CT, Chemical and Environmental Engineering
2012 B.S. Yale University, New Haven, CT, Chemical Engineering
Teaching Areas
CEVE 315/316 Urban Water Systems and Laboratory: undergraduate core course on water and wastewater treatment, co-taught with Lauren Stadler
CEVE 426/526 Smart Materials for the Environment: undergraduate and graduate course
Societies & Organizations
American Academy of Environmental Engineers and Scientists (AAEES)
Association of Environmental Engineering and Science Professors (AEESP)
American Chemical Society (ACS)
North American Membrane Society (NAMS)
Honors & Awards
2025: 40 Under 40 Rising Stars in Environmental Engineering, American Academy of Environmental Engineers and Scientists
2025: Excellence in Review, ACS ES&T Engineering
2024: Roy E. Campbell Faculty Award, Rice University School of Engineering
2023: Doctoral New Investigator Award, ACS Petroleum Research Fund
2018: 3 Minute Thesis Competition, 1st Place, Yale Graduate School of Arts and Sciences
2016–2017: Fredrick M. Adler Fellowship, Yale Graduate School of Arts and Sciences
2016: Student Poster Presentation Award, Engineering Conferences International
2015: Outstanding Presentation Award, AEESP Research and Education Conference
2012–2013: Woodbridge Fellowship, Yale University Office of Administration
2011–2012: Science, Technology, and Research Scholars (STARS) Fellowship, Yale College