William Tarpeh

William Tarpeh is an American chemical and environmental engineer and assistant professor of chemical engineering at Stanford University. Through resource recovery approaches, his research aims to transform liquid waste into valuable resources. Specifically, Tarpeh's work leverages electrochemistry, separation processes, and sustainability principles to recover elements like nitrogen and other resources from wastewater, ultimately supporting sustainable solutions for energy, the environment, and cost efficiency.

Early life and education

William Tarpeh was born in West Africa to American and Liberian parents. Tarpeh and his family immigrated to the United States when he was a young child, fleeing the outbreak of civil war. Tarpeh was raised in Connecticut and Virginia. During a high school service-learning trip to Ethiopia, he developed an interest in water infrastructure that would shape his future career path.

After completing his B.S. in chemical engineering at Stanford University, Tarpeh earned both his master's and doctoral degrees in environmental engineering at University of California, Berkeley. He then conducted postdoctoral research at the University of Michigan under the guidance of Krista Wigginton, before returning as a faculty member at Stanford University in 2018.

Career

After completing his PhD, Tarpeh continued his work at Stanford, researching water treatment technologies and methods for scaling up waste-to-resource systems, particularly for use in developing countries. His postdoctoral research focused on extracting nitrogen from urine to then use as fertilizer for crops. He then co-founded a social enterprise focused on resource recovery and sanitation solutions for underserved populations, with the goal of transforming waste management practices in communities with limited access to sustainable infrastructure. In 2015, Tarpeh also founded AfroSynth Technologies, a company dedicated to developing low-cost, sustainable technologies to address waste management issues and empower communities in Africa and other developing regions to harness the potential of waste as a resource.

Tarpeh has championed innovative waste management practices that promote both environmental sustainability and economic development. His work focuses on converting waste streams into valuable byproducts like energy and agricultural inputs such as fertilizers.

William Tarpeh also holds courtesy appointments in Civil and Environmental Engineering as well as a Center Fellowship at the Woods Institute for the Environment. In 2019, Tarpeh was named to Forbes' 30 under 30 in Science.