Kinnari Malav Shah

Ph.D. Students

Ph.D. Candidate, Earth & Environmental Engineering, Columbia University
M.S., Earth & Environmental Engineering, Columbia University (2021)
B.S., Chemical and Biological Engineering, Princeton University (2014)

Kinnari Shah joined the Yip research group in Fall 2019. She completed her bachelor's in Chemical Engineering at Princeton University in 2014. From there, Kinnari spent 5 years at ExxonMobil, where she worked largely in water and wastewater treatment. Currently, Kinnari’s research focuses on emerging technologies at the energy-water-environment nexus, particularly for high-salinity desalination and zero liquid discharge applications. Her expertise lies in elucidating fundamental mechanisms that govern the performance of switchable solvent separations, such as Temperature Swing Solvent Extraction.

Outside of her work, Kinnari likes to play her bass guitar, see Broadway musicals, and scuba dive.

Publications

Patents

  • Yip, N.Y., Boo, C., Shah, K.M., Billinge, I.H., Winton, R.K., Dach, E.M., "Temperature swing solvent extraction for descaling of feedstreams." U.S. Patent Application No. 17/348,139.

Awards

  • National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship (2021)
  • American Chemical Society Division of Environmental Chemistry: Graduate Student Awardee in Environmental Chemistry (2023)
  • Columbia University Engineering Graduate Student Council Professional Development Award (2023)
  • Association of Environmental Engineering and Science Professors Travel Award (2022)
  • Lead Teaching Fellow, Columbia University’s Center for Teaching and Learning (2022)
  • Columbia University’s 3 Minute Thesis Competition Winner (2022)
  • Columbia University Provost’s Diversity Fellow (2020)