Carolina B. Mendez Email and Phone Number

Project Manager and Engineer for consulting design projects and construction of water and wastewater treatment systems for municipal, chemicals, mining, and oil & gas clients. Experienced in construction services including subcontractor management, field engineering, and materials management. Engineering project tasks included conducting field work, performing pilot-plant tests, creating mass balances, sizing equipment, developing piping and instrumentation diagrams (PIDs) and process flow diagrams (PFDs), writing equipment datasheets and specifications, reviewing vendor bids and submittals, and preparing operational & maintenance (O&M) manuals. Field engineering tasks included expediting preparation of Field Work Directives (FWDs), coordinating engineering responses to subcontractors’ Request for Information (RFIs), reconciling field engineering questions with quality team, managing as-built redlines, auditing field drawings and piping isometrics, developing work packages to assist equipment field installations, and performing system walk-downs during pre-commissioning. Materials management tasks included conducting quality inspections of equipment deliveries, resolving Overs, Shorts, and Damages (OSDs) with vendors, and issuing equipment inventory to subcontractors. Also served as a liaison between permitting agencies and designers as a permitting manager.

Studied the effect of roof material on water quality for rainwater harvesting systems in Texas. Designed and constructed pilot-scale roofs and rainwater samplers. Measured microbial and chemical constituents (i.e. coliforms, solids, organics, and metals) in roof runoff. Used molecular techniques (i.e. polymerase chain reaction (PCR), terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (TRFLP), and cloning) to describe microbial diversity in harvested rainwater. Prepared quarterly and annual reports for the Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) and summarized results in one peer-reviewed journal publication.

Participated in a water quality assessment study to determine the potability of water sources in Rwanda, Africa. Coordinated field sampling, analyzed chemical and microbial constituents (i.e. coliforms, solids, and metals), and collected GPS data for GIS mapping. Prepared a summary report for Water for People which was considered the first initiative to determine the potability of water sources in Rwanda, Africa.

Prepared emergency response manuals for pump stations to outline procedures for containment and disposal of wastewater spills in the County of Los Angeles. Used construction diagrams and GIS to investigate hydraulics and plan overflow routes to discharge locations.

Studied the effect of wildfires on mercury concentrations in Southern California watersheds. Collected water and soil samples from burned and unburned watershed sites. Measured organic and mercury concentrations. Used Fluorescent In Situ Hybridization (FISH) and Confocal Laser Scanning Microscopy (CLSM) to visualize sulfate reducing bacteria biofilms. The project resulted in one peer-reviewed journal publication.

Interviewed household members in Spanish to get an overall estimate of need-based funding and water needs in Momostenango, Guatemala. Compiled data and translated more than 100 surveys to determine feasibility of the project. Constructed tanks and piping distribution systems for rainwater harvesting. The success of the project resulted in additional funding to construct more rainwater tanks.

Optimized chemical flocculation and filtration processes to recover viruses from seawater. Designed and operated bench-scale studies. Optimized dosage of coagulant, time for flocculation, and settling of particles. Used microscopy and molecular tools to extract, purify, and quantify viral DNA. The project resulted in one peer-reviewed journal publication.

Constructed plant microcosms to research redox potentials of Pickleweed plants and determine the implications for mercury methylation in iron amended wetlands. Measured chemical contituents with chromatography and spectrometry.