Dr Carolina Montoya Pachongo

Profile

I am a Sanitary Engineer, holding a bachelor’s degree from Universidad del Valle (2005), a master’s in sanitary and environmental engineering from Universidad del Valle (2012), and a PhD in civil engineering from the University of Leeds (2018). Currently, I serve as a Research Fellow at the School of Biology, where I am engaged in participatory environmental monitoring projects within urban environments as part of the SYNERGIA initiative, funded by the Horizons Platform. My research focuses on participatory air quality monitoring and promoting data equity in Leeds, UK.

Since 2005, I have built extensive experience as a researcher and consultant in water supply for human consumption, sanitation, methane emissions, and freshwater monitoring. My work bridges academia and the water industry, encompassing a range of activities, including computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modelling, laboratory testing, environmental microbiology, field sampling, statistical analysis, and visualisation. I have produced operational recommendations for water supply systems, conducted technological prospecting, guided the development and implementation of water safety plans, and provided expert advice on drinking water quality management from catchment to distribution network. Additionally, I have developed methodologies for locating sampling points in open and sectorised drinking water networks using hazard maps and pioneered a participatory risk analysis approach (MUISKA).

In addition to my technical expertise, I am passionate about advocating for gender equity in STEAM disciplines and enhancing science communication skills to engage and inform non-specialist audiences.

Research interests

My research interests are related to environmental monitoring, ethics, and care:

• Air quality
• Public health
• Environmental monitoring
• Citizen science
• Systemic risks
• Risk assessment
• Risk integration and mapping
• Risk communication and trust
• Participatory research and ethics
• Rights of Nature
• River guardianship

Current research projects:

SYNERGIA

Qualifications

• BEng Sanitary Engineering, Universidad del Valle - Colombia
• MSc Sanitary and Environmental Engineering, Universidad del Valle - Colombia
• PhD Civil Engineering, University of Leeds - UK

Professional memberships

• ​Society for Risk Analysis
• Organization for Women in Science for the Developing World