“As an educator, I focus on creating opportunities for more, people, including more women, to shape science and technology and to contribute to a better future for all of humanity.” -Dr. Marisa Chrysochoou
Dr. Marisa Chrysochoou is a Professor and Department Head of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Connecticut. As the first female department head in the School of Engineering at UConn, Dr. Chrysochoou is dedicated to empowering young women and underrepresented minorities to find their voice and pursue their dreams. This is just part of what made her the perfect candidate to receive the 2022 Petit Family Foundation Women in Science Leadership Award. Each year, the Connecticut Science Center Women in Science Steering Committee selects and honoree working in STEM who is a leader in their field, and who makes a significant effort to support other women and girls in STEM.
Dr. Chrysochoou’s general research area is environmental geochemistry, with a focus on site remediation, characterization and reuse of industrial waste and construction materials. She serves as the Director of the ERPA Region 1 Technical Assistance for Brownfield Program, serving New England communities to promote brownfield redevelopment and environmental justice. She is also the Principal Investigator of the project “Beyond Accommodation, Leveraging Neurodiversity for Engineering Invention,” sponsored by the NSF’s Revolutionizing Engineering Department program, empowering neurodiversity students to pursue and engineering education and career.
Neurodiversity is a topic Dr. Chrysochoou is extremely passionate about. Growing up with a brother who has dyslexia, she saw first hand the struggles he and their parents faced when navigating the educational system. Dr. Chrysochoou now advocates for creating an educational system where all types of learners can be successful.
Katelyn Rutty is the Communications Manager at the Connecticut Science Center where she manages all of the online content platforms. She has a Master’s in Business Administration from Western New England University.
