Dr. Patricia Culligan is a Professor of civil engineering and engineering mechanics at Columbia University. She also chairs the diversity initiatives committee at Columbia's School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. Her research focuses on applying geoengineering principles to the solution of problems related to subsurface contamination and remediation. Her particular interests include multiphase transport behavior in soils and fractured rock, including nonaqueous phase liquid behavior, colloid transport and transport in unsaturated media. She also has interest and experience in the design of land-based disposal sites for waste materials. Dr. Culligan has received numerous awards including the Arthur C. Smith Award for Undergraduate Service (1999) and the National Science Foundation CAREER Award (1999). She is also the author or coauthor of more than 50 journal articles, book chapters, and refereed conference papers. She holds a Ph.D. in civil engineering from Cambridge University in England.