CATHERINE PETERS is the George J. Magee Professor of Geosciences and Geological Engineering, chair of the Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, and director of the undergraduate Geological Engineering Program at Princeton University. Since 2017 she has led her department through transformative growth, with key faculty hires, multidisciplinary research collaborations, and educational initiatives on the water-climate nexus, future cities, robotics for advanced mechanics, and environmental biotechnology. She teaches courses in environmental chemistry, energy and the environment, and sustainable design.

Dr. Peters is an expert in environmental chemistry and geochemistry, known for her leadership in sustainable energy technologies, with a focus on geochemical strategies for greenhouse gas mitigation. She has given numerous invited seminars and published more than 100 peer-reviewed journal papers, which have been cited more than 5000 times.

She is a fellow of the Association of Environmental Engineering and Science Professors (AEESP), and served as president in 2002. In 2020 she was honored with Honorary Board Certification by Eminence in AAEES, and received a Distinguished Alumnus Award of CEE at Carnegie Mellon University. She is editor in chief of Environmental Engineering Science and has served on numerous advisory panels for the US Department of Energy, including the stakeholder group for the National Risk Assessment Program.

She earned her master’s and PhD in civil engineering from Carnegie Mellon University and her BSE in chemical engineering from the University of Michigan.